SAVANNAH — Savannah Technical College opened the doors to its new dental hygiene clinic Thursday.

The new facility, on the College’s Savannah Campus, is a mix of renovated space (7,745 square feet) and new construction (6,407 square feet). It includes a clinical lab with 24 dental-hygiene stations; four radiology rooms; a dental-materials lab; two classrooms; specialized spaces for records, sterilization and patient reception; six faculty offices; and an administrative area. Cost of the project was $1.81 million.

“Our students and patients love this space. We are very pleased to be here,” said Dr. Suzanne Edenfield, dental-hygiene department head.

The dental-hygiene program, which was operated for 44 years by Armstrong Atlantic State University, transferred to Savannah Technical College last year when AASU made known its plan to eliminate the program. Once Savannah Tech was granted the transfer of the accreditation by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, arrangements were made to lease program and clinical space from Armstrong. While the construction on the new facility was completed, faculty was hired, including supervising dentists, and classes were taught without academic interruption for students.

The 82-credit-hour program for an Associate of Science in dental hygiene accepts approximately 24 students annually. Students provide clinical patient care as a component of their curriculum requirements.

Students wishing to enter the dental-hygiene program must complete an application packet by May 1, 2013, for admission to the fall class. For more information, email hvalentine@savannahtech.edu or sedenfield@savannahtech.edu, or call 912-443-5721.