Cabrillo College has the only dental hygiene program in the Monterey Bay region. (B. Sakura Cannestra — Santa Cruz Local)

APTOS >> Cabrillo College’s dental hygiene program was put on a three-year probation by state regulators last month and the threat of losing its accreditation looms over its teachers and students.

An investigation by the Dental Hygiene Board of California, which oversees statewide consumer safety, regulations and licensing for the industry, found eight violations of state law during a Feb. 12 visit to the college’s dental hygiene clinic. 

At meetings March 27 and 28, board members were outraged by the violations and suggested the program should lose its accreditation outright. Instead, the board gave the program an opportunity to improve during the probationary period and levied the maximum fine of $5,000.

“I was stunned, I just want to say that,” Dental Hygiene Board member Dr. Julie Elginer said at the meeting. “This is unacceptable — absolutely, categorically, for public protection purposes, unacceptable.” 

According to a letter from the state board, violations included staff ratios below the minimum, administrators changing students’ grades to advance them to the next course, students accessing the clinic without supervision and students lacking the minimum clinical hours required.

The school’s clinic offers low cost dental care to the public, where student hygienists work with patients under faculty supervision. 

“I am uneasy about letting a program like this continue because I think it really does endanger our consumers,” said Nicolas Kiet Quach, another member of the dental board.

The college is now required to file quarterly reports with the board and may have surprise visits from board representatives during the probation period.

“We don’t have the hygienists we need to serve our population.”

– Dr. Joshua Sanchez, vice president of the Monterey Bay Dental Society.

Cabrillo College has the only dental hygiene program in the Monterey Bay region.

Travaris Harris, vice president of instruction at Cabrillo, said the current cohort of students are on track to graduate in May, and the program extended the clinic’s hours to make time for students to complete missing hours. He added that they’re working to address some of the violations, including hiring a second full-time employee and another administrator.

“I am confident that, as we go through the process and do our due diligence with reporting, that they’ll see that we address all of the concerns they had, and our program is on track,” Harris said in an interview on Monday.

‘We’ve all worked really hard’

A dental hygiene student said they’re worried the probation will damage their cohort’s reputation and overshadow their two years of education. The student lives in Santa Cruz County and requested anonymity for fear of academic retaliation and risking future job opportunities. They said they pursued dental hygiene to help improve oral health care access throughout the region, and that this program is integral as an affordable and accessible education option. 

“For us as a cohort, we’ve been told that it shouldn’t affect us personally,” the student said. “It’s just concerning to us because we, as community health care workers, we want more hygienists in the area.” 

The violations ranged from not having enough faculty to meet student needs to allowing all of the program’s 20 students to pass classes despite not meeting clinical hour requirements. Students were missing between 12 and 44 hours of required clinic experience.

Another violation included that seven students did not meet additional course requirements but were able to enroll in the next course prior to completing the prerequisites. According to state records, administrators changed students’ grades before they had completed missing coursework.

Many violations are related to the program’s narrow budget, according to the state investigation, including the department dropping to one full-time employee and having students pay for personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. 

Since the state board meeting, the school has begun making efforts to aid the program. Students were required to find their own patients for the clinic, often tabling at local events or around campus for advertising. Administrators are now helping to find patients by advertising the clinic more on social media.

The current student said as a result, they’re seeing more patients, and some classmates have now met and exceeded the required clinical hours. 

Worries remain about the future of the program. 

“We don’t have the hygienists we need to serve our population,” said Dr. Joshua Sanchez, vice president of the Monterey Bay Dental Society. “This program is so vital in trying to catch up and get health providers into our offices to take care of our communities.”

Sanchez said there would be vast consequences if Cabrillo’s program lost its accreditation, as it’s the only one in the Monterey Bay area. 

“We’re just so close to the end and don’t want anything to happen,” said the current Cabrillo dental student. “We’ve all worked really hard to be where we are right now.”

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