Thank you for scheduling your appointment at the Vermont Technical College Dental Hygiene Clinic. Here is some important information about our clinic.
Comprehensive dental hygiene services are provided to you by dental hygiene students in an educational setting. These services include: a thorough evaluation of your medical/dental history, taking of vital signs (pulse, respiration and blood pressure), comprehensive assessment of your oral health status as it relates to dental hygiene, oral hygiene education, and removal of hard and soft deposits from your teeth. Fluoride treatments, dental sealants and dental x-rays are also provided, if necessary. Dental hygiene services only are available at the Vermont Technical College Dental Hygiene Clinic. While a supervising dentist is available on the clinic floor, evaluation of your overall oral health status by a private dentist is always recommended and the appropriate referrals can be made at the completion of your dental hygiene care.
Because the care provided is very comprehensive and the students are monitored closely by their faculty, appointments last longer than what you would experience in a traditional dental office. You should plan on a 2 to 3 hour appointment per visit and in most cases more than one appointment is required to complete your dental hygiene care. Your treatment will be performed in our “open” style clinic. We make every effort to maintain patient privacy. We understand if you are not comfortable with this type of teaching atmosphere and choose to seek your treatment at a regular dental office.
In exchange for your time, we provide dental hygiene services at very nominal fees. We appreciate your willingness to have your dental hygiene care provided by our students. We are confident that the experience will be a rewarding one for you and the student.
Payment
We only accept cash or check for payment of services. We do not accept credit or debit cards. We expect payment at the time of service.
Cancellations & Changes
Because students lose valuable experience when patients do not honor their appointment, re-scheduling following “no show” appointments or multiple cancellations may be denied. PLEASE call us at least 48 hours in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment at (802) 879-5643.
Infectious Disease policy
The policy of the Vermont Technical College Dental Hygiene Department is to not discriminate on the basis that an individual has a chronic communicable disease. The curriculum provides thorough instruction in the most current principles regarding infection control and the U.S. Center for Disease Control Guidelines. All students and employees are expected to understand and adhere to these guidelines.
Unattended Children
We believe that you will find our clinic to be a pleasant and comfortable surrounding; however, it does present some hazards to unattended children. Therefore, we respectfully request that parents refrain from bringing children to the clinic except when those children are receiving dental hygiene care.
One complete treatment per year
In order to serve the largest number of patients we will only be able to see you in our clinic one time per year. We recommend that you see your general dentist on a yearly basis.
Dental X-Rays
If you have had dental x-rays in another office within the last 2-3 years please contact that office and have them e-mail the films to us at dhygiene@vtc.edu prior to your appointment.
Medicaid
We now accept Medicaid insurance for those of you who have dental coverage. If you have this coverage please let us know BEFORE your first appointment here so that we can be sure everything is in place for us to bill Medicaid insurance for your dental services. This is the only dental insurance for which we bill the company for the patient.
Medical History Form
We ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to complete the history form. If you have a heart valve replacement, history of infective endocarditis or any total joint replacements, please contact your physician and ask him to provide us with written medical clearance to treat you with or without antibiotic prophylaxis.