Community Dental Health Coordination
The Community Dental Health Coordinator program is currently undergoing extensive revisions. We will be accepting applications for Spring 2023 Semester.
New State of Iowa program can pay your tuition, click here to find out more about the Last Dollar Scholarship.
Make an impact in your community with Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ new online Dental Health Coordination Program designed just for dental health professionals.
As a dental assistant or dental hygienist, we know you care deeply about your patients and their oral health. But with tens of thousands of Americans lacking dental care, there are so many more people that need your help. Now, with Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ online Community Dental Health Coordination Program, you can take your skills and expertise into the communities that need it most. CDHC is a one-year online program designed to provide training in community-based prevention, care coordination and patient navigation. It’s all part of the American Dental Association’s effort to connect people who typically do not receive care from a dentist to community resources that will provide the care and guidance they need. By focusing on oral health education and disease prevention, you can empower people to manage their own oral health.
Courses will cover advocacy, intercultural communication, finance, dental health coordination, documentation and reporting procedures. Legal and ethical issues will also be covered.
EICC is the only college in Iowa offering this program and one of only two colleges’
in the country offering the coursework in an online format.
Award Options for Community Dental Health Coordinator
Benefits
Becoming a Certified Dental Health Care Coordinator will not only bolster your resume,
but it will also provide an awarding career path. CDHC’s are community health workers
with dental skills who are members of the dental team. Their expertise links patients
to available, but underutilized, dental care.
They focus on case management, navigation, oral health education and promotion, motivational
interviewing and community mapping.
According to the ADA’s website, CDHC’s can have an enormous impact on a community. Here are just a few examples:
One CDHC provided services to 114 patients in a rural tribal community health center’s diabetes clinic. The missed appointment rate for diabetes patients dropped to zero, compared with a clinic-wide rate of 18 percent.
Another CDHC at a Midwest Indian Health Service clinic provided services valued at more than $105,000 to 240 children at Head Start and daycare centers over a 10-month period.
A CDHC working in a single-dentist practice in a remote, rural location nearly doubled the clinic’s productivity in 2011 over the prior year.
Program Requirements
Students must be Registered Dental Hygienists or Certified Dental Assistants. Applicants
are required to provide documentation of licensure or certification according to their
individual state's dental practice act. Students must also meet the following criteria:
- Ability to fully participate in classroom, laboratory, and clinical setting program activities
- Allied Health Program Policy documents completed and submitted
- Submitted current supplemental background checks
Dental Assistants must document certain clinical competencies before applying to the program and the candidates must be in compliance with the Dental Practice Act in their respective state. Documentation for these skills should be recorded on the application part II. Those clinical skills are:
- Ability to take radiographs
- Ability to place fluoride
- Ability to perform coronal polishing
- Ability to identify suspicious lesions
Health Requirements for CDHC Program
Applicants who are accepted and enroll in the Community Dental Health Coordination (CDHC) program will be exposed to blood-borne and infectious diseases. The program strictly adheres to established policies and procedures regarding infection control as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The American Dental Association, The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Depending on the site selected for Internship hours, you may be required to have current proof of immunizations for that site, and as such, you will need to be prepared well in advance. However, immunizations are not required to enroll in the CDHC program.
Healthcare Program students are required to learn CPR by completing an acceptable Basic Life Support course. CPR certification must include infant, child, and adult, 1 and 2 man rescuer, AED, and evidence of a hands on skills component.
if needed.
Questions? Call toll-free 1-888-336-3907, email eiccinfo@eicc.edu or contact the college nearest you and ask to speak to an advisor.
- Clinton Community College, 563-244-7000
- Muscatine Community College, 563-288-6000
- Scott Community College, 563-441-4000
It is the policy of Eastern Iowa Community College District not to discriminate in
its programs, activities, or employment on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, and actual
or potential family, parental or marital status, as required by the Iowa Code §§216.6
and 216.9, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d and
2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational
Amendments, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.
§ 794), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et
seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy,
please contact Debora J. Sullivan, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer/Equity Coordinator,
Eastern Iowa Community College District, 101 West Third Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801,
563-336-3487, djsullivan@eicc.edu or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights,
U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 West Madison Street, Suite 1475,
Chicago, Illinois 60661-7204, phone number 312-730-1560, fax 312-730-1576, OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.