Dental Hygiene
Becoming a Dental Patient & Appointment Request Form
Clinic patients click here for online intake forms.
Community College of Denver’s Dental Hygiene Clinic, located at Lowry, provides preventive and therapeutic dental services to adults and children (ages four and older). With approximately 1,500 people visiting us annually, this clinic is a self-supporting, non-profit facility operated by college faculty, staff, and students.
Dental hygiene students—instructed and supervised by dental hygiene faculty—provide all dental hygiene care while the clinic dentists provide dental exams for every patient. In addition, our faculty review and evaluate all of the treatment rendered by students.
Because CCD’s dental hygiene program is designed and maintained for teaching purposes, scheduling and dental hygiene services differ from those of a private dental office. Those accepted for treatment are patients whose dental needs or problems have teaching value and who have the extra time required for treatment. This is an educational setting, so appointment times are restricted to open clinic times during academic semesters.
Senate Bill (SB) 17-065, “Transparency in Health Care Prices Act” in Colorado requires that dental providers post the top 15 procedures and codes along with the corresponding fees for patient viewing. If you are interested in these procedures and prices, please click here for restorative clinic or dental hygiene clinic.
Patients with medical or dental conditions that hinder the proper treatment may not be acceptable for a clinic appointment in this educational facility. In certain circumstances, your physician may need to be consulted before you undergo dental hygiene treatment in the clinic. A thorough screening of your health is for your protection.
Children under three (3) years of age are not considered mature enough for clinical care in this teaching clinic. Minors (under 18 years of age) must have the medical/dental history form completed and signed by a parent or legal guardian at each appointment and before services will be rendered.
Your first appointment will be a screening to determine which of your dental needs can be met in the Dental Hygiene Clinic. After this initial visit, additional appointments will be scheduled to complete your treatment. A specific treatment plan will be explained to you; generally a complete prophylaxis (teeth cleaning) requires a minimum of two (2) three-hour appointments. If you have not had your teeth cleaned recently, you should plan on several appointments.
Patients should arrange an appointment with a dentist of their choice for a comprehensive oral examination and diagnosis following completion of the services provided at this clinic.
This is a teaching institution and treatment is completed more slowly than in a private dental office. To ensure acceptable quality, the instructors check student work frequently. When making appointments, we prefer to schedule you for three to four (3-4) hours. This allows us to accomplish more care in fewer visits. If procedures are not complete at the end of the clinic session, we will schedule another appointment.
Just as your time is valuable, so is that of your student dental hygienist. Our students depend on your cooperation to complete requirements necessary for graduation. You can help the student, and speed up your treatment, by arriving promptly at your scheduled appointment time. If you must cancel an appointment, please give at least 24 hours notice by calling the clinic receptionist, 303.365.8350. Inability or unwillingness to cooperate with all recommended treatment and procedures may result in discontinuance of service. We ask your understanding and cooperation for the extra time and patience, which may be required, and hope that the special attention and care you receive will compensate.
- Considerate, respectful, and confidential treatment.
- Continuity and completion of treatment.
- Access to complete and current information about your condition.
- Advance knowledge of the cost of treatment.
- Advance knowledge of the services that can be rendered.
- Explanation of recommended treatment, alternative treatment, the option to refuse treatment and the risk of no treatment.
- Treatment that meets the standard of care in the profession.
- Referral information to take to a dentist for comprehensive dental care.
A patient in the CCD Dental Hygiene Clinic will be assured the following as a standard of care in our program:
- A comprehensive medical/dental history reviewed by the dental/dental hygiene faculty.
- A complete intra- and extraoral examination of hard and soft tissues with accurate recording of the findings.
- Oral examination completed by the clinical supervising dentist.
- Comprehensive dental charting of teeth, restorations, abnormalities, and suspected decay.
- Complete periodontal charting and evaluation for adults, modified periodontal assessment for children. Full mouth probing will be conducted on all patients beginning at age 16 unless otherwise specified by clinic faculty.
- Oral hygiene instruction explaining the processes of oral/periodontal diseases, the decay process, and proper use of individualized oral hygiene aids.
- Radiographs (x-rays) as required/prescribed by accepted guidelines.
- Oral prophylaxis and non-surgical periodontal therapy.
- Fluoride treatments
- Sealants as prescribed by accepted guidelines and required by patient need
- Referral to a general/family dentist for comprehensive care and/or a specialist when needed.
Additional supportive care may be given as needed for individual treatment needs such as local anesthesia, nitrous oxide administration, study models, tooth bleaching, nutritional counseling, etc. Most treatment plans for the adult patient will require multiple appointments to complete all phases of care. Every procedure will be checked and evaluated by the clinical faculty during your appointment.
This program is dedicated to improving the health of our community. Students and patients are at the very center of our enterprise. Our goal is to provide high-quality care and services for all patients.
CCD Dental Hygiene Clinic is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, and we employ universal precautions for infection control, safety, and health. To make an appointment, it is recommended to call the clinic (303.365.8350) early in the semester or use this online appointment request form.
If an appointment is not available when requested, we will take your name and phone number and notify you by phone when an appointment becomes available. The length of the wait for the first appointment can be one to several weeks, depending upon the time in the school year and upon the number of others ahead of you on the list.
Payment in full is required when services are rendered. At this time, Medicaid is the only insurance we bill directly; we are not able to bill any third party payers. If you have dental insurance or a third party payer like Delta Dental, CIGNA, or Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, we would be happy to provide you with any information you might need to file your own claim. Community College of Denver, Dental Hygiene Clinic, is unable to take dental emergencies; however, if you are a current patient of record and having a dental emergency please give us a call so we may assist you. Please complete this form to request an appointment.