Second-year dental hygiene students from HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College, will perform the service by appointment only 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Dental Hygiene Clinic in the Select Medical Health Education Pavilion on the Harrisburg Campus. Appointments can also be made in Gettysburg 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the dental office of Dr. Cleveland Null, 353 York St. Children also will receive free oral hygiene instructions and a home care kit along with exam and procedure.
The students, together with volunteer dentists and licensed dental hygienists, some who are HACC alumni, will perform a painless, routine oral exam. They will determine if a sealant (a thin hard coating that helps protect teeth from decay) can be applied to the chewing surfaces of the patient's back teeth. Sealants cannot be applied to teeth that already have decay.
Sealant Saturday is a statewide service sponsored by the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists' Association. Sealant material is supplied by Dentsply Professional Division in York.
HACC's dental hygiene students, who are student members of the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists' Association, strive to improve the public's health, advance the art and science of dental hygiene by increasing awareness, and ensure access to cost-effective quality oral health care.
To schedule an appointment, parents and legal guardians must contact HACC's dental hygiene clinic at 780-2441 or 1-800-222-4222, ext. 2441.