The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will receive $2 million in funding for the expansion of its Oral Health Clinic in Little Rock from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, the university announced.
The clinic will house the state's sole dental residency program, which will allow dental school graduates to complete advanced dental education and hopefully continue their careers in the state, according to the university.
The first five of the clinic's planned 18 individual treatment rooms are now open. In recognition of the $2 million total in support, which includes a $440,000 grant announced in 2012, UAMS will name the clinic the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Oral Health Clinic when planned expansion is complete in 2014.
The clinic is part of the UAMS Center for Dental Education, which is working toward accreditation for postgraduate residency programs in advanced general dentistry and oral surgery. It is planned that in 2014, when the clinic expansion is complete, the center can begin accepting dental residents who will provide dental care to patients in the clinic while gaining further clinical experience.
The clinic also will complement and enhance the UAMS dental hygiene program, which sees patients in an adjacent clinic. The two clinics will share some resources, improving the quality of experience dental hygiene students will receive.
Keith David Stillwell, DDS, the director of the clinical and residency programs in the Center for Dental Education, will provide dental care to patients in the clinic. Two dental assistants and a dental hygienist recently joined the clinic staff. Additional dentists are expected to join the faculty soon, the university noted.
