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Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Nov. 28, 2023

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Battle Ground HealthCare, Clark College dental hygiene program partner for free teeth cleanings

25 students help provide care to 80 patients

By , Columbian staff reporter
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Clark College dental hygiene student Sophia Azizi, from left, works with patient Andrea Dyroff while joined by fellow student Ellie Chapman at Battle Ground HealthCare. Battle Ground HealthCare has partnered with the Clark College dental hygiene program to offer a series of five free teeth-cleaning clinics to the community.
Clark College dental hygiene student Sophia Azizi, from left, works with patient Andrea Dyroff while joined by fellow student Ellie Chapman at Battle Ground HealthCare. Battle Ground HealthCare has partnered with the Clark College dental hygiene program to offer a series of five free teeth-cleaning clinics to the community. (Photos by Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

BATTLE GROUND — The four dental hygiene bays at Battle Ground HealthCare have been crowded for the past five Tuesdays, filled with instructors and students from the Clark College dental hygiene program.

In five sessions, 25 students helped provide free teeth cleanings for 80 patients.

“It’s really cool to be able to help people who can’t afford dental care,” said Ellie Chapman, who graduates from the program in June.

For five consecutive Tuesdays starting in February, five different students, two instructors, a licensed hygienist and a doctor gathered together at the clinic to offer services to 16 patients a day, according to Krista Pietila, dental coordinator at Battle Ground HealthCare . A huge piece of working at the clinic was practicing working in a team.

The students received an hour and a half to work with each patient — a much shorter time frame than the practice they get while in school, which is typically three hours a session and multiple sessions per patient, according to Sophia Azizi, a student graduating in June. Each student got the opportunity to go over medical history with their patients, practice charting and work hands on to perform a standard teeth cleaning.

“(The students) have been overwhelmed; but at the same time, using their learned skills to get through it, they have found success,” said Bobbi Mash, a clinical instructor at Clark College. After working at Battle Ground HealthCare with the students for the past few weeks, she has decided to start volunteering on her own time, as well.

The dental care provided at Battle Ground HealthCare relies on licensed dental professionals who volunteer their time to help care for patients. The organization works to eliminate barriers to health care by providing services for free to those in need.

The five clinics at Battle Ground HealthCare represent a new partnership with Clark College — one both organizations hope will continue.

“I absolutely think (this partnership) will continue … and expand into something more,” said Kristi Taylor, department chair and program director of dental hygiene at Clark College. “The dental hygiene program as a whole values working with the community and providing that care wherever we can.”

While this is the first year the clinics are being offered, there is a good chance it will become an annual event. Not only does it help Clark College dental hygiene students get hands-on experience in a clinic, it also allows Battle Ground HealthCare to expand its capacity and see some patients more often than otherwise able to.

To learn more about Battle Ground HealthCare visit bghealthcare.org. To learn more about the dental hygiene program at Clark College, visit clark.edu/academics/programs/health-care-and-biosciences/dental/index.php.

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Columbian staff reporter