West Coast University continues to be a national leader in student and faculty research, taking home three awards from the 2016 American Dental Hygienists’ Association convention.

Two student research teams both came back from the event with hardware, picking up a second place win and an honorable mention for their original research projects.

Dental Hygiene: Cleaning Up

Two student groups and a WCU professor were awarded prizes at the annual American Dental Hygienists Association meeting.

First place

Professor April Turner, RDH, MSDH

“Millennial Students’ Learning Preferences Compared to Faculty Teaching Methods: A National Dental Hygiene Study”

Second Place

Robyn Wirth, Natalie Swall,

Ashly dela Resma, Connie Suh

The Efficacy of Activated Charcoal versus Over-the-Counter Dentifrices

Honorable Mention

Ani Pireh, Joanna Mehrabi, Tina Baburyan

HbA1c Levels in Non-Diabetic Patients Pre-and-Post Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy

“Our record in the past five years is exceptional and we continue to stack up the wins,” WCU Dental Hygiene Dean Michelle Hurlbutt said. “I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge Professor Aubree Chismark, our research instructor, on her extraordinary leadership and mentoring.”

Top honors went to Professor April Turner, who placed first with a study for the 2016 Dentsply/ADHA Graduate Student Clinicians Program, a competition to highlight graduate student original research. Turner earned her master of science in dental hygiene in 2015.

Additionally, two WCU faculty members — Professors Karen Andrews and Kristen Stephens — were asked to present a lunch-and-learn topic. “Lunch and learns” provide dental hygienists the opportunity to engage in conversation on a topic led by a moderator over lunch. Andrews moderated a discussion on “Integrating Ethics Throughout the Curriculum;” Stephens moderated about “Has Perio Gone Viral?”

“We have an amazing team of faculty and staff in our Dental Hygiene Program that continue to demonstrate the student-centricity that is core to our values,” WCU Chief Operating Officer Wayne Fletcher said.

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