Marquette University opens Delta Dental Urgent and Special Care Clinic

This article was originally published on Spectrum News.

Marquette University announced that it completed a multi-year project and opened the Delta Dental Urgent and Special Care Clinic. University officials said the completed space provides a clinic to better serve patients while enhancing clinical education to support Marquette dental students. 

Here, patients can get urgent dental care from dental students under the supervision of licensed dentists.

“It has been exciting to see the revitalization of these clinics, from conception to construction to completion,” Marquette University President Kimo Ah Yun said. “Our students are learning in state-of-the-art facilities with enhanced equipment and technology that will prepare them to successfully and seamlessly begin their careers upon graduation. These new spaces also allow us to continue our long-standing commitment to providing high-quality oral care for our community, especially members of underserved populations.”

The new Delta Dental Urgent and Special Care Clinic was designed to serve the undeserved. This facility focuses on helping patients with special needs, according to the university. The special care wing is equipped with a wheelchair lift and bariatric chair. The clinic also contains a private sensory adapted room, a radiology room and six new dental chairs. 

Marquette raised about $7.5 million to rebuild the facility and clinics. The university also received a grant of $1.02 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to update clinic capacity and equipment to better serve patients with special needs.

As the state’s only dental school, the newly renovated facility allows Marquette to continue delivering oral care to patients across 66 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Since the School of Dentistry opened over two decades ago, it has received nearly 2,000,000 patient visits. The new facility aims to put the next generation of Marquette dental students in a position to learn and grow with an ever-changing health care landscape. 

“We are incredibly grateful for Delta Dental of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Dental Association, government leaders and the countless donors who demonstrated their belief in our School of Dentistry students, faculty and staff through their support of this project. Collectively, all our partners understand that by working together, we serve the citizens of Wisconsin with integrity, passion, and excellence, particularly our underserved and special needs patients with embodies our mission,” Elsbeth Kalenderian, Dean of the dental school, said. 

To learn more about the clinic, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, click here.