Education in preventative dentistry and oral hygiene is becoming more important for the dental health of the nation. Aimed at training professionals in oral hygiene research, the University established the country's first oral hygiene science institute in August, 1993 to train research professionals in oral hygiene, promote oral health and education in hygiene, perform preventative healthcare, and research of dental epidemiology as well as to train professionals in public oral health with the ability to perform independent research.

To improve the oral health of the nation, education of preventative dentistry and oral hygiene must be developed while improving the quality of dental healthcare, the collaboration of high quality assistant staff in dental clinics are needed. For that reason, the University established Taiwan's first 4-year oral hygiene program in August, 2002, dedicated to the improvement of the nation's oral hygiene and train talent who can independently promote education of oral hygiene.

The Department wishes to train oral hygiene education specialists who can go into community institutions, put the concept of prevention over cure into practice and achieve the ideal of "Oral Health for Health." Eventually, the Department hopes to grow into a world-class oral health development center.

The Department emphasizes the humanities, professional skills, and internationalization while adhering to the departmental mission: "To promote of healthcare, education, service, and research in oral health." The objective of the Department is to train individuals to gain education, communication, and technical skills in clinical and community oral care and preventative healthcare and incorporate them into the growing team of oral healthcare professionals to improve the nation's overall oral health.

The meaning of oral health used to mean only the medical treatment of diseases related to the teeth and gums. Now, however, it revolves around the new idea that "the oral cavity is an important anatomical structure and a functional center." Oral health plays an essential role in the overall health and quality of life over a person's entire life. Over the past 20 years, the economy and people's quality of life have drastically improved and the medical system has seen its share of important reforms. However, dental diseases such as cavities, gum diseases, and oral cancer still pose a serious issue Taiwan. From the perspective of dental healthcare and medical administration, improvements in the development and execution of strategies to promote the nation's oral health and preventative healthcare are still wanting. For that reason, the demand for professionals in the field of "oral hygiene" will increase in the future. As such, the Department provides core courses in clinical dentistry, administrative management, marketing, hygiene, and education around the central idea of "preventative oral healthcare". The hope is that graduates can offer significant contribution to the field of oral medicine (whether at schools, government or community organizations, hospitals, dental medicine institutions, or the dentistry industry.)

To better train professionals in oral hygiene research, advocate promotion of oral health and hygiene education, carry out preventative healthcare and research of oral epidemiology, the University established the country's first oral hygiene science institute in August, 1993, dedicated to the research of preventative oral medicine, health promotion, and oral epidemiology. The institute established a Master's Program for working professionals in August, 2000. The Master's Program and Master's Program for Working Professionals of the oral hygiene science institute was merged with the Department of Oral Hygiene in August, 2007 to become the Department of Oral Hygiene Master's Program and Master's Program for Working Professionals.

Research at the Department includes a series of research studying betel-nut chewing and related oral diseases, survey of national prevalence of dental cavity and oral healthcare, research in adult periodontal diseases and risk factors, and epidemiological research in oral health behavior of special demographics. Moreover, the Department seeks to put the concept of prevention over cure into practice in the community to achieve the goal of Oral Health for Health.

In response to current trends and demands and as part of the vision to improve the oral health of Taiwan to be on par with advanced countries in the rest of the world, the College of Oral Medicine at Kaohsiung Medical University established the first four-year oral hygiene program in Taiwan. The program began recruitment in the 2002 school year, while the "two-year Master's Program for Working Professionals" was established in 2004. The programs were established with the mission "To promote of healthcare, education, service, and research in oral health." The objective of the Department is to train individuals to gain education, communication, and technical skills in clinical and community oral care and preventative healthcare and incorporate them into the growing team of oral healthcare professionals.