32 THE QUEENS COURIER • COLLEGE GUIDE • APRIL 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Community
Dental Clinic opening May 1st, preventive
SPONSORED BY
PLAZA COLLEGE
info@plazacollege.edu
On May 1, 2018, Plaza
College’s Community
Dental Clinic will open to
the public for preventive
care dental hygiene
services.
The Clinic, the first of its
kind in the Borough of
Queens, will be a
community-based clinic
that accepts all patients
requesting dental hygiene
services with no qualifying
criteria.
In October, Plaza College
first introduced its Dental
Hygiene program and the
new Community Dental
Clinic to the community
with a Grand Opening
Ceremony.
A number of elected
officials, local dentists and
hospital administrators, and
community members were
in attendance.
Congressman Joseph
Crowley and Queens
Borough President Melinda
Katz delivered keynote
speeches on the importance
of oral healthcare, the
service the Community
Dental Clinic will provide
the residents of Queens, and
the impact the Dental
Hygiene program will have
on a local workforce need.
Congressman Crowley at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
The borough of Queens is
home to roughly 2.4 million
residents. Approximately
460,000 of those residents
are children. Nearly 50% of
them are foreign-born,
making Queens the most
diverse urban area in the
world.
Each of these residents
needs convenient and
affordable dental care; and
according to the Surgeon
General, racial and ethnic
minorities, immigrants,
migrant workers, the
young, the elderly, and the
poor are at an extreme
disadvantage when it
comes to accessing it – a
formidable reality for our
Borough.
Plaza’s Clinic is a muchneeded
and very valuable
resource for the
community, addressing the
gap in oral healthcare
services in our area.
“There is a welldocumented
need for oral
healthcare prevention and
treatment for patients of all
ages, particularly the
diverse population in the
borough of Queens,”
explains Dr. Laura Sleeper,
RDH, DHSc, Dental
Hygiene Program Director.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control, almost
1 in 4 children under the age
of five have already had at
least one cavity, and nearly
half of the country’s adult
population is suffering from
gum disease.
These staggering
numbers are even worse in
NYC, where 1 in 3 third
grade children and 1 in 4
adults are living with
untreated tooth decay.
Ensuring the health of the
mouth by following good
at-home hygiene habits and
seeing a hygienist for a
regular cleaning is essential
to avoiding dental and
overall health issues, as well
as keeping healthcarerelated
expenses low.
Plaza College’s Chief
Operating Officer, Chad
Callahan, explained, “This
is exactly why the
Community Dental Clinic is
such a needed service in our
area. The residents of
Queens will be able to
access the convenient,
affordable hygiene services
vital to maintaining their
good health.”
All services offered at the
Community Dental Clinic
will be provided by students
of the Plaza College Dental
Hygiene program under the
supervision of the dental
hygiene faculty members,
ON-SITE SERVICES
All services offered at the Community Dental Clinic will be provided by
dental hygiene students under the supervision of dental hygiene faculty
members, including licensed dentists and registered dental hygienists.
Services available include:
• Comprehensive Dental Examination
• Dental Cleaning (Scaling and Selective Polishing)
• Health, Nutrition, and Dental Education
• Tooth Desensitizing Treatment
• Digital Panoramic Radiograph
• Pit and Fissure Sealants
• Oral Cancer Screening
• Routine Dental X-rays
• Fluoride Treatment
• Teeth Whitening
• Mouth Guards
• Referrals for procedures outside the scope of the Clinic
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