Parents who may be underinsured in dental coverage or who are uninsured can make an appointment to bring their children between the ages of six through 12 to HACC for an oral health exam and sealant procedure free of charge. Second-year dental hygiene students will assist professional dental hygienists on Sealant Saturday, January 27. They will be offering these services from 9am to 2pm at two locations. One is at HACC's Dental Hygiene Clinic in Select Medical Health Education Pavilion on the Harrisburg Campus and the other at the Head Start Dental Clinic at the same plaza where HACC's Gettysburg Campus is located - North Gettysburg Center, 731 Old Harrisburg Road in Gettysburg.

Parents and legal guardians must make an appointment for either location by contacting the Dental Hygiene Clinic at (717) 780-2441 or 1-800-222-4222, ext. 2441. Children will be seen by appointment only.

Second-year dental hygiene students, together with volunteer dentists and licensed dental hygienists, some who are HACC alumni, will perform a painless, routine oral exam before placing a thin coating on the chewing surfaces of the patient's back teeth. Sealants are a hard coating that help protect teeth from decay. Members of the first year dental hygiene class, dental assisting class, and expanded function dental auxiliary classes all participate in making this a positive experience for the children.

Members of the Harrisburg Dental Society will be present at the Harrisburg site that day providing recommendations to parents regarding additional work that may be needed. These dentists will then provide additional free dental services for the children seen on Sealant Saturday when they offer their "Give Kids a Smile Day" on February 17 at HACC.

Sealant Saturday is a statewide service sponsored by the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists' Association. The HACC Dental Hygiene Clinic is host of the Harrisburg and Gettysburg events. Sealant material is supplied by Dentsply Professional Division in York. Sealant Saturday is an effort to provide oral health services to children who are underinsured or who otherwise cannot afford regular dental visits.

HACC's dental hygiene students, as student members of the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists' Association, strive to improve the public's health, advance the art and science of dental hygiene by increasing awareness, and ensure access to cost-effective quality oral health care.