Clinic changes face of dental education
by Jennifer Hilliard
The most significant curricular change in the School of Dentistry’s 35-year history will better prepare seniors for their future practices.
The Comprehensive Care Clinic, which held its grand opening celebration Aug. 21, is modeled after private-practice dentistry, where most patient care happens in one place. At every appointment, patients will be seen in the same clinic by students supervised by the same group of faculty – made up of highly qualified generalists and specialists.
“This
is a big day for the School of Dentistry and for campus,” said Dean Connie
Drisko to a standing-room-only crowd at the celebration. “Everything we do
is to provide the best customer service. Our students and our patients are
our customers and we should always keep them in mind as we progress.”
The new clinic provides a more patient- and family-centered care. Before the clinic, which operated as a pilot program this summer, patients were often treated in several specialty clinics for different dental problems. Now, they spend their time, and less of it, in a single chair.
Comprehensive care allows faculty-supervised students to increase their clinical productivity and practice more difficult procedures. The end result is a more experienced graduate and a smoother transition into private practice. And because procedures are performed by students, services are offered at a reduced cost.
The new clinic features axiUm, a clinic management system that allows for paperless patient records and digital radiography. MCG’s dental school is among the first in the nation to incorporate this type of system into operational and clinical care.
“The system makes planning treatment easier and allows a better way to chart patients’ progress and follow-up on previous problems,” said Dr. Frank Caughman, associate dean of patient services. “It also makes patient care more efficient. We anticipate that greater than 80 percent of patient care will be done in the Comprehensive Care Clinic.”
The axiUm system also opens up new opportunities for outcomes-based research because faculty and students can view an entire patient record electronically, Dr. Drisko said.
“It is important in what we do to be willing to change the way we go about our business,” said President Daniel W. Rahn at the celebration. “We must be willing to innovate, experiment and make changes. You, as a school, have demonstrated that willingness. In doing so, you have captured the imagination, interest and support of the entire state.”
Because comprehensive care is more intensive and requires more faculty time, the school created nine new faculty positions to accommodate the changes. The total project costs – including university funding for new faculty and private funding for axiUm implementation and training – was nearly $3 million.
For more information about the clinic or to schedule an appointment, call ext. 1-2371.