At Madison College, dental hygiene students learn on patients

At a shared waiting room with Group Health Cooperative at Madison College’s Health Education Building on a Friday, patients arrive and wait for their appointments.

In a space with a number of open examination areas, second-year students in the college’s two-year dental hygiene program prepare, putting on lab coats and ensuring their tools are in place. Among them are instructors on the faculty and one medical doctor.

One by one, the students, including Laura Hoppe of Madison, go to the waiting room to greet patients and bring them in to begin the treatment. Like any dental hygienist, they ask the patient if their medical history has changed, take their blood pressure, and then begin with cleanings or x-rays.

The services Madison College dental hygiene provide while completing the 704 hours of clinical experience is invaluable to the patients, who receive care at a highly reduced fee — $40 per visit, or $30 for veterans and college students. That’s about a third or a quarter of what they would pay in a private clinic.

The students can also perform periodontal, or deep, cleanings, fluoride treatments and provide sealants, as well, all under the faculty’s supervision.

In addition to preventive dental care, patients receive medical screenings such as blood pressure and oral cancer checks.

“During the cleaning, on the more preventative side, we make sure they have the proper oral hygiene instructions they need,” Hoppe said. “If you come here more, you’re going to the dentist less.”

Hoppe and her fellow students are due to graduate on May 10. Many waited four or five years to get into the hygiene program. She and other students have always wanted to work in dentistry, and all have completed the training to be dental assistants.

Some say seeing the healing power of dentistry sparked their passion for the field.

“My sister needed a lot of dental work when she was younger. I saw her happiness once it was done, and I wanted to make smiles,” Hoppe said.

Janna Blochwitz of DeForest said she always loved going to the dentist and never had a bad experience. Maddie Forcier, also of DeForest, had restorative work done on her teeth as a child and said she “fell in love with the world of dentistry.”

“I wanted to be that light for people,” Blochwitz added. She moved from Hudson, Wisconsin, to DeForest to attend the program after a four-year wait.

A SHORTAGE

Often, patients can book an appointment with the Madison College dental clinic more quickly than at a dentist’s office, according to Barbara DeBoer, dental hygiene faculty instructor from Waunakee. A shortage of dental assistants and hygienists has reduced the availability. As the Dane County area has grown, the number of dental assistants and hygienists has not kept pace, she said.

But, a bill signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in January is aimed at relieving some of that shortage. It allocates $20 million to the Wisconsin Technical College System for scholarships and capital costs to expand, DeBoer said. Madison College plans to increase its program’s capacity by adding exam space. Currently, the college graduates 40 dental hygiene students per year.

THE TRAINING

The dental hygiene program is tough, DeBoer said, preparing students to work side-by-side with dentists, faculty and patients. They leave ready for the workplace after coursework and clinical experience, completing 256 hours the first year and 448 the second.

After practicing on mannequins in the beginning, they can treat select human patients — friends and family — at the end of their first year before they begin seeing other patients in the second year.

“The first year, the students are learning the skills. The second year, they’re mastering them,” DeBoer said.

Hoppe and Forcier both had their significant others as the first patient.

“He was here all day,” Forcier said about her financé. “We’re still engaged.”

That first patient spends about 7 hours at the clinic as faculty checks each of the students’ steps along the way to ensure they’re correct, DeBoer said.

Blochwitz’s first patient was her grandfather.

“I had him all day long, seven hours in my chair. I learned a lot about my grandpa,” she said. “He told me I’m a natural at this. I hope he sees how much I’ve grown even in the course of one year.”

Still, Blochwitz was comfortable enough with him to practice, she said.

Now, the students are readying for graduation. Forcier called the feeling “surreal,” noting she had waited so long to get into the program and now is looking toward the future.

“All of us have jobs lined up already,” she said.

Of the 40 graduating students, 39 will begin work right away; one is opting not to, DeBoer said.

“Dentistry will always be here for us,” Blochwitz said.

Anyone looking to schedule an appointment at Madison College can call (608) 258-2400 or email dentalclinic@madisoncollege.edu. Appointments are generally not available during the summer, when classes are not in session.