Del Mar College

Del Mar College's Dental Hygiene Program was established in 1969 in a two-story wood frame house on the College's East Campus. The program's clinic and classroom were located on the first floor. Departmental offices were located on the second floor.

During the 1970's, the Dental Hygiene Program moved in the first floor of what is now the Stone English Learning Center located on Kosar Street across from the Harvin Center. Program facilities included a reception area, a thirteen-chair dental clinic with standing dental units and cuspidors, three x-ray (radiology) units, an x-ray processing darkroom, a classroom and dental materials laboratory. The clinic had windows which provide and open environment. Vertical support poles, located off center near the dental units could be challenging. If attention was not paid, students, patients, and faculty occasionally bumped into the poles. Administrative and faculty offices were also located on the first floor.

Students were required to wear white polyester uniforms and nursing style caps. After students completed their first year of the program, they received a blue stripe for their cap. The blue stripe represented Del Mar College. Upon graduation, students received a lilac stripe on their cap and their dental hygiene pin. The lilac stripe represented dental hygiene and signified the completion of the program.

In 1983, Del Mar College built the Garcia Health Science building. The Dental Hygiene Program moved into the building that summer. New equipment was purchased for the clinic, dental materials laboratory and x-ray area. The program's lecture classes were moved to well-equipped classrooms which were also used by other health science programs.

Instructional facilities included a thirteen-chair dental clinic, five x-ray (radiology) rooms, an x-ray processing darkroom, a front desk and reception area. The facility functioned as a stand-alone dental hygiene clinic and provided students the opportunity to gain experience with patients in a dental setting.

During the summer of 2006, the Dental Hygiene program moved to its current location on Del Mar College's West Campus located on Old Brownsville Road. The clinical facility increased to twenty four dental units. The configuration of the clinic changed from one open bay to four bays. Each bay includes six dental units complete with computer all-in-one monitors. The radiology area includes digital radiography equipment. Del Mar College provides students with state of the art technologies in classroom instruction and clinical experiences.

For more detailed information, click on the links below.

Dental Hygiene Program Webpages

Dental Hygiene Degree Plan

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