Led by Erin Boyleston, MS, RDH, Augusta University’s Dental Hygiene Program has officially moved under the Dental College of Georgia. She shares how the move supports a closer connection between future dentists and dental hygienists as they train side by side.
Augusta University’s Dental Hygiene Program is entering a new chapter with its official move to the Dental College of Georgia in Augusta, a transition designed to strengthen collaboration, streamline resources, and better reflect the realities of team-based oral healthcare. The move brings 11 faculty members, one staff member, and 59 undergraduate students under the umbrella of Georgia’s only dental school.
Leading the program is Erin Boyleston, MS, RDH, associate professor and director of the Dental Hygiene Program at the Dental College of Georgia. Boyleston also serves as clinic coordinator for first-year dental hygiene students and course director for introduction to Clinic I, Clinic II, and pharmacology. Her leadership places her at the center of a transition that aligns dental hygiene education more closely with the clinical and academic environment where students train for practice.
The significance of the move goes beyond administration. Housing dental and dental hygiene students within the same college supports a more integrated educational experience and mirrors the collaborative care models graduates will encounter in practice. It also creates opportunities for stronger interdisciplinary learning while preserving the program’s established relationships with the College of Allied Health Sciences…