
Roane State Community College Associate Professor Melinda Gill, director of the college’s highly regarded dental hygiene program, stands outside the dental hygiene clinic, located in the Coffey/McNally Building on the Oak Ridge branch campus. (Photo by Roane State)
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
The doorway into Roane State’s Dental Hygiene Clinic can be overlooked at times. It’s D-107, off the atrium and across from the library of the college’s Oak Ridge campus.
Unbeknownst to the casual passerby, it’s the entrance to a college program regarded as one of the top in the nation.
Inside:
- a classroom outfitted with the most current dental teaching implements;
- six spotless operatories/treatment rooms containing dental chairs, computers for inputting patient records, and the latest treatment technology;
- two X-ray rooms with digital X-ray capability—one with panoramic X-ray equipment—and a room where X-rays are developed; and
- a receptionist’s area along with a small office.