The role of dental schools in the issues of access to care

Abstract

Some individuals emphasize dentistry as the provision of services; others concentrate on achieving specified levels of oral health. One's vision of dentistry affects how the issue of access is viewed. The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry has been the recipient of a Profession and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education project (the Pipeline) grant to promote oral health in underserved communities and to train students to function effectively in such settings. The School's Extramural Clinical Experience is described. This involves 60 days of providing care in seventeen sites for students in their fourth year of training. Students must qualify for these rotations based on clinical competency and they must document their experiences. The positive effects observed so far in this program are described.