Dental Hygiene Clinic

Dental Hygiene Clinic treatment is performed by dental hygiene students under the direct supervision of experienced University of Tennessee Health Science Center faculty and the Dental Hygiene Clinic dentist. The Dental Hygiene faculty and students provide preventive dental treatment to existing adult and child patients who are selected from a screening process that determines whether the patient is a teaching case for students.

To schedule a screening appointment, please call 901-448-6617 or 901-448-6262.

Fees

Dental Hygiene fees are typically less than the fees of a private dental office. You pay for the service when it is started.

We accept cash and personal checks. The total amount of a personal check must be applied toward payment of clinic fees. Post-dated, payroll, or two-party checks cannot be accepted for payment.

We also take VISA, MasterCard, and Discover.

The College of Dentistry attempts to keep fees as low as possible. However, rising costs of providing care may require fee increases. Fees may increase without notification. You will always be advised of the fee for a procedure before it is started and usually when the student hygienist calls to confirm your appointment.

It is against college policy for students to pay for any patient treatment; therefore, please do not ask your student hygienist to pay for any treatment you receive. Any violation of this policy may lead to the patient being dismissed from the college treatment program.

Billing & Insurance

Patients needing to have a better understanding of their dental benefits should contact their insurance company directly to gain additional knowledge of how the company reimburses for specific procedures.
Patients seen in the dental hygiene clinic are responsible for payment of services rendered at the time of appointment.

Payment can be made via:

• Cash
• Check
• Money order
• Visa, Mastercard, Discover

For services rendered and receipt of payment for procedures, a claim is then able to be printed off by the billing department and given to the patient for submission to your insurance company.

Dental Hygiene Treatment

All dental hygiene treatment is performed by student hygienists  and examined by a Licensed Dental Hygiene faculty member and/or a qualified dentist. Because we are teaching students, you will find our clinic is different from a private dental office. Even though we do things somewhat differently, you will receive the same standard of dental care at a lower cost. Care is usually provided in one appointment which may take up to 3 hours.  If it has been an extended amount of time since your last dental cleaning, it make take more than one appointment.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status in provision of education or employment opportunities. This policy extends to patient acceptance and patient assignment to student hygienists.

A request for a student hygienist based upon race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or handicap will not be honored and such a request indicates you will be better served by a private practitioner.

Appointments

Because our students are learning to provide optimal patient care and our faculty must examine each step, your appointments will be longer and it will take more appointments than at a private dentist. For your extra time, we provide your care at a lower cost.

You should plan to be here a half day. Our morning hours are 8:30 till noon, and the afternoon from 1:00 till 4:30. Available appointments may vary according to the academic classes our students have. Their time is limited, and it is important that patients work with their students and meet their appointments.

Children MUST have their parent or legal guardian with them on the screening appointment and the first appointment after screening. They must have a responsible adult with them for each visit. It will be necessary for children to miss some school time if they are treated at the College of Dentistry.

Missing Appointments

If you miss an appointment, your student cannot make up that time. Loss of clinic time can keep a student from graduating. Missed appointments may cause us to stop your treatment.

If it is absolutely necessary to cancel your appointment, you should do so at least 24 hours before the time of the appointment. Your student will give you a phone number where they can be reached. You can also leave a message at 901-448-6617 for your student to call you.

Patient ApplicationPatient Information Booklet