For many UCLA students, sitting in a dentist’s chair means staring open-mouthed at someone decades older than they are.
But when students go to the UCLA School of Dentistry, they may find dental students in their final years of study inspecting and fixing their teeth.
As a way of providing cheaper dental care, students at the dentistry school have been authorized to treat undergraduate and graduate students. The program is currently being advertised across campus.
With reduced dental fees at “half the private practice price or less,” UCLA students are treated by upperclassmen in the dentistry school under the supervision of licensed faculty members, said Craig Woods, a professor at the dentistry school.
The program at the school’s General Clinic offers many advantages, but can also be taxing for students. While dental fees are reduced, the amount of time spent in the dentist’s chair is increased since it’s a dentist-in-training.
Convenient care at a fraction of the cost is among the main benefits of the program, said Jossein Shahangian, a third-year dental student and president of the Dentistry Associated Student Body.
“Everything is so expensive, especially in L.A., that students end up ignoring health care,” Shahangian said.
The service starts with a student being given a patient coordinator and a team of student dentists, according to the UCLA School of Dentistry Web site. Students also have the option of having their dental care covered by the Student Health Insurance Plan or the Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan.
Many patients are at first hesitant about receiving care from other students, but every stage of the treatment is supervised, and if a procedure is too complex it is referred to a specialist, Shahangian said.
One downside to the dental service program is the larger time commitment. Students are told that clinical visits last approximately three hours due to the close checks performed by faculty members.
Dental care at the General Clinic is not ideal for students with hectic schedules and only an hour to spare.
UCLA students can receive a more personalized dental care experience with student dentists, nevertheless, because the doctor-patient barrier is no longer present, Shahangian said.
“Students understand each other’s limitations,” he said. “We know what makes students comfortable because we go through the same phases they do, so we’re able to connect.”
Instead of small dentist’s rooms, students work together in large open rooms where the atmosphere is more relaxed, and the dentistry students can joke with the students they work on.
“One time a patient called me a smurf-ette because I was wearing blue scrubs. I think patients feel more comfortable when they see another student in the room,” said Karen Potter, a third- year dental student.
The variety of services dental students perform include cleanings, fillings, extractions, veneers and root canals.
“Everything a licensed general dentist can perform, our (dental) students can perform as well because they have undergone extensive training,” Shahangian said.
Not only do UCLA students benefit from this service, but qualified dental students can obtain further hands-on experience performing even surgical removals.
Also, student dentists say working on fellow students is something they look forward to.
“Students’ teeth are generally easier to work with because they are younger,” Shahangian said. “Plus, young students place more emphasis on the teeth being atheistically pleasing.”
That understanding of the need to have not only healthy teeth, but good-looking ones, is just one way dental students connect with their patients.
The dentistry school continues to further promote this service through fliers, presentations and videos, said Sandra Shagat, spokeswoman for the School of Dentistry.
With reports from Dharmishta Rood, Bruin senior staff. Look for Science & Health articles to run every Tuesday and Friday.