Scholarships Available for Public Health Hygienists

National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH) is excited to announce a new scholarship opportunity, thanks to generous funding from Delta Dental Foundation (DDF) of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. NNHH was established to build and support the number of Registered Dental Hygienists (RDHs) collaborating with non-dental providers, thereby increasing oral systemic knowledge among multidisciplinary teams, and reducing disparities in oral health education and access. RDHs are the primary care providers of oral health (focusing on education, prevention, and referrals), yet are often overlooked and underutilized in healthcare.

Oncology Certificate Program for RDHs

Building upon our first certificate program, Oral Systemic Educator, we have created our first specialized certificate program for registered dental hygienists, in oncology care. We are grateful to Delta Dental Foundation for supporting the Oral Systemic Educator program with 13 scholarships to public health hygienists, and for their generosity yet again, offering 13 more scholarships to the Oncology Certificate Program in 2025.

“Education that emphasizes mouth-body connection is key to supporting better oral and overall health. We’re confident that these scholarships will bolster medical-dental integration, enriching the lives of the recipients and their patients.” Holli Seabury, EdD, executive director of Delta Dental Foundation 

In a 2022 needs assessment, oncology care was the highest in demand topic among our students and members. We found that all clinical (private practice and community/public health based) hygienists do see patients in their chair who are going through cancer treatment, but few felt confident treating them.

Even worse, none felt prepared to work in an oncology setting. Educating oncology providers, working on an interprofessional team, preventing oral mucositis and treating all side effects was desirable to our community, but felt out of reach. As we began to speak to hygienists already working in oncology care, we found that they “learned by firehose” so to speak. They were thrown into their roles, with zero training, and had to learn as they onboarded, relying on asking questions, performing internet searches, and trying to find journal articles when no one could answer their questions.

As one of our Oncology Certificate Holders (Rebecka Clark) put it, “

The dental community assumes oncology is handling oral care, and the oncology community assumes dentistry is handling oral care. That means there is a huge gap that is leading to poor quality of life, lowered outcomes and higher mortality rates. Once we know, we need to do better.”

One of the program's instructors, Katharine Martinez (Oral Health Educator at Phoenix Children’s Hospital) sat with our director of programs early on and shared the training she wished she had when she started. The curriculum was designed based on her suggestions and includes both a general oncology section and a pediatric section as kids needs are quite different. In her lectures on pediatrics, Katharine shares a heartbreaking story of a 17 year old boy they lost to mucormycosis (a life-threatening fungal infection), that started in his mouth. She felt that if she was working the day he presented, she may have caught it earlier and been able to save him.

Katherine’s story is proof that each and every hospital needs an oral health educator. It also highlights the need for more oral-systemic education for oncology providers, so that is built into the program through a Capstone Presentation. The recipients of the education have been beyond impressed with the knowledge and passion of hygienists.

To date, there has been little to no oral health education, prevention or treatment provided to most cancer patients. The good news is there are many standards of care that have been developed to reduce side effects like mucositis and trismus, and to treat symptoms early with red light therapy, oral hygiene techniques, and products that really work, which are all covered in this program.

If a hygienist at your clinic or system would like to feel more prepared to educate and treat the oral health needs of vulnerable, often forgotten, patients going through cancer treatment, please share this press release and application. Care can be provided in a dental, mobile, medical, oncology or virtual setting. The most impactful thing you can offer them is education and prevention, which can be done nearly anywhere, and is under every hygienist's scope of practice.

View the curriculum, instructor bios, course descriptions and objectives HERE

Apply for a full scholarship (valued at $749) HERE