This year, as a co-curricular activity, pre-dental hygiene students, along with the Georgia Highlands College (GHC) Dental Hygiene Class of 2025, participated in the annual Hinman Dental Meeting in Atlanta. Each spring, the Hinman Dental Society, a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, sponsors the Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Students attended continuing education classes on delivering quality oral health care to enhance their classroom learning at GHC. Pre-dental hygiene students had the opportunity to attend classes at no cost and to interact with current GHC dental hygiene students and faculty.
In addition, meeting organizers provided a space where current dental hygiene students, pre-dental hygiene students, GHC faculty and alumni gathered to discuss the courses attended, the GHC dental hygiene program and careers in dentistry.
Each year, Hinman awards a $1,000 scholarship to a first-year dental hygiene student at GHC based on merit and need. Mary Kathryn Broadway is the 2024 recipient of the scholarship.
In its history, the Hinman Dental Society has given over $11 million toward dental education and scholarships.
The dental hygiene department at GHC plans to expand participation further next year, allowing more students to engage in learning activities alongside working dental professionals as they participate in co-curricular learning opportunities and develop the skills needed to become life-long learners.
The meetings, which began in 1912, were developed to provide high-quality education to dental professionals. Following the Hinman motto, “Devotion to detail is the secret to success” has led to amazing successes.
What began with 40 dentists has grown into an international event, with over 13,000 dental professionals attending the 110th annual meeting in 2023. This year’s meeting theme was The Gateway to Systemic Health: It Starts with a Smile.
The three-day event offers hundreds of continuing education courses and access to representatives of over 300 dental-related services and businesses in the grand exhibit hall.
The Hinman Society is dedicated to advancing oral health, systemic health and dental education on many levels. Excess revenue generated by the event is invested and then given back to dental education in the form of scholarships and donations to institutions which further formal dental education.
To learn more about GHC’s dental hygiene program and other areas of study, visit highlands.edu. Apply now for summer or fall semester at apply.highlands.edu.
