Premier Dental Endows Scholarship for Dental Hygiene Students
The fund has been established with an initial donation of $25,000 by Premier Dental. The endowment will be managed by the St. Louis Community College Foundation. Scholarship recipients will be selected by STLCC’s financial aid office and the faculty of the dental hygiene program.
“St. Louis Community College is grateful to Premier Dental for recognizing our program for the role it plays in training highly qualified students for the workforce,” said William Hubble, Ph.D., district division dean for academic affairs - health sciences at Saint Louis Community College. “These students are tomorrow’s professionals, and Premier Dental’s investment in them amplifies our commitment to answering a growing need for hygienists in our community and beyond.”
STLCC’s dental hygiene program prepares dental health care providers to earn an associate degree and students may apply for additional permits in the state of Missouri. Students in this program receive real life, hands-on experience at the public dental hygiene clinic at the Forest Park campus. The learning environment includes classroom work, laboratory experience and actual clinical practice. While enrolled in this program, students will learn how to conduct patient assessments, perform dental diagnostic tests including radiographs, administer local anesthesia, instruct patients in dental disease control procedures, scaling and polishing procedures for the removal of hard and soft deposits, dental health procedures and more.
Students are required to understand materials used in intra-oral and laboratory procedures, form and function of structures of the oral cavity and oral diseases. They also must understand pharmacology related to dental procedures, and the scientific principles of radiography.
According to the latest figures compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for a dental hygienist is $77,810. Individual salaries vary by the geographic location, the extent of the dental hygienist’s education, experience and the type and size of the dental practice.
Employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow 11 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations. Employment opportunities are expected to grow because of an overall increase in demand for dental services, population growth, and in the trend for hygienists to perform services formerly done by dentists.
Click on the link for more information about St. Louis Community College scholarships.