Dental Assisting students help the homeless with dental needs
Posted: December 07, 2014
The college’s Dental Assisting program spent the day helping dentists with a variety of tasks during Project Homeless Connect, held at the Tacoma Dome on Oct. 29.
Student Maleah Hodge said, “Project Homeless Connect was a great experience for me. I started the day triaging patients. It was at first stressful and overwhelming because of the mass amount of people,” she recalled. “Once I got on the dental van and actually started assisting the dentists with the patients I had triaged earlier in the day, it made the stressful and overwhelming feeling go away. It was replaced with a very rewarding experience. I am so thankful I was able to be a part of this day,” she said.
Instructor Patty Reno noted that the students took blood pressure, assisted patients with medical forms and triage, exposing and developing x-rays, sterilizing instruments, and assisting the dentist with treatment.
“This is the sixth year our students have participated in Project Homeless Connect, and even though it is a very busy day, it is a very rewarding day also,” she said.
Participating in this event is just one of the many ways that Bates Technical College serves and helps our community.
Way to go Bates students and staff!