Affordable dental care returns to Prince George through CNC dental clinic

“It’s a good bang for your buck, really, because we are going to provide comprehensive dental hygiene services to you for $50 for an adult or $25 for a child, and that includes everything from a head and neck exam to X-rays to your dental cleaning and patient education. We spend a considerable amount of time, making sure that we provide comprehensive, individualized patient care,” Horita said.

CNC says it’s dental clinic offers a win-win situation, as not only does it offer affordable dental care for people who otherwise may not get it, it also gives dental students a chance to practice with real patients and get valuable experience before stepping into the workforce.

“It’s just such a huge opportunity to be able to work on actual people instead of just the dummy, because then you can actually get real life experience before you go into the field and go out and work in the real world,” said second year Dental Hygiene Student Shaylynn St. Jean.

“Dental hygiene is a very people-specific profession, so it’s definitely beneficial to have a patient here to actually meet with different patients. (…) Each patient is different, each tooth is different, honestly, so we do get a wide range of experience just based on the patients that we get here and based on their needs and their requirements,” said fellow second year Dental Hygiene Student Anisha Mahtani.

Prior to working with patients the students receive plenty of instruction in the classroom and practice with dummies and even on each other. While this of course helps, both Mahtani and St. Jean agree it doesn’t compare to the experience of working with actual patients.

“You don’t have any of the sensitivity that a patient might actually have. Or if they do have a concern like bleeding gums, their gums wouldn’t actually bleed unless you see a person, and then you learn. And sometimes patients, because of their, sensitivity, they might need anesthesia for example, which you can’t do on a dummy and get the same experience,” Mahtani said.

“Here we’re learning communication skills, to be personable in the health care system, providing health care and then to be able to utilize our skills,” St. Jean added.

Horita adds by visiting the clinic, you’re not only getting inexpensive dental care, you could also be helping the future of Prince George’s dental care as a whole.

“Having a northern school training dental hygienist means that often these dental hygienists actually stay in the North, which we need. We need them,” Horita said.

If you’re skeptical the dental care offered by students won’t be up to par, CNC promises this won’t be of concern, as the students in the clinic are well prepared before they work with patients.

“When they see somebody in the clinical setting, they are qualified to do the procedures that we allow them to do,” Horita said.

“We really look at the safety aspect in clinic because we do need to make sure that our students provide safe, quality care,” she continued.

If you’re interested in being a patient at CNC, you can either visit the building and speak with someone in reception, or contact the College. You can learn more details on its website here.

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by Tommy Osborne

Affordable dental care returns to Prince George through CNC dental clinic

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