You can familiarize yourself with our clinic's policies outlined below.

HIPPA Policy

As a PCC Dental Hygiene patient, your privacy will be respected at all times. We practice the following measures to ensure your privacy:

• Your charts will not be removed from the clinic facility.
• Charts will only be reviewed in the Clinic Office, Clinic Operatories, and Radiology Operatories
• Your information, without the use of your name, may be used for case presentation and educational purposes.
• Your photographs may be used for teaching purposes, but only with your written permission.
• No conversations regarding your name and/or your dental or medical conditions will occur outside of the PCC Clinic, Clinic Office, or Radiography Operatories.

Before receiving treatment, you will be asked to sign a form indicating that you have been given a copy of the Dental Hygiene Program HIPPA Policy and understand the policy.

Service & Policies

The PCC Dental Hygiene Clinic is a limited service teaching institution. Dental Hygiene students provide the following dental hygiene services, which are defined as dental hygiene duties in the California State Dental Practice Act.

Under general supervision of the dentist:

A patient screening examination consists of an evaluation of your medical and dental history and preliminary periodontal examination (probing and exploring). Screening evaluations are all done under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty. The results of this screening, including your dental hygiene needs as determined by the student and faculty, will be discussed with you.

Please note that the dental hygiene screening examination is not a complete dental hygiene or dental examination.You are still responsible for visiting your dentist for periodic dental examinations. Our screening examination doesn’t guarantee your treatment of any kind.

If you are eligible to be seen in the Dental Hygiene Clinic, you will be required to comply with the established clinic policies. We will collect the standard fee(s) for service on the first day of treatment. You will also be required to have a current set of radiographs. Current radiographs include a full-mouth set of radiographs that were taken in the last three years or bitewings radiographs taken in the last year. If you have current radiographs, you will need to provide a copy before treatment. If you have not had any radiographs taken within the above guidelines, radiographs will be taken, and copies will be available to you for a minimal fee to take to your dentist.

If you’re not eligible for treatment in the dental hygiene clinic, you will be provided with information about other methods of obtaining comprehensive dental care elsewhere.

Clinic Policy

The PCC Dental Hygiene Clinic is a teaching institution, and the licensed dentists and dental hygienists who teach in the clinic are employed to instruct dental hygiene students at PCC. Therefore, it is the policy of the dental hygiene program to refer all patients to your dentist for at least one dental examination appointment per year. As a patient, you are expected to see a dentist when referred. The Dental Hygiene Program may refuse treatment if you fail to follow PCC Dental Hygiene Policy.

The PCC Dental Hygiene Clinic is a limited service clinic. You are responsible for returning to your dentist’s office for an annual examination and/or recall appointment.

You will not be charged for second or subsequent appointments to complete your initial treatment plan. If six months have elapsed since the beginning of the treatment, a new fee will be charged, and the appointment treated as a recall/recare. All refunds must be accomplished before 11:30 a.m. for the morning session, 3:30 pm for an afternoon session, and 8:00 pm for an evening session. Refunds can only be given on the day of the appointment.

Be aware that we do not take insurance plans. Fees are paid in the form of cash or check only. For more information, see our Service & Policies page.

Noncompliant Patients

A non-compliant patient is those who don’t exhibit an interest in or cooperate in the maintenance of your oral health and/or the needs and policies of the dental hygiene program. If a patient’s non-compliance interferes with the student’s learning experience, the patient may be referred to another dental health care provider by the program director or your designate.

Patient non-compliance includes but is not limited to:

• Refusal to follow or complete the treatment plan.
• Behavior which interferes with the student’s learning.
• Behavior which makes it impossible for the student to follow the prescribed treatment plan.
• Repeated lateness or missed appointments. (You are considered late if you are more than 30 minutes past the appointment time)
• Have not seen your dentist at least once in the previous year.
• Failure to provide the clinic with a current copy of your radiographs or refusing to have needed radiographs taken.