Old Dominion University

In Norfolk, VA, Old Dominion University 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.

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 Virginia

Virginia has 6 accredited dental hygiene programs altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:

• Germanna Community College — Locust Grove
• VCU School of Dentistry — Richmond
• Virginia Western Community College — Roanoke
• Northern Virginia Community College — Springfield
• Wytheville Community College — Wytheville

Before You Call

Expect the clinic to have its own entrance, its own number and its own timetable, none of which match the college switchboard. Worth settling on the phone: whether they can treat you if you have not seen a dentist in years, how long one appointment runs, and how many the treatment will take, whether the fee covers a course of treatment or each visit separately, whether the clinic is open to the public this term, and taking new patients, and which payment methods are accepted, and whether insurance can be billed.

All of it can change with the academic term, so check again close to the day.

Common Questions

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2029. For a patient it is reasonable assurance that the supervision behind the clinic is held to a national standard. It is not a statement that the clinic is open.

Other Low-Cost Options in Virginia

• Community health center dental clinics in Virginia — full dental care including fillings and extractions, with fees discounted by household income.
• Dental schools in Virginia — 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 Virginia — volunteer and donated-care programs, with eligibility rules and limited places.
• Virginia state oral health program — the health department office behind school sealant programs and safety-net dental services in the state.
• How sliding-scale clinics work — who qualifies for an income-based discount and how to apply for one.