Community Outreach - School of Dentistry
Dental Clinics Provide Accessible Care
Through two clinics, four outreach clinics and a mobile unit, the School of Dentistry offers oral health services and education. Last year, services were provided to 25,000 patients for a total of 120,000 patient visits.
Dental Screenings Impact Community
In 2012, the School of Dentistry participated in 28 outreach events, screening 505 children and adults and providing 11, 668 oral health kits. Outreach activities included:
- Provided dental and oral cancer screenings in August 2012 to 438 individuals in partnership with KEM’s Mack and Third Foundation.
- Provided dental services to approximately 80 area children during the annual "Give Kids a Smile" event in February. About 210 School of Dentistry faculty, staff and students and 55 Pre-Dental Society members volunteered at the event. The Give Kids a Smile day is a national American Dental Association initiative to provide free oral health care to at-risk children and to raise awareness of the number of children with unmet dental needs.
- Partnered with the Smiles Program mobile unit to expand students’ knowledge on how to provide an additional way for access to care in urban and rural areas.
- Participated in Kim’s Mack and Third Outreach event where 438 adults were screened, incorporating the head and neck cancer check during dental screenings, and 6,500 oral health kits were passed out.
- Partnered with Maryland Children's Oral Health Institute aiding in the delivery of "Lessons in a Lunchbox" initiative to Farwell Elementary in Detroit. UDM dental students, hygiene students, and the Pre-Dental Society reviewed oral hygiene instructions and helped 1st-3rd graders assemble their lunchbox tool kit. Over 260 students received a lunchbox containing oral hygiene supplies and information.
- Partnered with Detroit Public Schools and University of Detroit Jesuit High School through the Dental Imprint Program, to promote careers in dentistry among Detroit area students. Career Day presentations were conducted at targeted schools, which culminated with a tour of the School of Dentistry.
- American Student Dental Association students and Advance Education Graduate Degree residents made and delivered 73 mouth guards for an elementary school in southwest Detroit.
- UDM’s Student National Dental Association and Pre-Dental Student Association partnered with Delta Sigma Delta International Professional Fraternity and Wayne State Medical School students to provide free dental screening and dental education to patients at the Chinese Community Center in Madison Heights, MI.
Dental Site Celebrates 40 Years
In December 2011, the School of Dentistry’s University Health Center, located in the Detroit Medical Center, celebrated 40 years of service to the community, which includes providing oral health care to approximately 400 homeless veterans.
Dental Services at St. Vincent DePaul
UDM Dental and UDM Chapter of American Student Dental Association collaborated with the Society of St. Vincent DePaul to establish a free dental clinic at the Society’s location on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. Volunteer students and faculty provide free dental services one Saturday a month, with plans to expand the program to two Saturdays a month.
Service to Veterans
The School of Dentistry is currently partnering with the Veterans Administration Medical Center to provide veterans with needed dental treatment, including dental restoration to assist them in re-entering civilian life and beginning job searches.
