Senior students in the dental hygiene department at the Robert D. and Carol Gunn College of Health Service and Human Services, gain real life experience with students, faculty, staff and residents of Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, Dallas and Oklahoma, on a daily basis since the college started its dental clinic program.

Barbara Debois, chair of the dental hygiene department, said, “Operating a functional clinic is to allow our students to gain the experience that is needed so that they will know what to do in a professional setting.”

Debois said she thinks it a great initiative and it is benefiting each dental hygiene student.

Some of the services offered at the Gaines Dental Hygiene Clinic are cleanings, X-rays, fluoride applications, sealants and plaque-control instructions.

While the services offered are free for students, Debois said residents of the community and surrounding areas have been utilizing the services offered for at a low cost as to compare with dental clinic in the area.

Debois said the services available at the clinic are comparable to any dental clinic in the Wichita Falls Community but they still need to increase awareness of the services they offer to students. The fees vary depending on what the patient needs.

“Presently, the department is collaborating with the various colleges on campus to get the word out because the students in the dental hygiene clinic need the experience.”

Debois said. “Each patient that utilizes our services is monitored by an instructor.”

Indeesha Wickramarachchi, junior in mechanical engineering share his experience and how he found out about the services offered at the clinic.

Wickramarachchi said, “I work at the computer lab adjacent to the Gaines Dental Clinic since the beginning of the falls 2014 semester and I did not know about the services that are offer at the dental clinic. I was not paying much attention to what carry on there; however, one day a friend told me he was going to get free teeth cleaning and I said ‘free?’ I immediately went by the following day and made an appointment for my teeth to be cleaned as well.”

“It was one of the best teeth cleaning I have done. I have cleaned my teeth cleaned in California last year and it was nothing like this one. The student nurse, Stephanie Standlee, was very friendly.  She took her time, even though it last two hours to be completed. After I was finished there was an instructor who came to inspect my teeth to make sure what Stephanie did was done correctly,” Wickramarachchi said.

Stephanie Standlee, senior in dental hygiene said it took her two hours because she had to make sure things were done correctly. She also said she had to clean tooth-by-tooth and this is what she has been taught to take her time and give the best service possible.

Standlee said, “Keeping your appointment is very important to us, it is our grade for the day.”

Clinic Information

Name: Gaines Dental Hygiene Clinic

Location: #107 J.D Bridwell Building

Hours of Operations by appointment: Monday and Wednesday 12:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.and Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.

Website: http://www.mwsu.edu/academics/hs2/dental/services-offered