Samra Khawaja
Contributing Writer
More than 500 million Americans visit the dentist each year, but with rising dentistry costs, many are finding a low-cost dentist is preferred.
VCU’s School of Dentistry is answering that request by operating student clinics that offer affordable dental care to students and other patients at a reduced price.
At VCU’s School of Dentistry student dentists get to practice their skills on real patients, while patients receive the same treatments of private clinics at half the price.
VCU sophomore Taylor Coleman, who visited the clinic for treatment, said the student dentists operated with confidence and knew what they were doing.
Dental students begin operating treatments on patients in the third and fourth year of dental school. The student dentists receive academic credit for their work as well as gaining first-hand experience.
“This is the practical aspect for when we start seeing patients before you go to a private practice,” fourth-year dental student Laura Tolusso said.
Although senior students provide the services, the student dentists are under the direct supervision of faculty members. Clinical professors are responsible for evaluating the work done by the students and make sure there are no medical emergencies.
“It’s kind of nice,” Tolusso said. “I mean, you’re drilling on a tooth, and the worst that can happen is that you lose the tooth versus med school where you lose a life.”
According to adjunct clinical professor Thomas Forgeng, the clinic provides quality treatments because it is done more slowly.
“One of the things I evaluate is how they (student dentists) are preparing the teeth,” Forgeng said. “(And) then how they restore the teeth.”
Each appointment the clinic offers is scheduled for three hours in order to give students adequate time to learn and perform procedures correctly and carefully.
The clinics offer a variety of services such as oral exams, cleanings and fillings.The program offers emergency care as well.
The clinic pre-screens potential patients before treating them. Most screenings involve an x-ray and exam by four members of the clinic team.
The student clinics schedule appointments Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.. Patients are accepted for treatment only if required treatment meets the need of the school’s educational objective.