Thigpen selected as Dental Hygiene Program Administrator

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah Technical College has selected Kay Thigpen as its program administrator for Dental Hygiene. She will provide instruction, clinical supervision and administrative leadership for the program.

She has worked as a Dental Hygiene instructor (both full-time and part-time) since 2016 for Savannah Technical College. She has more than 20 years as a registered dental hygienist in private practice, in both general dentistry and a specialty practice in periodontics.

She is a graduate of the Dental Hygiene program when it was at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) with an Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene. She also earned a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene and Master of Public Health from AASU.

She is a member of the American Dental Hygiene Educators and American Dental Hygiene Association. She has held leadership positions with the Junior League of Savannah, Friends of Oatland and the Dental Hygiene advisory committee at AASU/STC.

The 83-credit-hour Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene program accepts approximately 26 students annually. Students provide clinical patient care as a component of their curriculum requirements. STC’s Dental Hygiene faculty and staff are proud of the program’s record of success, noting that most students are offered employment positions pending successful completion of two credentialing examinations and licensure. The program has been accredited for more than four decades. For AY2021, in field placement for STC’s dental hygiene graduates was 95%.

The program utilizes a competitive admissions process. Students wishing to enter the Dental Hygiene program must complete an application packet and take the TEAS test by spring for admission to the fall class.

For more information about program admission, please contact STC’s Health Sciences Academic Advisor Cindy Cole (ccole@savannahtech.edu or 912.443.5721) or Dental Hygiene Administrative Assistant DeeDee Hall (dnhall@savannahtech.edu or 912-443-4089).

The STC program in Dental Hygiene is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation [and has been granted the accreditation status of “approval without reporting requirements”] The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. The Commission’s website is: http://www.ada.org/en/coda.

#2333 | February 3, 2023