In Hard Times, MCC's Dental Clinic Offers Low-Cost Exams and Cleanings

In a bad economy, the first thing to go are luxuries. In a really bad economy, almost anything not essential to keep body and soul together soon seems to be a luxury.

Things like dental cleaning. For people going through hard times - and who lost their dental insurance with their jobs - routine dental exams and cleanings may be among the first things on their personal economic chopping block.

That's where a local program like the dental clinic at Middlesex County College can come in. Although the program is on hiatus until the regular school year starts in September, the clinic is so popular there's a waiting list in the best of times. 

The community college’s Dental Hygiene program offers dental cleaning and screenings by students at the college’s clinic for fees within the reasonable price range for someone who doesn’t have dental insurance.

“The Dental Hygiene clinic is (part of) an academic program,” said Hope Holbeck, chairman of the Dental Hygiene program.  “Dental Hygiene students work on any type of patient.”

The program charges a modest $20 for adults, $10 for children ages 6-17, and $5 for seniors and MCC faculty, staff, and students.  There is no charge for Dental Hygiene Alumni or children ages 5 and under. 

Among the services offered by the program are preventative measures such as oral cancer screening, full dental exams, x-rays, scaling & root planing - what is commonly referred to as a cleaning - polishing, sealants to prevent cavities, and fluoride treatments for both children and adults.

“We do a lot of preventative care,” explained Holbeck.  “We can’t substitute for private dentists, however, because we don’t do restorative care,” such as filings, extractions, and root canals, and though the program will refer patients in need to other local dental offices in those cases, they don’t advocate for one particular dentist or another.

The clinic can offer a big savings for patients who follow up at a dental office. The low cost of X-rays, for example, means a patient can save money by taking the X-rays done at the clinic to a regular dentist when they need to see one for more extensive dental work.

And when it comes to preventative care, nothing is as good as keeping up with routine dental cleanings, Holbeck said.

You won’t be entrusting your teeth and gums to just any student, however.  Students don’t begin working in the clinic until in their second semester of the two-year program.

If you do make an appointment, be sure to save some extra time beyond what you would typically dedicate to a dentist appointment, as appointments tend to run a little longer than usual.  “The students are supervised by faculty,” said Holbeck.  “There are multiple sets of eyes looking at what’s being done.”

The program’s goal, said Holbeck, is to allow students to get hands-on experience in the dental hygiene field while also serving the community.  “The majority of our patients are not MCC students,” she said.  “They’re from the local community. Historically, the majority of our patients have recently lost their job or insurance and can’t afford dental care otherwise.”

The clinic will being accepting appointments in August when the program starts back up for the fall semester, said Holbeck. 

“It’s best to call early,” she said, noting that appointments tend to fill up quickly.  There was already about 75 families on a waiting list at the end of the spring semester.  The clinic is located in L’Hommedieu Hall room 164 at Middlesex County College.  The phone number to schedule an appointment or get more information is 732-906-2536.