Western Technology Center’s Weatherford campus is giving Western Oklahoma residents more reasons to smile. The school’s dental hygiene clinic, now open to the public, offers affordable preventative services while also serving as a clinical training site for students finishing their degrees.
The campus hosts both the Dental Assisting Program and serves as a clinical site for the University of Oklahoma’s College of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene Program.
“In the dental assisting program… it is a one-year program that prepares the graduates, the adults for employment in a dental setting where they are directly assisting the dentist,” Hirschman said.
She explained that dental hygienists, by contrast, can work independently. “If you go to dental hygiene, now, this is where they can work independently from the dentist… they’re the ones who would go into the cleaning of the teeth, doing more of the whitening of the teeth.”
Hirschman noted the shortage of professionals across the state: “Interesting enough, there’s a shortage in Oklahoma, but actually nationwide… specifically for dental assistance and dental hygienea. So we’re glad to be a part of kind of making things happen in that area and impact that we can make.”
The clinic’s focus is on preventative care. Hirschman said, “One of the things… we were going to share is that in the dental hygiene clinic, the patient services that are available… it is a very affordable way to receive preventative oral health services.”
Among the services are free screenings, low-cost x-rays, teeth cleanings for adults and children, and fluoride treatments. While the clinic does not perform fillings, crowns, dentures, or extractions, patients are referred to local dentists as needed. “It’s not where we’re taking business away from them… we refer out,” Hirschman said.
Students also gain valuable experience in the process. “I’ll never forget one of the first times… sometimes it takes the students a little bit longer in doing the cleaning, but by the end of the year, they’ve got it down into a very good timely way,” she recalled.
Outreach is another part of the mission. “Last year, over 700 kids were a part of that, through Western Oklahoma as they made stops in Elk City, Merrit, Clinton, Weatherford,” Hirschman said, referencing the Give Kids a Smile program supported by the Delta Dental Foundation.
Graduates of the one-year dental assisting program can expect to find steady work quickly. “That’s a pretty good range, going from $15 to $20 an hour… starting off in the new career for individuals,” Hirschman said.
With affordable services, trained graduates, and strong community outreach, the Weatherford clinic is more than a classroom—it’s a vital resource for the region.
