School Launches an Innovative Private Practice Training Center
Practicing dentists can attest to the reality of Benjamin Franklin’s astute aphorism, “Time is money.” And as today’s graduating dental students face that reality with a debt burden that can range from $150,000 to $200,000, they are under tremendous pressure to make the most of their time as they enter the profession. That’s but one of the many reasons the UMKC School of Dentistry established the Dr. Charles Dunlap Innovation Center for Research and Education in Technology, located in the northwest corner of the School’s first floor. The School hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday afternoon, Sept. 16, 2013, to dedicate the newly constructed facility.
The Center will serve as a test and simulation lab where students can gain hands-on experience with the latest equipment provided by different manufacturers. The Innovation Center exposes students to both the clinical and business sides of running a practice, melding those with ethical practice underpinnings. They will explore business models such as group practice, sole practitioner and independent contractor. Among other skills, they will learn team leadership and critical business evaluation techniques. Dental and dental hygiene students will rotate through the clinic, which houses seven dental operatories that enable students to experience the direction of dental practice in the future.
“Patients throughout the Kansas City area and Midwest, not only students and faculty, will gain the many benefits of the Innovation Center at the School of Dentistry,” said School of Dentistry Dean Marsha Pyle. “It’s crucial that students combine the foundational skills required to be an exceptional practitioner with the newest technologies to best serve the patient in an increasingly technology-driven world.”
The Innovation Center at the School of Dentistry is a partnership with the Center for Research and Education in Technology (CRET), a group of leaders from the dental industry. CRET also has worked with Loma Linda School of Dentistry in California to create a clinic there; the UMKC School of Dentistry is CRET’s second project.
“What was once a radical idea is now a reality,” said Edward Rossomando, director of CRET and a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. “The dental industry and dental educators can work together to integrate new technologies into the dental school curriculum.”
Numerous manufacturers donated equipment to outfit the operatories in the 2,026-square-foot center. The Stanley H. Durwood Foundation and other alumnae and friends of the School honored the 45-year career of “Charlie” Dunlap (DDS ’60) with the naming of the Center. About $2.25 million was raised to support the Center and its staffing. James Trotter (DDS, ’76), a clinical assistant professor, serves as the Center’s director.
2013 Fall Explorer Contents:
- Message from the Dean
- School Launches an Innovative
- Private Practice Training Center
- A Practical Approach to Preparing Students for Dental Practice
- The Dunlap Fund: Putting Compassion into Action
- DDS Class of 2014 Honors Classmate with Memorial Scholarship
- Upcoming UMKC Continuing Dental Education
- Summer Dental Scholars Present Research and PublishArticle
- Get to Know Our Newest Students!
- Recognizing Faculty and Staff Achievement
- With Gratitude We Wish Our Retirees Well
- Class Notes
- Alums Are Helping U.S. Army “Go First Class”
- Alumni Get Together in New Orleans
- In Memoriam
- Dental Hygiene Profession and UMKC DH Program Celebrate Anniversaries
- Nancy Keselyak Wins 2013 Dental Hygiene Educator of the Year Award
- School Announces Renovation Projects
- Congratulations to Our 2014 UMKC “Alumni Achievement” Awardees
- The Rinehart Foundation: A Living Legacy
- Honor Roll of Donors
- Recent Graduate Committee Entertains and Informs Students
- Scholarship Recognition Dinner Celebrates Generosity and Gratitude
- Mark Your Calendar for the 2014 Midwest Dental Conference