MONROE, Ga.–In a small nonprofit clinic in Walton County, dental hygiene students in Georgia State University’s Perimeter College are honing their clinical and technical skills on patients who don’t have access to oral healthcare.
“I love this, and wish we could do this more often,” said Sarah Sandak, a second-year dental hygiene student.
The Faith in Serving Humanity or FISH clinic provides free dental care to uninsured residents of Walton County.
FISH is one of two nonprofit sites in metro Atlanta where dental hygiene students perform the clinical work required for their degrees. Students also are required to volunteer at at least five other sites. Many students do more than required, said Cherie Rainwater, Perimeter College’s dental hygiene associate chair and program director.
Sandak and fellow student Antonela Toderic worked as a team on a patient, gently cleaning her teeth. The patient, who suffered from tooth decay, had recently lost her job and was desperate for a new smile that might help her employment prospects.
“This is an enriching experience for students who can use their newfound knowledge to help patients,” Rainwater said. “Students have an opportunity to educate patients about improving oral health and therefore improving systemic health.”
Poor dental care also can aggravate existing health problems, including diabetes and heart disease, she said. Blood pressure cuffs are standard at the clinic, and often patients must be sent to an adjoining free medical clinic to stabilize their blood pressure before receiving dental care.
Rainwater said students find working at the clinic rewarding, and many come back to volunteer after graduating.
“Students have said this is the best experience they’ve gotten here, and it’s the place where they really have to use their critical thinking skills,” she said.
Supported through donations from local churches, the Georgia Baptist Foundation and the Walton County Healthcare Foundation, the FISH clinic serves more than 1,100 patients a year. It was the brainchild of Denise McCance, a DeKalb College dental hygiene graduate, who saw a need for a dental hygiene clinic for poor clients in the county. The program started in 2013.