Accredited dental hygiene program
Indiana University Northwest
3400 Broadway Street, Dunes Medical/Professional Building, Gary, IN 46408
In Gary, IN, Indiana University Northwest trains dental hygienists in an accredited program. Because the training is hands-on, many programs operate a public clinic where preventive care is priced well below a private dental office.
What matters most before you make the trip is scope. Dental hygienists are trained in preventive and gum care, so a hygiene clinic can clean your teeth thoroughly and treat gum disease, but it cannot fill a cavity, pull a tooth, or fit a crown. If something hurts, this is not the place to start.
Before You Call
Teaching clinics are usually in the college’s health sciences building rather than at the main campus address, and they keep their own hours and phone line. Worth settling on the phone: whether children are treated, and from what age, what to bring — identification, medication list, previous X-rays, the total fee, and whether X-rays and follow-up visits are inside it, where the clinic entrance is, and where to park, and whether the clinic closes over the summer or between terms.
All of it can change with the academic term, so check again close to the day.
What a Hygiene Clinic Can and Cannot Do
The work here is preventive: scaling and polishing, scaling and root planing for gum disease, X-rays, gum measurements, fluoride treatment, sealants, and hygiene instruction.
What it does not offer is anything a dentist must do: fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, dentures, implants, or emergency treatment. If the examination finds a cavity or a broken tooth, the clinic will tell you and refer you on, but the treatment happens elsewhere. If a tooth hurts now, start somewhere else.
Fees are set by each program and are typically well under private rates, sometimes as one flat charge covering however many visits the treatment takes. Ask whether X-rays are included, because they are often billed separately. Appointments run long, two to three hours is normal, and clinics follow the academic year, so many close over the summer and between terms.
Other Accredited Hygiene Programs in Indiana
Indiana has 8 accredited dental hygiene programs altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:
- Ivy Tech Community College - Anderson Campus — Anderson
- Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus — Columbus
- University of Southern Indiana — Evansville
- Indiana University (Fort Wayne Campus) — Fort Wayne
- Indiana University School of Dentistry — Indianapolis
The full Indiana list has the rest.
Common Questions
What if I have not seen a dentist in years?
That is a common reason to come here and not a problem in itself — heavy build-up is exactly what students need to work on. Expect more than one appointment, and expect to be referred on if the examination finds decay, since that is a dentist’s job.
Will they take X-rays?
Usually yes, and often as part of the assessment rather than on request. Whether they are included in the quoted fee or billed on top varies by program, and it is frequently the difference between a cheap visit and a less cheap one. Ask when you book.
Are the instruments and standards the same as a private practice?
Yes. Infection control and sterilization are regulated identically wherever dental care is provided, and a teaching clinic is inspected on it as part of accreditation. The equipment is often newer than a small private practice can afford.
Can I get a filling at the same visit?
No. Fillings are outside a hygienist’s scope entirely, so even a small cavity found during your cleaning has to be treated somewhere else. Plan for two separate appointments at two separate places if you suspect you need one.
Why is it so much cheaper?
Because you are part of the training. Students need patients to qualify, and the clinic exists to give them that experience under supervision. The trade is your time for their practice, which is why the appointment is long and the price is low.
What if this clinic cannot see me?
Other low-cost routes exist in Gary, IN. community health centers in Indiana discount fees by household income and provide full dental care rather than preventive work alone. For treatment a hygienist cannot do, dental schools in Indiana are the other reduced-cost option. Both are linked further down this page.
Accreditation
Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2031. That is a judgment on the education, not on the clinic: it says nothing about opening hours, prices or whether anyone is being taken on.
Other Low-Cost Options in Indiana
- Community health center dental clinics in Indiana — the route for treatment rather than prevention: fillings, extractions and dentures, priced against what you earn.
- Dental schools in Indiana — teaching clinics that do handle fillings, root canals, extractions and dentures at reduced cost, usually after a screening visit.
- Free and charitable dental care in Indiana — volunteer and donated-care programs, with eligibility rules and limited places.
- How sliding-scale clinics work — who qualifies for an income-based discount and how to apply for one.
Other Dental Hygiene Programs Nearby
- Indiana University (Fort Wayne Campus) — Fort Wayne, IN
- Indiana University School of Dentistry — Indianapolis, IN
- Indiana University South Bend — South Bend, IN
- Ivy Tech Community College - Anderson Campus — Anderson, IN
- Ivy Tech Community College - South Bend — South Bend, IN