News Summary

The School of Dentistry has received a $3.5 million gift from Delta Dental of Minnesota Trust to support the construction of the state’s only hospital-based pediatric dental clinic and the most advanced pediatric dental clinic in the Upper Midwest.

Quotes

“The clinic will be a regional resource for children with complex medical, developmental and emotional needs, both on an inpatient and outpatient basis,” says Judith Buchanan, interim dean of the School of Dentistry. “It will be home to our advanced education program in pediatric dentistry and offer our dental residents a rich educational experience in an environment of coordinated care, working with pediatricians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists and dieticians.”

“ Every dollar will be invested in bricks and mortar, and the investment will be multiplied many times over through improved oral health for children, said Delta Dental of Minnesota Trust Board Chair Mike Howe. “We are very pleased to help bring this great new resource for Minnesota children to life.”

“Looking ahead, we can expect the number of children seeking dental care will increase as a result of recent changes in healthcare reform that now mandate dental benefits for thousands of more children. This underscores the importance of educating pediatric dentists and this new clinic will help provide exceptional next-generation education and patient care,” said pediatric dentist Rick Baylon.

Full Text

 MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (August 4, 2011)--The School of Dentistry has received a $3.5 million gift from Delta Dental of Minnesota Trust to support the construction of the state’s only hospital-based pediatric dental clinic and the most advanced pediatric dental clinic in the Upper Midwest.

 The clinic – named the University of Minnesota Children’s Dental Clinic, made possible by Delta Dental of Minnesota – will be located adjacent to the new University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital on the west bank campus of the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. The hospital opened in April 2011 and the children’s dental clinic is anticipated to begin operation in April 2012.

“The clinic will be a regional resource for children, including those with complex medical, developmental and emotional needs, both on an inpatient and outpatient basis,” says Judith Buchanan, interim dean of the School of Dentistry. “It will be home to our advanced education program in pediatric dentistry and offer our dental residents a rich educational experience in an environment of coordinated care, working with pediatricians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists and dieticians.”

“Every dollar will be invested in bricks and mortar, and the investment will be multiplied many times over through improved oral health for children,” said Delta Dental of Minnesota Trust Board Chair Mike Howe. “We are very pleased to help bring this great new resource for Minnesota children to life.”

The state-of-the-art dental clinic for children will feature fourteen dental operatories designed to accommodate pediatric patients and a family member or care-giver, along with a team of pediatric dental professionals. For pediatric dental residents, the clinic will provide opportunities for bedside evaluation of hospitalized patients, as well as access to both the hospital’s pediatric operating rooms and its pediatric emergency room when children arrive unexpectedly with acute conditions.

The clinic will also offer opportunities for interprofessional collaboration and learning in pediatric patient care, education and research, for medical and dental residents and faculty within the University’s Academic Health Center. There will be experiences in oral assessment and primary preventive dental services for the Medical School’s pediatricians-in-training, as well as clinical rotations in pediatric dentistry for dental residents in the dental school’s General Practice Residency Program. The clinic will also serve the state as a venue for implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of new delivery models of dental care, such as the effective integration and utilization of dental therapists in the dental practice.

Pediatric dentists Teresa Fong Sit of Golden Valley, and Rick Baylon of Stillwater, will co-chair the capital campaign committee charged with raising $4.5 million to build the clinic and fund its operations for the first two years. Says Fong Sit, “All kids deserve access to quality dental care. This clinic will address access-to-care challenges of many of the state’s children now and into the future.”

According to Baylon, “Looking ahead, we can expect the number of children seeking dental care will increase as a result of recent changes in healthcare reform that now mandate dental benefits for thousands of more children. This underscores the importance of educating pediatric dentists and this new clinic will help provide exceptional next-generation education and patient care.”

The capital campaign launched in February 2010 with several gifts, including a $500,000 grant from 3M Foundation. In addition to Drs. Fong Sit and Baylon, the campaign committee also includes pediatric dentists James Nickman (Lino Lakes) and Joni Richmond (St. Paul).