Community College Offers Inexpensive Dental Visits

For those without dental insurance, a trip to the dental office for routine and preventive oral health care may be out of reach. To help expand vulnerable populations’ access to care, Howard Community College’s (HCC) Dental Hygiene Center in Columbia, Maryland, opened its doors to patients this fall. The dental hygiene school is offering oral health care to the community for a flat fee of $20 per visit. Twelve second-year students in the HCC dental hygiene program perform services under the supervision of faculty members, who are licensed dental hygienists. The students provide preventive oral health services and refer patients with more complex needs to the center’s supervising dentist.

Since its opening, HCC’s Dental Hygiene Center has served more than 120 patients. Visit howardcc.edu/ dental center for more information.

ERRATUM — The October 2015 article, “An Individualized Approach to Peri-Mucositis Prevention,” contained an erroneous reference to peri-implantitis. The correct passage under the subhead “Pathogenesis” is as follows: Although the tissues surrounding an implant are not contiguous with a periodontal ligament, peri-implant mucositis is histologically and anatomically similar to gingivitis. Peri-implant mucositis is also reversible, as is gingivitis.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. December 2015;13(12):14.