Hawkeye Community College

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WATERLOO --- The dental hygienists-in-training peer into the mouths of patients, working over their teeth and gums with slender silver instruments.Those reclining in the chairs last week at Hawkeye Community College's dental clinic were there for a real check-up, which has always been a part of the two-year program preparing students to work in a dentist's office.But this fall students working in the clinic might think they've already graduated and started their careers.A $297,000 remodeling project over the summer, paid for with proceeds from a 2003 voter-approved bond issue, has transformed the 20-year-old clinic on Grundy Hall's lower level.Partial walls have been built between the 18 dental stations where, before, nothing separated them in the open room. Each station has increased storage space, new hands-free sinks and a pair of flat computer screens.And a separate budget provided $75,000 to install new dentist chairs, replacing the 30-year-old models patients had been sitting in.Sarah Turner, instructor and chairwoman of HCC's health and sciences department, said state-of-the-art equipment has outfitted the clinic like a "cutting edge" dentist's office. Some already have computers and other equipment found in the clinic, but she expects many offices will be adding those items over the next five - more available