Comments on: Surviving a $10 technical-school teeth cleaning

By: Mespo

Mespo — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:54:00 +0000

I’ve been there myself. They do a fair job, but whoa the time is long.

By: Free dental xrays tomorrow for guinea pigs | Brokelyn

Free dental xrays tomorrow for guinea pigs | Brokelyn — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:29:48 +0000

[...] just how bad it is tomorrow by submitting to free bitewing xrays from a dental hygiene student at New York City College of Technology. Appointments are available for tomorrow, March 25, at 8:30 am, at the school’s downtown [...]

By: Carrie Nutt

Carrie Nutt — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:39:45 +0000

I’ve been going here for years, since 2003, and I love them. You do have to set aside 3 or so hours, but they do a good job at cleaning your teeth and you can’t beat the price.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:48:14 +0000

As the student who graduated from this program I would definitely recommend to go there. I know I will. As far as Katheryn’s negative experience went, all she had to do is say something, because our clinic does provide local anesthesia if being requested by the patient. The cleaning that most dental offices do, can’t be compared with NYCCT students’ provide, because they are being graded on every single step they make and every single spot they miss. Trust me, you won’t get better care in any other place and for that kind of money.
As far as appointments go, please remember to keep them. Many of you don’t know that students are obligated to have someone in their chair either it will be you or someone else. If you don’t show up, cancel last minute, or come late they will get zero for the day and will have to make it up on their own time(which they don’t have much of) For you it made be just an appointment for dental cleaning, but for them it is their future, so please don’t stand them up like that. Therefore, I am asking you to respect the fact that they are going through serious “boot camp education” in that school. With this being said, if you are sitting in their chair you can be sure that a student who works on you, went through serious training already and they know what they are doing(don’t underestimate their abilities).
About the building: yes it is very outdated, however the equipment/instruments they use is all brand new (it has to be). Everything that students use is sterile, the school is very very strict about their polices.
So, be patient, nice to your Dental Hygienist, punctual, understanding and I promise you that you will love it and will be extremely happy with these services. There are so many happy patients who come to the clinic for years!!! You could be one of them

By: Katheryn

Katheryn — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:03:08 +0000

I had a TERRIBLE experience at the NYC College of Technology. I was BUTCHERED. It was as if I were in an old Nine Inch Nails music video. All I wanted was a cleaning. It was fine the first few minutes; the student was nice, hip, and talked on and on about Rubulad as she picked away at my gums. Thing is, much of my gumline is receding so many of my nerve endings are directly exposed. When her picking got to this area, she didn’t seem to notice the recession and just kept scraping, picking, and knifing at the exposed nerves. I jumped and flinched from the pain several times (think ice-on-cavity kind of pain…), but I figured she was just making few mistakes. But it didn’t stop.

I politely told her I’m having pain; please lay off a bit. She said she had to clean the entire area as her professor was grading her on this – just sit tight – she’ll make it quick. I was more than mildly bleeding at this point. She kept hacking. I pleaded again; I got the same response. After about 15 minutes of extreme pain (and about 40 minutes into the cleaning – only half my teeth had been cleaned), tears began to well up in my eyes and I knew I had to make a scene to stop this. I jumped out of the chair and ran to the restroom saying I was going to get sick from the pain and the blood (not far from the truth!). The sight in the restroom mirror was grotesque; my entire gumline was dark red from exposed roots. I took the back door out of that building and will never see a student for any discount service again.

I spoke to my former [professional] dentist back home about and he said that a receding gum cleaning costs a lot more than a regular cleaning and, of course, REQUIRES LOCAL ANESTHESIA.

This little girl went far, far above and beyond. I certainly will never forget her.

*Shudders.*

By: Amber

Amber — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:27:34 +0000

I’ve had fillings filled, a tooth pulled, and a crown re-attached at the school of dentistry (in Alabama, UAB a very “medical focused” college) and the most I ever paid was $75. I would recommend this practice to just about anyone, but she’s right :: privacy is nonexistent. the supervisors will be supervising, and i actually had a class of students watching my tooth pull….luckily the anesthetic they gave me kinda helped me ignore these people :)

I LOVE YOUR BLOGS SARA!!!

By: Miss Margaret Picky

Miss Margaret Picky — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:52:41 +0000

I just got my teeth cleaned here and had a very positive experience.

It did take several hours but the quality of the actual cleaning was very good and there was less pain because the dental hygiene student took her time and was very skillful, confident, etc. She also explained a lot of things to me about my gums, bone, etc. that no one ever took the time to explain to me before. The supervising professor sat down and checked everything afterwards.

And yes, you get a toothbrush, a little tube of toothpaste, and a small roll of floss for your $10.

The privacy wasn’t such an issue for me because of the whir of the equipment.

My only real complaint: the tools and equipment were clean, certainly the dental hygiene student washed her hands, changed her gloves frequently, covered me with a drape and goggles, etc., but the floor was pretty grungy in the corners and even the base of the chair was grimy. The place could definitely stand a good cleaning. Okay, I admit my dentist’s office could stand a good cleaning as well.

Overall, definitely worthwhile. The nice young lady who cleaned my teeth was graduating in a few weeks and the odds are the hygienist in your dentist’s office graduated from here anyway, it’s part of CUNY.

By: The Hogs Roar Loudest in Harlem - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

The Hogs Roar Loudest in Harlem - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:28:17 +0000

[...] Clean your teeth on the cheap! There’s $10 dental care at New York City College of Technology. [Brokelyn] [...]

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Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:06:46 +0000

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By: LD

LD — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:54:25 +0000

I went to NYC College of Technology for a dental cleaning for the first time last year and it was an overall positive experience. I was able to get an appointment the same week I called because it was exam week and there were students who needed patients that week. Fortunately, my plaque-ridden teeth that hadn’t been cleaned in 3 years qualified for one of the slots they had open :) Although the whole visit took about 3 hours (they did warn me about that so I cleared my whole morning for the appointment), it was a pain-free and very thorough exam & cleaning. In fact, I just got a post card from them reminding me that it’s almost time for another check-up and cleaning! The environment is definitely off-putting when you first walk in, but for $10, I feel like I absolutely got my money’s worth and I will continue to go there for cleanings and hopefully I won’t need anything more than that for a while :)