Dental Clinic

CARE Partnership - Student Run Dental Clinic plays in important role in offering health care to those with out access. Emergent dental pain is not easily treatable in a medical setting as it may require dental specialists rare to hospitals. Many organizations treat children and adults, but this clinic is the only one in the Phoenix area that provides full comprehensive care to both children and adults at no cost to the patients while providing an educational model to Pre-Dental Students. As a result, the Dental Clinic is the only option for most of our patients. We help many who are low income, uninsured, homeless, those who cannot receive health care elsewhere, and others who fall through the cracks.

The Dental Clinic has limited eligibility requirements, but prioritizes the individuals that we serve by their volunteer service in the community. Since the dental clinic can only provide limited resources, we can help patients access other sources of dental care. The Dental clinic integrates into the referral system within the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Arizona Dental Association, and Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health.

For many of our clients, dental care becomes important for their survival. Dental services can become costly and for many different reasons, it is unaffordable for people. So without regular checkups, problems are undetected, left untreated, and lead to more serious problems in the future. Our clinics' priority is to provide comprehensive care, but also treats acute and emergent pain problems that arise from being untreated for so long. Visible tooth decay and missing teeth cause employers not to hire people in need, which perpetuates their inability to access medical and oral health care. Through a program called tooth for tooth our clients who are missing teeth or will need teeth extracted will be provided with denture or partial denture work that not only changes their self esteem, but also their ability to return to employment. They are able to smile again, something many of us take for granted.

Commitment to Education:

Many primary and secondary educational systems fail to promote occupations in dentistry, and are not familiar with the requirements of pursuing such an occupation. We at the CARE Partnership/Student Run Dental Clinic combat these important deficiencies on all levels. Our program exposes students to all aspects of the dental profession. Participants interact with volunteer dentists, hygienists, and other dental professionals constantly. They will assist and observe procedures and techniques performed at our outreach facility. Students will become OSHA, HIPA, and Infection Control certified, and also have the opportunity to become x-ray certified. Perhaps most importantly, students realize the importance and fulfillment of volunteering their future professional services to the underserved. Exposures to such experiences at our clinics have positively affected the lives of many students.

An additional aspect to the dental profession the students will be involved is monthly case studies which will prepare them for real-life scenarios revolving around ethics, social services, access to care, diagnosis and the treatment planning process our volunteer dentist go through in providing care to our clients. Additional education with regard to opportunities within the dental profession is provided every other Thursday night in the form of special guest lecturers. These sessions, facilitated by students and advisors alike, provide the opportunity for undergraduate students to personally meet and converse with professionals within the dental industry. Such special speakers include Deans of graduate dental programs, dental specialists from the community, and others who have unique insight and experience that can guide young students down their desired career paths.

The students involved with this tremendous project have various future plans to facilitate outreach programs that will educate young men and women about career options in dentistry. Currently ASU students offer tutoring and mentorship programs through CARE Partnership. One such goal is to further involve ASU Pre-Dental students to inspire other students from the high school level to attend College. Giving them the opportunities to live their dreams and open the doors of possibility into a profession in dentistry.

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Related Volunteer Opportunities

Thanks to . . .
all the volunteer dentists, hygenists, ASDOH dental and ASU pre-dental students, Early Childhood Music Specialist Maureen Conlin, East Valley Bible Church, CARE Partnership with Youth and everyone else that contributed to the Community Dental Health Event.

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