Donor Funds New Computers for Dental Hygiene

The UCBA Dental Hygiene program recently received a large donation. A local financial company had a client who wanted to make an anonymous donation to the program based on what was most needed for the program. Computer technology was the greatest need, and the donor agreed to fund 37 computers in the clinic.
These computers are flat screen and mounted on the walls of the student areas in Walters Hall. They are white computers with flat rubbery keyboards.
According to Dental Hygiene professors and students, the best thing about the computers is the fact that all parts of them, including the screen and the mouse, can be disinfected.
Digital X-Rays can be displayed from the computers as well. The new computers were set up by the project manager, Andrew Barnes, of the UCBA Information Technology Department. Barnes used EagleSoft software to set up the dental program on the computers.
Students are able to do dental chartings on the new computers as well as periodontal chartings to check the tooth and gum health. Barnes said that all the information on the charts is much faster than before.
The whole purpose of the project is to bring the program into the more current age of technology. The goal was for the Dental Hygiene program to prepare graduates for the computer technology found in many private practice settings. Graduates will feel more confident in the job market having had the computer technology in their curriculum.
There was also an additional monetary donation to use as scholarships for students' instrument kits. Professor Mary Kaye Scaramucci, Head of the UCBA Dental Hygiene program, said that students do not have to have a specific G.P.A. to receive the scholarship. The scholarships went to students who demonstrated a financial need for the scholarship that would fund the $700 dental kits.
Four scholarships were donated this year, and there may be enough money for the scholarships to continue next year.
The Dental Hygiene Clinic offers teeth cleanings for $20 ($10 if you are a current UCBA student).
For more information about the clinic, call 745-5630 or scarammk@ucmail.uc.edu.