Free Dental Clinic

Missouri College Dental ClinicMissouri College is opening a free dental clinic at its campus in Brentwood in November that will serve qualified, low-income individuals. Dental hygiene students will work in the clinic under the supervision of dentists and dental hygiene faculty members. Missouri College and Little Bit are collaborating to bring dental education and dental hygiene care to Little Bit children.  We are working on a pilot program at Sigel Elementary and hope to eventually expand this partnership program to all 11 Little Bit schools. Sigel Elementary, an English as a Second Language (ESL) school, has children new to the United States, coming from some cultures where dental hygiene is not a focus. The school has a 96% subsidized food program, which means that 96% of students at Sigel are at, or very near, the poverty level. The pilot program will entail prescreening sessions where Missouri College students go to the school to provide oral health education and conduct oral examinations. The second stage of the pilot program involves having the children and their families come to the College’s clinic for hygiene care services.

Having this collaborative effort is of critical importance for the populations we serve. “We want to make a difference in the community, and this community-based dental program offers our students a great opportunity to use their new skills to help an underserved population,” said Hubert Benitez, DDS, director of the Dental Hygiene Education program at Missouri College. “Community service is a foundation of our program at Missouri College.”