By Karlee Adair
Camden County College serves students, alumni, and community at the William H. Copperthwaite Dental Hygiene Clinic.
The clinic has been part of Camden County College for 42 years. The head of the clinic is Catherine Boos, who has been a part of it for 24 years.
The clinic is open daily Monday through Thursday, depending on the semester, in the fall it is open Monday and Wednesday 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays there are not morning hours 12:30 p.m. to 3: 30 p.m.
Winter Semester Monday and Wednesday 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p. m. to 4 p.m.
Spring Semester is the same for Monday and Wednesday, Tuesdays are the same as fall semester, and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 3: 30 p.m. Located in Taft on the second floor room 204. Appointment is required.
The clinic sees about 40 patients a day. Students that are in their second semester of their first semester do the dental work. The clinic treats children over 3 years of age.
The clinic offers pain control, prevention services, sealants (per tooth), bitewing radiographs, full mouth or panoramic radiographs, radiographs of individual tooth, and intraoral photography. It also offers athletic mouth guards, plaque control programs, nutritional counseling, and tobacco cessation program.
Dental work usually takes about three hours to complete. And sometimes requires multiple visits. Prices are covered for all continuous visits after the first visit if work is not completed.
X-rays are also done. They only require about an hour and a half to complete and usually need only one visit.
Each student sees two patients per day and has to see 60 patients with various dental problems.
The clinic does not advertise because “word of mouth seems to be our best,” said Catherine Boos. The clinic is listed on the school website, as well as senior citizen brochures. And the clinic can also be found on Google.
Boos also says students find their own jobs, but posts them on our job board. Student Olena Hitch said “finding a job is not hard because dentists know we graduate from the best program and were always networking with dentists.”
The clinic also holds several events catering to children ages 3 to 12. The biggest event is “Give Kids a Smile Day,” said Boos. Advertises for these through press releases and on the college website.
Hitch loves the family environment with her classmates. “Its better than a sorority we have the closest class,” she said.