Discounted dental services offered at Mesa Community College

Community Cares: Mesa Community College provides discounted dental services

FOX 10's Anita Roman reports.

MESA, Ariz. - Better teeth can often lead to better health, but oral hygiene can be costly when issues arise.

To combat this, dental hygiene students at Mesa Community College are trying to make sure everyone can afford the care they need.

"These are our second year students which have been in the program for two full years," said a faculty member. "They're ready to sit for their clinical boards in the next couple of months, so they are very experienced, but they're seen by licensed dental hygienists for every part of the treatment."

These future dentists are accepting patients for discounted teeth cleanings and oral health screenings.

"It's actually kind of fun because we get to interact with new patients or new possible patients and be able to take care of them, well, for free," said a student. "We're taking free dental x-rays, assessments, oral cancer screenings, and they get a cursory dentist exam, so it's really a beneficial thing because we work together trying to find our requirements for graduation - so it's a win-win."

The students run a clinic at the school that operates nightly, but they're only able to treat two to three patients during that time.

On Feb. 5, the clinic will be open throughout the day.

The clinic is seeking patients that are in need of a deep cleaning or have not had a checkup in years - for example, people who can see the tartar building up in their mouth.

"Those patients are best served by our students because they have greater need, so we would love to treat them."

X-rays are free, but if you want a copy, it'll cost $20.

Learn more: https://www.mesacc.edu/departments/allied-health/dental-hygiene/dental-hygiene-clinic