Dental Hygiene Clinic

Services are available to the general public as well as to the College’s students, faculty, alumni, and staff.

Patients of the Middlesex College Dental Hygiene Clinic are treated in L’Hommedieu Hall located on the first floor, Room 130. Patients should park in Parking Lot 6 or Lot 6A to be closest to the Dental Hygiene Clinic.

The facility is open to the community from January through May on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; September through December, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Hours during those days are: 8:30 am to noon, and 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm.

Treatment in the Dental Hygiene Clinic is by appointment only. Clinic days may vary according to the Dental Hygiene program schedule. Contact: Departmental Coordinator, Rose Morales at 732.906.2536 to schedule an appointment.

If you are a new patient (18 years and older), the first step is to schedule a screening appointment:

• The screening appointment is FREE.
• The screening appointment is for filling out a medical history and a brief examination of your mouth, performed by our faculty, to determine your dental needs. You will NOT receive a cleaning at this visit.
• At the completion of the screening appointment we can schedule your appointments with a student for further treatment.

Broken Appointments Policy

It is the patient’s responsibility to immediately notify the Dental Hygiene Clinic if any changes to the appointment day or time are needed. Patients may be dismissed/inactivated from the Dental Hygiene Clinic if two consecutive appointments are canceled with less than 24-hour notice.

It is the patient’s responsibility to update contact information. Those who fail to inform the Department of the new phone numbers impede our ability to notify the patient of scheduled appointments and health information.

The following services are offered based on the students/faculty assessments of your dental health needs:

• Medical and Dental questionnaire
• Blood Pressure screening
• Dental Radiographs (x-rays)
• Extraoral and Intraoral Examination, including oral cancer risk assessment
• Dental Assessment (charting of teeth and conditions in the mouth, cavity risk assessment)
• Periodontal Assessment (measure of bone, gum tissue, gum health and periodontal disease risk assessment)
• Oral Hygiene Assessment and individualized Patient Education
• Oral Prophylaxis (dental cleaning)
• Non-surgical Periodontal Therapy (deep dental cleaning)
• Fluoride Treatment
• Dental Sealants
• Dental Dietary Analysis for decay prevention
• Tobacco Cessation referral
• Supplemental therapy within the scope of the New Jersey Dental Hygiene Practice Act
• Local anesthesia to provide optimal comfort, if needed

Patients are responsible for paying all fees prior to the beginning of treatment on the day treatment is started. Fees are assessed using the most current Dental Hygiene Clinic fee schedule.

Dental Scaling, Polishing and Dental Radiographs

• $30.00 – Adult patients
• $20.00 – Children up to age 17 years old
• $15.00 – Senior citizens (65+), Middlesex College students, faculty, staff, veterans, and Middlesex College Dental Hygiene graduates. (Must show current ID)
• All fees are paid by cash, check, or credit card (Mastercard or Visa/debit and Apple Pay accepted.)

Sealants:

• $5.00 – per tooth/sealant (All patients, students and families)

Services Disclaimer

The Dental Hygiene Clinic DOES NOT provide a dental examination or diagnosis of restorative needs. Services such as fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, dentures or partials are NOT provided in the Dental Hygiene Clinic. A dentist must provide these dental services.

A typical return appointment for a dental cleaning is every 6 months/2x year in the Dental Hygiene Clinic. Patients are expected to consult with a dentist for examination and comprehensive dental care.

If a patient has a medical or dental condition that warrant further consultation with their physician or dentist, treatment in the Dental Hygiene Clinic will be delayed until written approval is obtained from the patient’s physician or dentist.

Patients with dental emergencies needs CANNOT be treated in the Dental Hygiene Clinic until they are treated by the dentist.

If faculty deems that a patient is not suitable for our teaching clinic, the patient will be dismissed, inactivated and/ or referred to the private sector.

Multiple appointments (2-4) and extended appointment lengths (up to 3 ½ hours) are often required. Treatment may not be completed in the one appointment.

Patients receive non-discriminatory care and are charged according to the services rendered. Every patient is fully evaluated through medical and dental history review, blood pressure screening, oral examination, oral cancer screening, dental and periodontal assessments and dental x-rays. Patients receive oral hygiene instruction, dental scaling and polishing, fluoride treatment, sealants, diet and nutritional review, and other preventive services. A written referral is provided to patients who require further dental treatment.

Treatment at the Dental Hygiene Clinic proceeds more slowly than in private dental practice because patient care is provided by students and thoroughly monitored by the faculty. Preventive treatment appointments are usually three and a half hours in length, and many patients need more than one visit for the completion of services. The clinical faculty realizes that the patient’s time is valuable, and they strive to keep to a minimum the number of appointments a patient must have.

If multiple appointments are necessary to complete treatment, no additional fee is charged to the patient.

The facility is staffed and supervised by licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Dental hygiene students, who provide dental hygiene care, have extensive education and training and have demonstrated competence in clinical services before being given permission to treat the public. The Dental Hygiene Program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) and has been granted the accreditation status of approval.

In order to promote asepsis and to protect patients, the Dental Hygiene students and faculty follow strict Standard Precautions and current Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommendations for infection control.

The Dental Hygiene students have established schedules when they are available to give patient care. Since the goal is quality dental hygiene care within a teaching/learning environment, patient cooperation is essential.

Patients should understand that this is an educational setting and that the student’s learning experience and progress depend on the patient’s full cooperation. Everyone’s time is valuable. If for some reason a patient is unable to keep an appointment, advance notice of 24 hours is appreciated, to allow the student to arrange to treat other patients.

Patient’s Bill of Rights

• You have the right to considerate, respectful and confidential treatment.
• You have the right to complete and current information about your condition.
• You have the right to advanced knowledge of the cost of treatment.
• You have the right to informed consent.
• You have the right to treatment that is appropriate for your situation and which meets the standard of care in the profession.
• You have the right to ask questions and discuss any recommended treatment, expected outcomes, and the risk of no treatment.
• You have the right to refuse treatment and to discontinue participation in the treatment at any time.
• You have the right to continuity and completion of treatment.
• You have the right to provide feedback, comments, or complaints about treatment using the confidential Patient Satisfaction Survey.

Patient’s Responsibilities

• You are responsible for providing complete and accurate information regarding any health problems you have or have had in the past and any medications or treatment you currently receive.
• You are responsible for keeping appointments and meeting financial obligations promptly.
• You are responsible for following directives and cooperating with all persons providing care and for asking questions if directives are not understood.
• You are responsible for being respectful and considerate of other patients and all clinic personnel.
• You are responsible for expressing all complaints or problems to the appropriate supervisor.
• You are responsible for recognizing that the Middlesex College Dental Hygiene Clinic is an educational institution and that dental hygiene treatment may proceed at a paces lower than you had anticipated.
• You are responsible for understanding that the treatment provided in this clinic is the best that can be provided, but there are no guarantees of permanence in any treatment provided.