Fairfield dentist Dennis Ragoza has donated a specialized X-ray machine to the University of Bridgeport”™s Fones School of Dental Hygiene. It will be used by university faculty and student clinicians as they provide free dental care for Bridgeport children at the Jettie S. Tisdale Middle School. Since 2007, more than 350 students per year have received the dental care.
State Sen. Tony Hwang was among those on hand for the presentation at the middle school.
The panoramic X-ray machine rotates around a patient”™s head, taking a single continuous image of the teeth and the jaw as opposed to separate images of various teeth. It is worth about $23,000.
“We are so excited about this, and we can”™t thank Dr. Ragoza enough,” said Marcia Lorentzen, dean of the Fones School.
American students miss more than 750,000 school days annually due to dental-related illnesses, according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Dental decay affects 59 percent of youngsters between the ages of 5 and 17.
Ragoza said he wanted to donate an X-ray machine to the Fones School because it provides “a much-needed service in areas where receiving routine dental care may be a challenge.”
The Fones School of Dental Hygiene was founded in 1913 by Bridgeport dentist Alfred C. Fones, who is credited with coining the term “dental hygiene.” Through various programs, Fones treats up to 10,000 patients annually throughout Connecticut.
