Global Experience: Dental Hygiene in the Dominican Republic
Learning Beyond the Classroom
GLB313: Dental Hygiene in the Dominican Republic
You will be offered a unique opportunity to provide oral healthcare services to underserved communities. You will gain a hands-on clinical experience in a global context while fostering cultural humility and enhancing professional skills. In this course, you will work collaboratively with local partners and patients by not only contributing to improving oral health outcomes but also growing as a compassionate, globally minded healthcare provider.
How does this work?
Each day in the Dominican Republic, students will visit different remote communities while providing preventative dental hygiene services, primarily to school-age children.
Students stay at a guest house that is centrally located among the communities served. Meals are provided. Costs include tuition, flight, and accommodations.
Spring Break 2026
Details
- Make a Global Impact: Provide vital dental hygiene care to children in the Dominican Republic while gaining hands-on experience that makes a real difference.
- Expand Your Clinical Expertise: Practice cutting-edge anticaries techniques and preventive care methods with local schoolchildren in an international setting.
- Empower Communities: Plan and host an engaging dental health fair to promote oral health awareness and provide care to families in the CUPS community.
- Discover Culture Beyond the Classroom: Hike through the breathtaking Dominican countryside to a remote mountain village and share a traditional meal with local families—a once-in-a-lifetime cultural connection.
- Everything you need for a safe, comfortable, and immersive experience is taken care of, so you can focus on learning, serving, and exploring.
- Relax and recharge at the beautiful Rio Vista Guest House in Sosúa, Dominican Republic, your home away from home, featuring comfortable lodging and a welcoming, community-oriented atmosphere.
- Enjoy delicious, balanced meals prepared daily to keep you energized for clinic activities and excursions. Filtered water is provided at all program sites to ensure your health and comfort.
- Travel with ease and confidence. Round-trip transportation between the Dominican Republic’s international airport, clinic sites, and all scheduled excursions is fully included.
- Never lost in translation! Bilingual interpreters accompany the group throughout your stay, helping bridge language and culture to make your experience even more meaningful.
- Must meet PCT policies and procedures
- 3-credit course
- Specific subject focus on Dental Hygiene and Global Health
- Students enrolled in the Dental Hygiene Bachelor’s Degree Program (BDO/PDO) are eligible to schedule GLB13.
- Associate degree students can participate by declaring a dual major with the Bachelor’s Degree program.
Successful completion of the course will satisfy the following electives: open elective, and cultural diversity perspective elective.
Billable Expenses
- Program Cost: $2500 (includes airfare)
- Shuttle to/from airport: $200 (approximate)
- International insurance: $30 (approximate)
- Tuition/Fees (in-state): $623/credit x 3 = $1,869
Total: $4,599 (approximate)
Non-Billable Expenses
- Some meals & incidentals: $200 (approximate)
Total: $200 (approximate)
Grand Total: $4799 (approximate)
Billing
All billable expenses appear on a student’s semester bill as: Tuition/Fees (credit hours) and International Travel Fee (program and travel costs). Some costs and expenses are estimates. Payment overages will be refunded to students after all trip costs are reconciled on June 30.
Financial Aid
Most financial aid you would receive on campus can be applied toward the cost of this program. All financial aid eligibility is determined by Financial Aid.
Scholarships
PCT offers many study abroad scholarships with various eligibility criteria. The Spring-Summer 2026 application deadline is October 17, 2026. Apply by submitting your interest to Mindy Gunn meg45@pct.edu.
Eligibility
Good standing - A status indicating that a student is not under any disciplinary sanctions, has no unsatisfied financial obligation to the College, and is not on academic probation or suspension.
Committing to your Program
All students register for their program during the normal advising period in the semester prior to the program start. Registration in the course constitutes commitment to the payment terms. Semester bills will include the associated billable expenses of tuition/fees and the International Travel Fee.
Withdrawal Policy
Students will be subject to the Termination, Drops, and Withdrawals Policy (P4.31) and the Refunds Policy (P5.23) for the tuition/fees and International Travel Fees associated with the course. Travel-related costs may be refunded to the student to the extent those costs have not already been contractually committed by the College to outside parties. Note that contractually committed costs increase closer to the travel date. In cases where program costs are divided evenly among all participants, the student’s portion of costs will be considered contractually committed and non-recoverable. If at any point prior to travel, a student is no longer in good standing, they may be removed from the course and prohibited from traveling. Those students may receive refunds minus all non-recoverable costs.
Travel Highlights
Provide preventive dental hygiene services to rural communities in the Dominican Republic.
Experienced Faculty
Meet Your Faculty Guides
Rhonda J. Seebold, a part-time dental hygiene instructor, has been teaching this global course since 2008. The first seven years were in Nicaragua. This course has been traveling to the Dominican Republic since 2016. Patricia A. Durand, also a part-time dental hygiene instructor, has been chaperoning the trip since 2018.
Seebold aims to see students take the theoretical knowledge they have learned and apply it to real-life situations. She wants them not just to learn about barriers to care and how poverty impacts dental and overall health, but to experience it firsthand. She also hopes to inspire them to lead lives of service, not only through short-term missions but also by finding ways to serve in their own communities. Durand hopes students will experience and gain a new perspective on a different culture in a developing country.
Patricia Durand and Rhonda Seebold
Part-Time Instructors, Dental Hygiene
Global Experiences
Insights from Global Journeys
Addison J. Lesher's academic studies had introduced her to the concept of global poverty, but witnessing it firsthand brought a new depth of understanding. Reflecting on her experience serving in a remote village, she shared the stark contrast between learning about need and living it—even briefly.
“Before the trip, I would have said the hardest parts were the heat, rough bathroom conditions, or brushing with bottled water. The mountain hike itself was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But after the trip, I found the real challenge was dealing with the guilt of having so much. Flying back to air-conditioning, safe water, and flushing toilets felt like an unimaginable luxury. Now, I try to live with more gratitude—and I’m already thinking about how I can return and do more for others.”
Regan Kline Ledebohm from Camp Hill, PA, reflected on the physical and emotional challenges faced by those in underserved areas, particularly the difficult journey many endure to access basic care. Experiencing this firsthand gave her a deeper understanding of barriers to healthcare. She was profoundly moved not only by the group's ability to help but also by the lasting impact the local community had on her.
Contact
Interested?
For more information about the course, contact Rhonda Seebold, the faculty guide for this Global Experience.
Questions?
For general questions about Global Experiences, such as study-away programs and student exchanges at Penn College, contact Daniel Clasby, Assistant Dean of Academic Operations.