DEN 123 Nutrition/Dental Health

Lecture: 2 Lab: 0 Clinic: 0 Credits: 2

This course introduces basic principles of nutrition with emphasis on nutritional requirements and their application to individual patient needs. Topics include the study of Federal Nutritional Guidelines, nutrient function, Recommended Daily Allowances, Adequate Intake, Tolerable Upper Intake Level, Estimated Average Requirement, and related psychological principles. Upon completion, students should be able to recommend and counsel individuals on their food intake as related to their dental health.

Course is typically offered in Fall.
Course has transfer restrictions - No DEN courses will be transferred in unless student has earned a Dental Assisting Diploma.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
At the completion of the course, the students should be able to do the following:

Apply current nutrition information and guidelines in the identification of diet-related risk factors and dietary intervention strategies within the “Process of care” for a dental hygiene patient case.
Specify the appropriate dietary management standard and strategy to address the clinical dietary needs of a patient given a written test.
Correlate clinical descriptions of nutrition-related manifestations with the appropriate nutrient deficiency or excess given a written test.
Design an educational resource which integrates nutritional concepts and dental hygiene care.
Prepare an individualized diet analysis and dietary improvement plan as part of an evidence-based case analysis for a dental hygiene patient that achieves stated rubric criteria at a 70% level of performance.