Questions to Cover With Dental Hygienist Programs<\/strong><\/h3>\nNow that you have decided to become a dental hygienist in Lehigh Valley PA, you can begin the procedure of comparing schools and programs. As we covered at the beginning of this article, a number of prospective students begin by looking at the cost and the location of the colleges. Maybe they look for several online alternatives as well. Even though these are significant initial factors to consider, there are several additional questions that you need to address to the programs you are looking at in order to reach an informed decision. To start that process, we have supplied a list of questions to assist you with your due diligence and final selection of the ideal dental hygienist school for you.<\/p>\n
Is the Dental School Accredited?<\/strong> There are several good reasons why you should only enroll in an accredited dental hygienist school. If you are intending to become licensed or certified, then accreditation is a condition in nearly all states. In order to take the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam, your dental college must be accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CDA). Accreditation also helps guarantee that the training you get is comprehensive and of the highest quality. Lehigh Valley PA employers typically prefer or require that new hires are graduates of accredited programs. And finally, if you are requesting a student loan or financial aid, frequently they are not available for non-accredited colleges.<\/p>\nIs Enough Practical Training Provided?<\/strong> Practical or clinical training is an essential component of any dental training program. This holds true for the online school options as well. Many dental hygienist colleges have partnerships with area dental practices and clinics that furnish practical training for their students. It’s not only imperative that the college you enroll in provides adequate clinical hours but also provides them in the type of practice that you subsequently want to work in. As an example, if you are interested in a career in pediatric dentistry, make sure that the program you enroll in offers clinical rotation in a local Lehigh Valley PA dental office that specializes in dental care for children.<\/p>\nAre Internships Available?<\/strong> Verify if the dental schools you are looking at have an internship program. Internships are probably the best method to receive hands-on, practical experience in a professional dental practice. They make it easier for students to transition from the theoretical to the practical. They can also help students create professional relationships in the Lehigh Valley PA dentistry community. And they look good on resumes as well.<\/p>\nIs Job Placement Assistance Provided?<\/strong> Many students that have graduated from dental hygienist schools require assistance obtaining their first job. Check if the programs you are looking at have job assistance programs, and what their job placement rates are. Colleges with higher job placement rates probably have excellent reputations within the Lehigh Valley PA dental profession as well as extensive networks of contacts where they can position their students for employment or internships.<\/p>\nAre the Classes Smaller?<\/strong> Find out from the programs you are interested in how big typically their classes are. The smaller classes tend to provide a more personal environment for training where students have greater access to the teachers. Conversely, bigger classes tend to be impersonal and offer little individualized instruction. If practical, ask if you can attend a few classes at the Lehigh Valley PA dental hygienist college that you are most interested in so that you can witness first hand the amount of interaction between instructors and students before enrolling.<\/p>\n <\/strong>What is the Entire Expense of the Program?<\/strong> Dental hygiene training can fluctuate in cost based on the length of the program and the amount of clinical training provided. Other variables, for example the reputations of the schools and whether they are public or private also have an impact. But in addition to the tuition there are other significant expenses which can add up. They can include expenses for such things as textbooks and commuting as well as school materials, equipment and supplies. So when examining the cost of colleges, remember to include all of the expenses related to your education. Most colleges have financial aid offices, so be sure to find out what is available as far as loans, grants and scholarships in the Lehigh Valley PA area.<\/p>\nAre the Classes Convenient?<\/strong> Before enrolling in a dental hygienist college, you must make sure that the hygienist or assistant program offers classes that suit your schedule. This is especially true if you will be working while getting your education and need to attend classes near Lehigh Valley PA in the evenings or on weekends. And even if you choose an online program, you will still be required to schedule your clinical training classes. Also, while making your inquiries, ask what the make-up protocol is if you should have to miss any classes because of work, illness or family issues.<\/p>\nAttending Dental Hygienist School near Lehigh Valley PA?<\/h3>\nLehigh Valley<\/h3>
The Lehigh Valley (\/\u02c8li.ha\u026a \u02c8v\u00e6.li\/), known officially by the United States Census Bureau and the United States Office of Management and Budget[3] as the Allentown\u2013Bethlehem\u2013Easton, PA\u2013NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area and referred to colloquially as The Valley,[4] is a metropolitan region officially consisting of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren county on the western edge of New Jersey, in the Eastern United States.[5] The Lehigh Valley's largest city, with a population of 120,443, is Allentown.[6]<\/p>
The Lehigh Valley is the fastest growing and third most populous region in the state of Pennsylvania with a population of 821,623 residents as of the 2010 U.S. Census.[2][7] It is eclipsed in total population in Pennsylvania only by the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.[2] It is the 64th most populated metropolitan area in the United States. Lehigh County, the Valley's largest county in terms of overall population, is among the fastest growing in the state and, as of 2010-2012, ranks in the 79th percentile for population growth nationally.[7] The core population centers are located in southern and central Lehigh and Northampton counties along U.S. Route 22 and Interstate 78. The Lehigh Valley is proximate to two of the nation's largest cities: New York City, which is about 75 miles to its east, and Philadelphia, which is 50 miles to its southeast.<\/p>
In March 2014, the Lehigh Valley was recognized by Site Selection Magazine as the second-best performing region of its size for economic development in the United States.[8] It was also ranked by Fortune in May 2015 as being among the top 10 best places in the U.S. to locate corporate finance and information technology operations for companies, such as call centers and IT support.[9] Allentown, the region's largest city, was cited as a \"national success story\" in April 2016 by the Urban Land Institute for its downtown redevelopment and transformation, one of only six communities nationwide to achieve this distinction.[10]<\/p>
The Lehigh Valley is named for the Lehigh River, which runs through it, and owes much of its development and history to the anthracite supplies, timber, and ores which poured down the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company's (LC&N) Lehigh Canal and railroads LC&N built or encouraged parallel to it. The lower Lehigh Valley is geologically part of the Great Appalachian Valley and is bordered on the north by the mineral-rich Ridge and Valley Appalachians, which define its rugged upper parts from White Haven and west of the Poconos, south through the Lehigh Gorge to the Lehigh Gap near Palmerton. The upper drainage basin contains or shares[a] nearly half the southeastern Coal Region, which have the richest anthracite deposits in the world, while the lower valley holds valuable limestone, sandstone, and clay deposits. In the charter of March 20, 1818 for the Lehigh Navigation Company, the legislature gave virtual total control to the Canal Company[b] which it retained until 1964. These transportation improvements overcame the country's first energy crises due to deforestation in the early 19th century. The Canal operated into the Great Depression, feeding ports up and down the Delaware River, the Delaware Canal, and transoceanic demand, and was integral to the regional industrial revolution in the greater Philadelphia-Trenton-Wilmington region. The Morris Canal and the 22\u201323 miles (35\u201337\u00a0km) coal feeder of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and locks at New Hope on the Delaware Canal were built to fuel the anthracite needs of Newark, Trenton, Jersey City and New York City.<\/p><\/div>\n