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With help from a $240,000 grant from the Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation, the fifth dental hygiene program in New Jersey is underway at Burlington County College (BCC). The college now offers a two-year program leading to an associate of applied science degree, with a major in dental hygiene.
Dental hygiene is a growing field in New Jersey and throughout the country. According to the American Dental Association, there will be a continued need for dentists to employ more dental hygienists to meet an increased demand for dental services. This demand is due to the public's emphasis on preventive oral care and people retaining their teeth longer.
"Hygienists play a valuable role in the dental industry - supporting dentists and providing valuable patient care through cleanings, preventive education and detection of disease," said Gene F. Napoliello, D.D.S., president of the Delta Dental Foundation. "The profession offers options and flexibility, which is why it continues to be a popular career path for those interested in entering the field of dentistry."
The Delta Dental Foundation awarded grant monies in 2003, which were distributed over a three-year period. The last installment of $60,000 was made in summer 2005 in recognition of BCC meeting its final milestone - program accreditation. Specifically, funding has been used to build and equip an instructional clinic facility in the Parker Building on the BCC Pemberton Campus to run an accredited, two-year associate degree program in dental hygiene. Purchases included dental treatment chairs, lighting units, sterilization equipment and cabinetry in the clinical area consisting of 12 fully equipped, four-handed sit-down treatment cubicles.
"We are grateful to Delta Dental of New Jersey for supporting our goals to further offer our students additional opportunities in the field of dentistry," said Linda Hecker, CDA, RDH, BS, MA, director of Dental Hygiene at BCC. "We now offer the only dental hygiene school in Burlington County. Along with providing our community with future dental hygienists, we can now also provide affordable dental services to Burlington's dentally underserved."
Dental hygiene students, supervised by faculty and dentists, will be offering students, faculty, staff and the local community dental x-rays during the fall 2005 semester. In spring 2006, services will be expanded to include dental cleanings. All services are anticipated to be priced at an extreme discount.
"Though our first semester has just begun, Delta Dental's donation has already been put to good use," continued Hecker. "During 'Give Kids a Smile Day,' February 2, 2005, we used the donated equipment from the dental hygiene program to treat over 100 local children and managed to donate over $22,600 worth of volunteer dentistry in one day."
The Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation has provided funding for all the other dental hygiene programs throughout New Jersey, namely Bergen Community College, Camden County College, Middlesex County College and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The Foundation also annually awards scholarships to Garden State residents interested in studying to become hygienists. For more information about the Delta Dental New Jersey hygienist scholarship program, contact foundation@deltadentalnj.com.
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