Competencies for Entry into the Profession of Dental Hygiene

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA), Section on Dental Hygiene Education, Competency Development Committee drafted the competency statements presented in this document. This committee had representation from both baccalaureate and associate degree dental hygiene programs. It also included representation from dental hygiene, clinical, social and basic sciences, and the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. A separate committee, the Dental Hygiene Education Competency Draft Review Committee, further reviewed and provided feedback on the document once developed. Following these reviews, the competency statements were presented for public comment at the 1998 ADEA Annual Session, the 1998 Dental Hygiene Directors’ Conference, and the ADEA Section on Dental Hygiene Education homepage on the World Wide Web. The competency statements have been presented in five domains.These domains were defined during a consensus exercise that was conducted at the Section on Dental Hygiene Education program session at the 1997 ADEA Annual Session. Individuals representing various facets of dental hygiene and dental hygiene education participated in this exercise.