The Dental Clinic at the Whiteside county Health Department began 23 years ago in 1997 with one volunteer dentist. Today there are 7 dentist, 5 of which are fulltime, and 2 part time and 2 dental hygienists. February is both Heart Health Month and Gum Disease Awareness Month. Jana Meiners, dental supervisor at the clinic and Brook Carlson, dental hygienist were in studio Wednesday morning to talk about the connection between gum disease and heart disease.