By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

School’s success has teeth to it

Visit the dental hygiene department at Foothill College and the first thing you notice is 24 dental students working over patients.

Three years ago, students enrolled in the program received exciting news. The school was ranked No. 2 in the nation based on their outstanding scores on the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination. More than 5,000 students from 201 U.S. schools received rankings from the American Dental Association.

Every Wednesday morning at Foothill is clinic time. Students, dressed in their green uniforms, work with patients, taking X-rays, scaling and polishing teeth and learning about a career much in demand.

Catherine Kornegay, a dental hygienest who also holds a master’s degree, is the second-year clinic coordinator who does the scheduling for the students and patients.

“The students are in the clinic 20 hours a week, where they receive instruction on dental hygiene and work with patients from the real world,” Kornegay said. “It’s a rigorous program where work is not considered an option.”

Dental hygienists are health-care professionals who work as team members with dentists and dental assistants. They are currently in great demand.

Maritess Reyes, a second-year student, is looking forward to passing her state exam and working in a private dental practice, making about $400 a day.

After second-year student Brandi Murray graduates, she intends to continue her education with a bachelor’s degree. “With a degree I can teach and work as a dental hygienist. It’s a backup that may come in handy,” she said.

The Foothill Dental Hygiene Program is for two years, including a summer session. Each fall, 24 students are admitted to the program. Most of them have had previous college experience, with emphasis in biological sciences.

More than 100 applications are received, and selection is based on criteria approved by the Foothill College administration that include state regulations. Students from the entire state are eligible, but most students who matriculate at Foothill are from San Francisco to Gilroy. Of the 48 students currently in the program, two are men.

Ken Horowitz is an instructor and supervising dentist for the program. The program started in 1964, and he has been in it since 1977.

“I oversee the treatment of patients, and lecture the students,” Horowitz said. “The students accuse me of giving hard tests, but I hope that is one of the reasons the program rates high.”

Horowitz said most of the patients whom the students work on are low-income and can’t afford to go to a private dental office.

“We have a lot of retired folks from Los Altos Hills who live on a limited income and come in for dental treatment,” he said. “The students need a patient to work on when they take their state exam, and we actually pay the patients to have their teeth cleaned.”

Phyllis Spragge, is program director, administers the program.

“In March the second-year students sit for the national board, which covers all our curriculum, and in June the results are announced. On July 27 and 28, the graduating seniors take the state boards,” Spragge said. “We have excellent students. Foothill has an excellent passing rate and is well known in the state.”

Martha Salinas, a second-year student from Hayward, is looking forward to working in San Francisco in a private practice. “The instructors train us well for the future. The curriculum covers all the topics the state board covers, so we should all do well,” Salinas said.

For more information on the program, logon to www.foothill.fhda.edu/bio/programs/dentalh/index.shtml.