Feature

Much better than a poke in the eye

By Joshua D. Albright

At first glance, the crowded dental clinic at the north end of the Mt. Hood Community College academic center looks no different than any other, but on closer examination, one will find it is operated mainly by students.

The services vary, ranging from cleanings to sealants to x-rays, all at a price affordable to students without health insurance. Intended or not, most of the patients are not students. Klissa Johnson, second-year clinic coordinator, said 70 to 80 percent of patients are not students, but from the community.

“We don’t get a lot of students,” Johnson said, “partly because they just don’t know and partly because some are still covered by their parents’ insurance. We don’t take insurance.”

The workforce consists of 18 first-year students, 17 second-year students, 10 part-time faculty, who teach classes and work in the clinic, and three full-time faculty.

Johnson said she believes people come to the clinic “because it’s low-cost. Also, most of the people that come here know that they are getting good service because the faculty watches everything the dental students do,” she said.

Debbie Craven, a third-year dental program student, said she enjoys working at the clinic. “It’s terrific,” she said. “It feels like family, I love it.” She said she tries to make patients feel at ease. “I make it fun and caring,” she said. “Come by and check it out.”

Kim Hughes, an MHCC student, had to ask around to find out about the services offered by the clinic, saying it was harder to find than something typical like the cosmetology program, where people can have their hair done by students for a cheaper price than at a barber shop or salon.

Patients don’t seem to be uneasy being worked on by dental students. In fact, some said they didn’t mind. “It’s fine, very thorough,” said Sonja Hilton, first-time visitor to the clinic. “I just started here. I haven’t been taking very good care of my teeth and I’m just trying to reverse the damage.” Hughes said she goes to the clinic because it’s convenient. “It’s less expensive, and it’s on campus. I’d recommend it to someone for a cleaning.”

The clinic has younger patients, too. Hughes’ 3-year-old daughter Lauren had her first cleaning from the dental students. She seemed fine with the entire process, albeit a little impatient. Lauren’s cleaning was supervised by Johnson. Lauren’s 7-year-old brother, Ben, was having sealants fitted at the same time and could not be interviewed because of equipment in his mouth at the time. When Lauren was asked about the experience, she said, “Yeah, it was fine . . . are we all done, yet?”