HISTORY
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.
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