Darlene Swigart

Darlene is an Associate Professor in the Dental Hygiene Department at Oregon Tech and serves as Program Director for the Master of Science in Dental Hygiene (MSDH) program. She has been a full-time faculty member at Oregon Tech since 2017, bringing more than 18 years of clinical experience in general and periodontal practice to her work in dental hygiene education. After a rewarding clinical career, Darlene pursued her lifelong passion for educating and mentoring future dental hygienists. In addition to her role as MSDH Program Director, Darlene serves as the First-Year Clinical Lead and has taught courses across the dental hygiene curriculum, including Sophomore Prevention, Community Health, Instructional Methods, Evidence-based Decision Making, Introduction to Dental Hygiene, and graduate-level MSDH courses. Darlene is a Fellow of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and serves on the Journal of Dental Hygiene Editorial Advisory Board. Her commitment to community service is demonstrated through her years of leadership as co-chair of the Klamath Basin Oral Health Coalition, where she advocated for improved oral health access and outcomes for underserved populations in the Klamath Falls community. 

Her scholarly interests include dental hygiene diagnosis and treatment planning, head and neck cancer prevention, and the influence of social determinants of health on oral health and dental care. Outside of the university, Darlene enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the outdoors through hiking and kayaking.