USD Dental Hygiene

USD Dental Hygiene USD Dental Hygiene is dedicated to life-long learning and improving the health of the communities that we serve.

We set the standard for dental hygiene in South Dakota. Our graduates are dedicated to life-long learning and improving the health of the communities they serve. We admit 40 students each year who meet our academic standards. We not only stay on top of the latest teaching techniques, but we keep current on the latest clinical practices as well. Our students are well prepared with an above average national certification exam pass rate - 99.8 percent since 2004. They enjoy a low faculty-to student ratio and get to experience clinical training opportunities in the real world. We offer services at several clinical sites throughout the state. This helps our community as well as our students by providing clinical experience. These include:

Main clinical site on the Vermillion campus, Delta Dental Oral Health Center
Clinic in Siouxland Health and Human Services Building in Sioux Falls. Correctional Facilities in Yankton, Springfield and Sioux Falls
South Dakota Developmental Center
IHS/Tribal Dental Clinics
Area nursing homes
Area Schools

Our students get experience outside the classroom for professional development and clinical experience, including:

Providing public dental health services
Providing oral cancer screenings
Giving oral health presentations
Completing a three-week dental office internship.

🪥Do you love teaching, mentoring and shaping the future of dental hygiene? We are hiring! 👉 Licensed Dental Assistant at...
04/07/2026

🪥Do you love teaching, mentoring and shaping the future of dental hygiene? We are hiring!

👉 Licensed Dental Assistant at the USD Sioux Falls Dental Clinic. Apply here: https://yourfuture.sdbor.edu/postings/47518

👉 Dental Hygiene Adjunct Instructors for the next academic year. Apply here: https://yourfuture.sdbor.edu/postings/42294

✔️ Make an impact
✔️ Share your expertise
✔️ Be part of an amazing academic community

The Department of Dental Hygiene at the University of South Dakota (USD) is seeking a Dental Assistant to join our Sioux Falls Clinic. This position primarily provides chairside dental assisting, manages dental insurance coordination, and offers front desk support as needed. The role is essential to...

Junior students working on their local anesthesia and nitrous oxide/oxygen sedation skills on each other
03/25/2026

Junior students working on their local anesthesia and nitrous oxide/oxygen sedation skills on each other

The student ADEA chapter hosted Whitney Crist to speak about Ergonomics. A big thank you to Lumadent for sponsoring and ...
03/23/2026

The student ADEA chapter hosted Whitney Crist to speak about Ergonomics. A big thank you to Lumadent for sponsoring and to Crown Seating for donating a chair to raffle off. Students learned some advanced ergonomics, recent evidence, and even some Essentrics stretches.

Come see me at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Friday, April 17!
03/19/2026

Come see me at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Friday, April 17!

The third annual Give Kids a Smile event was held on Saturday, February 28, at the Delta Dental Oral Health Center here ...
03/13/2026

The third annual Give Kids a Smile event was held on Saturday, February 28, at the Delta Dental Oral Health Center here at USD in Vermillion. Our students, faculty, and community volunteers gave 49 children over $12,000 in services! What a great day!

Thank you to all who donated time to or helped fund this day!

We are so grateful for having Dr. Miller come speak to the seniors in oral pathology about soft tissue lesions, hard tis...
03/02/2026

We are so grateful for having Dr. Miller come speak to the seniors in oral pathology about soft tissue lesions, hard tissue lesions…and we even got a little hands-on training with a laser. This was his second presentation for the course. 🦷

A couple of special patients at the 2026 Give Kids a Smile Day at USD Dental Hygieneedited to update photos
02/28/2026

A couple of special patients at the 2026 Give Kids a Smile Day at USD Dental Hygiene

edited to update photos

Attention local dentists/dental hygienists and patients with Perio! Professor Pudwill's Perio class will be holding four...
02/20/2026

Attention local dentists/dental hygienists and patients with Perio!

Professor Pudwill's Perio class will be holding four Advanced Perio Clinics with the PerioView Endoscope on the following dates:
Feb 27, March 13, March 27, and April 10.
There will also be a Laser Perio Therapy session on March 6.

We are recruiting patients who have active Perio: stubborn pockets that aren’t healing or those who need initial Perio therapy.

These sessions are an amazing opportunity to get advanced perio treatment at a reduced cost, about $125 per quadrant (or less depending on the disease activity). The scope allows visual access to deep pockets (pictured).

These sessions are in Vermillion at the Delta Dental Oral Health Center. If you have a patient or are a patient who would be a candidate, please contact Professor Pudwill at katie.pudwill@usd.edu.

Help us spread the word!

USD Dental Hygiene senior students with our mobile unit at the Boys and Girls Club seeing Head Start studentsedited to a...
02/19/2026

USD Dental Hygiene senior students with our mobile unit at the Boys and Girls Club seeing Head Start students

edited to add 'seeing Head Start students'

USD Dental Hygiene junior students doing screenings and fluoride varnish applications
02/11/2026

USD Dental Hygiene junior students doing screenings and fluoride varnish applications

There was a visitor in the window at one of the clinic rotations today! Up on the stairway
02/03/2026

There was a visitor in the window at one of the clinic rotations today! Up on the stairway

Three senior and three junior USD Dental Hygiene students participated in the Church on the Street Health and Healing Fa...
02/02/2026

Three senior and three junior USD Dental Hygiene students participated in the Church on the Street Health and Healing Fair in Sioux Falls, where they delivered oral health screenings and applied fluoride varnish as part of community outreach efforts.

Address

414 East Clark Street 101 Center For Health Education
Vermillion, SD
57069

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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