When New York state decided seven years ago that dental assistants should be licensed, Monroe Community College dental health teacher David Lawrence was concerned.

"I wanted to ensure that only educational institutions could be providers for licensing. ... I wanted to continue to have the voice of dental health education represented in New York state," said Lawrence (pictured at right). He knew where to go for help: "I got involved with the union."

Working with NYSUT and its legislative department, Lawrence and colleagues across the state were able to ensure that BOCES programs and community colleges were authorized as providers.

As a result of his work with NYSUT since this issue first surfaced, Lawrence was invited to join the union's Health Care Professionals Council.

He is the first member to represent dental care as one of the health professions, and is helping to raise awareness about the need for dental health care for students.

"Dr. Lawrence is a great addition to the council; he is collaborating with other members of the HCPC to educate the public on the critical importance of preventive care," said Kathleen Donahue, NYSUT vice president, who oversees health care member programs.

Making sure that dental care providers are adequately educated and trained has been an integral part of Lawrence's career and that of his colleague, Saroj Viswanathan. She has been teaching dental courses and clinical dental hygiene for 34 years at MCC. Lawrence is a supervising dentist and program director for dental hygiene, dental assistants and dental materials.

Affordable care

The Rochester-area clinic logs between 6,000 and 8,000 patient visits a year, providing dental treatment no matter what patients can afford to pay.

"There's a need for affordable health care," Lawrence said. "Oral health is a step in trying to prevent systematic health problems."

The clinic gives students an opportunity to practice all their dental hygiene skills on real patients for four semesters, culminating in the licensing exam in the same clinic. It is also a testing center for the North East Regional Dental Hygiene Clinical Board Exam.

Graduates return to the community to find employment with local dentists, Viswanathan said. "So it is a constant give-and-take between the college and the community."

MCC has about 75 dental hygiene students in its two-year program and about 15 dental assisting students in its one-year program. About 150 students across the state are enrolled in an online dental assisting program.

Most of those students are working dental assistants, and their employer can serve as dentist/mentor during their study. MCC faculty visit each student at least once.

The college operates distance sites in Cuba, Dunkirk and Watertown - rural areas where it would be too expensive for nearby community colleges to set up an entire dental program.

Students attending these distance sites come to a local site three times a week to perform their clinicals, taught by a local MCC-trained faculty member.

"The hope is that if they get their education locally, they'll stay locally," Lawrence said.

- Liza Frenette