New model for rural clinics in underserved areas

The University of Maryland Dental School Clinic, Perryville is a new model for rural clinics in underserved areas across the country, says Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, dean of the Dental School in Baltimore.

Opened with little fanfare late last year, the clinic in the small town of Perryville in northeast Maryland has now served nearly 3,500 patients at low cost. While providing oral health care to an underserved population, the clinic helps the top ranked dental school train the next generation of dentists and dental hygienists for service in both rural settings and urban settings.

Earlier this month, about 80 invited guests gathered at the Perryville clinic to unveiling a wall of plagues honoring donors who had enbraced the concept and made the clinic possible. Many expressed delight that the small clinic is actually equipped with the best dental equipment available in the world.

"We decided why not do something completely different, and this is now both a model and a place where our students can treat patients with the best equipment," said Stohler.

Several years ago, the University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore and Union Hospital in Elkton, with encouragement from local health officials and the state legislature, formed a partnership to offer dental services to rural northeastern Maryland at minimum cost.

The partnership was motivated by a desperate need for oral health care in the region. A study revealed that about 35 percent of all elementary school children in Cecil County had never been to a dentist, and many low-income adult and elderly residents did not have access to emergency dental care.

The partners chose Perryville, a small town about 50 miles north of the University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore, as the clinic location.

Two of the largest contributors to the concept were dental equipment manufacturers Planmeca of Finland and Bien-Air of Switzerland. The value of Planmeca's donations, which included 22 automated Sovereign dental chairs, totaled $2.4 million. Bien-Air's donations, worth $500,000, include the latest models of silent dental drills and other hand-held tools. The cutting-edge technology, combined with a live telemedicine links with the Dental School in Baltimore, allows the School to limit the cost of its education by keeping a low faculty-to-student radio, said Stohler.

"We wanted to be involved because it is very important to help out people who can't afford decent dentistry," said Vincent Mosimann, Bien-Air general manager. "It wasn't long ago when there was nothing here and suddenly we have this fantastic facility. I look at the final product, this clinic, and I am amazed--fantastic looking and very functional."

Arthur Mateen, Bien-Air's branch manager, said, "I have been to so many dental schools and there has been nothing like this that I've seen. This is not the kind of facility you expect .. you'd expect, used equipment, maybe on the blink."

Jay A. Perman, MD, president of the University of Maryland campus in Baltimore said that when he was told of the lack of dental care in the region, "As a pediatrician, this concerned me very much. I can't begin to emphasize enough the importance of oral health for children. To have our Dental School people, united with the Cecil College, Union Hospital, Cecil County Public Schools, and other partner organizations to offer those services without expense to them, we have a lot to celebrate today. "

State Delegate David Rudolph, MEd, EdD, from Cecil County, said, "I am so proud of this accomplishment because kids, when they come to school with poor oral health, they are doomed to failure."

Other corporate donors include Johnson & Johnson Professional Affairs and Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Individual donors are Dental School alumni Harold Frank, DDS, class of 1979; Judith Gaston, RN, MS; Michael King, DDS; Charlene Moore; and Eunice Nelson.

More than two dozen community organizations also support the clinic.