The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LCCC Dental Hygiene Clinic integral to program
For almost 20 years, the Dental Hygiene Program at Lorain County Community College has offered its services for the campus and to the community.
During the two-year program, dental hygienist students are required to practice their field in a real-life dental hygiene clinic.
Dr. Susan Leiken, professor and director of LCCC’s Dental Hygiene Program, said students use the knowledge they learn during lectures in their curriculum to properly treat patients.
Every year, only 15 students are selected in the program for the fall semester, and are introduced to the clinic during their first semester.
Located in Room 105 of the Health and Science Building at LCCC, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria, Leiken said the clinic is beneficial to creating futures for students and providing services to residents.
The clinic has been at the college since the inception of the Dental Hygiene Program.
“The Dental Hygiene Clinic is an integral part of the Dental Hygiene Program,” Leiken said.
Dental hygiene students at the college have treated over 10,000 patients at the clinic, she said.
According to the Ohio State Dental Board, dental hygiene clinics in Ohio are required to teach a list of dental procedures to students.
Leiken said these procedures will prepare students for their board exams after completing the program and receiving their associate degrees of applied science and to become licensed professionals in Ohio.
While any treatments or procedures are in process, Leiken supervises students alongside Dr. Ihor Suszko, a dentist and full-time faculty member of the program.
The clinic offers screenings of blood pressure, oral cancer and comprehensive inside or outside of the mouth exams.
The clinic also provides dental cleaning, fluoride treatments, X-rays, dental charting to detect fillings or decaying teeth, and periodontal charting to examine how healthy a patient’s gum tissue is.
Leiken said students in her program provide patient education to inform those who are treated of the detrimental effects of bacteria throughout their mouths that can cause disease or decay.
Students advise patients of techniques and tools that can keep their mouths healthy in preparation of bacteria, she said.
After the dental hygienists become familiar with the clinic setting in their first semester, they schedule their own appointments with patients and treat them in the beginning of the second semester until they graduate, Leiken said.
Patients are advised to return every six months.
“Many people look to our students to provide quality hygiene dental care at a reduced rate,” Leiken said.
Treatment fees at the clinic for adults are $25 and children younger than age 16 are $20, according to the Dental Hygiene Clinic’s website.
All dental hygienists belong to the Student American Dental Hygienists’ Association.
The purpose of the association is to improve the public’s total health, advance the art and science of dental hygiene by ensuring access to quality oral health care, increasing awareness of the cost effective benefits of prevention, promoting the highest standards of dental hygiene education, practice and research and promoting the interests of dental hygiene students, according to its website.
Leiken said the Student American Dental Hygienists’ Association supports its members in education while developing their leadership skills to become active professionals.
After becoming licensed, she said students can work as part or full time professionals.