Author: umkcwebmaster

Expanding the dental health workforce

Posted on by umkcwebmaster

A major grant is helping UMKC faculty study the public health implications of allowing dental hygienists to provide basic care.

Meet the researchers

Melanie Simmer-Beck, Ph.D., RDH

  • Professor and Admission Enhancement Program Director, Department of Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science, School of Dentistry
  • Joined UMKC in 2004

Patricia J. Kelly, Ph.D., M.P.H., APRN

  • Professor, School of Nursing and Health Studies
  • Joined UMKC in 2004

About the project

The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, worth up to $4.38 million, will compare dental models in Kansas, where dental hygienists are allowed direct patient access, to those in Missouri, where dental hygienists must provide dental care in the presence of a dentist.

“This project will identify cost-effective, evidence-based strategies that improve access to dental providers in rural and urban underserved communities and ultimately reduce the number of children in Kansas who experience pain and suffering from oral health problems that are largely preventable,” Simmer-Beck says.

>Read more in Explore, a publication of UMKC.

Teaching for the top jobs

Posted on by umkcwebmaster

While the future is full of unlimited possibilities for our students, our degree programs lead to some of the country’s top-ranked jobs.

Each year U.S. News & World Report ranks jobs based on enviable work-life balance, salary level and job demand nationwide. Half of the 100 top jobs, including most in the top 10, are in health-related professions. The UMKC Health Sciences Campus on Hospital Hill is one of a few in the U.S. to have all of its health-professions schools on one campus for increased collaborative patient care, educational and research opportunities.

  • Dentist is the top-rated job this year. The UMKC School of Dentistry is the only public dental school in Missouri. More than half of the dentists in Missouri and Kansas received their D.S. from UMKC.
  • Rounding out the top ten, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon tied for ninth in the U.S. News rankings. The School of Dentistry’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency program offers two tracks: a four-year certificate program and a six-year certificate plus medical degree (MD) program.

>Explore our top-notch academic programs

>Learn more about our alumni

>UMKC offers programs for all the top 10 jobs in the country

 

Helping hands in our community

Posted on by umkcwebmaster

Each year, students and faculty offer free oral healthcare to thousands of patients who cannot afford or access care.

Public service is built into the foundation of the UMKC Dental School. That commitment to oral health goes beyond campus boundaries. Our students, faculty and staff regularly look for ways to nurture oral health education throughout the community.

Last year, the School of Dentistry delivered $677,000 of uncompensated care to roughly 17,000 patients. From free dental clinics to education and mentorship programs, our students and faculty are offering helping hands to patients of all ages.

Learn about some of our community programs:

Helping hands in our community

Posted on by umkcwebmaster

Each year, students and faculty offer free oral healthcare to thousands of patients who cannot afford or access care.

Public service is built into the foundation of the UMKC Dental School. That commitment to oral health goes beyond campus boundaries. Our students, faculty and staff regularly look for ways to nurture oral health education throughout the community.

Last year, the School of Dentistry delivered $677,000 of uncompensated care

to roughly 17,000 patients. From free dental clinics to education and mentorship programs, our students and faculty are offering helping hands to patients of all ages.

Learn about some of our community programs:

Students Transition to Clinical Care

Posted on by umkcwebmaster

Members of the DDS Class of 2018 and the DH Class of 2017 were welcomed to the clinical phase of their educational programs during the annual Transitioning into the Profession Ceremony, held Friday, June 3, 2016, at Pierson Auditorium, located in the Student Success Center on UMKC’s Volker Campus. Dr. Craig Whitt, Rinehart Professor and Chair of the UMKC Department of Oral Pathology, welcomed everyone before introducing the keynote speaker, Brenda Sharp, President and CEO of the REACH Healthcare Foundation. Representatives of the DH Class of 2017 and the DDS Class of 2018 took turns reading their respective Code of Ethics, which were then signed by each class member as they crossed the stage to be presented with a white coat (DDS students) or scrubs (DH students). Following the ceremony, participants and well-wishers adjourned to the School of Dentistry for a reception.

Explorer Fall 2015: Alumni Magazine

Posted on by umkcwebmaster

Read the full issue

Donor Recognition Issue

Welcome to our annual donor recognition edition of the Explorer! The UMKC School of Dentistry could not achieve the success we do without the generous support of our alumni and friends. That support allows us to not only sustain our level of excellence day-to-day, but also enables us to position ourselves to remain excellent in the future.

It goes without saying that our students are the focus of nearly everything we do: teaching and learning, research, and caring for our community. Every member of our staff, faculty, and student body contribute to our mission of preparing the best dentists and dental hygienists for the future of our profession. You, too, play a vital role in helping us support student learning! In order to position ourselves as a cutting edge dental education institution of the future, we have selected as one of our priority projects the creation of a state-of-the-art skills laboratory (or pre-clinical laboratory). I have previously communicated our plans to outfit our present bench-based labs with sophisticated patient simulation operatories (see image below). I would like to reiterate that this project is vital to the future effectiveness of our students’ mastery of clinical skills because it will allow us to utilize ultramodern equipment that is quickly becoming the industry standard.

Continue reading →