SOCIETY NEWS

Year : 2019  |  Volume : 10  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 52-54

Center for Research and Education in Technology (CRET) Collaborates With the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry for 7th Year: An Update on UMKC School of Dentistry and the Dr. Charles Dunlap Center for Research and Education in Technology Innovation Clinic

Kelly Suchman
Dr. Charles Dunlap Center for Research and Education in Technology Innovation Clinic; Department of Restorative Clinical Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, MO, USA

Correspondence Address:
Kelly Suchman
Innovation Clinic, 650 E 25th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108
USA

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/denthyp.denthyp_54_19

Since 2013, 4th year DDS students and Senior Dental Hygiene students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry, Missouri, USA, have enjoyed experiencing the latest in dental technology, materials, and equipment at the Dr. Charles Dunlap Center for Research and Education in Technology Innovation Clinic at the UMKC School of Dentistry.^[1]

All 109 4th year students of the UMKC School of Dentistry spent a minimum of 2 weeks treating their comprehensive care patients in the Innovation Clinic. They provided operative, periodontic, removable prosthodontic, and fixed prosthodontic care in the clinic with equipment and materials from a variety of CRET vendors [Table 1].

Table 1 Resource list Click here to view

Senior dental hygiene students each spent two full days of rotations in the Innovation Clinic working alongside 4th year dental students. A “hygiene handoff” simulation mimicked the interaction that would occur in a practice setting between the hygienist, doctor, and patient to improve communication and care.

Seven different treatment rooms allow the students to try out patient chairs, operator chairs, assistant chairs, and cabinetry from different manufacturers thanks to the contributions from A-dec, DentalEZ, Pelton and Crane/Kavo Kerr, Midmark, Royal Dental Group, and Takara Belmont Dental Group. Students and patients alike enjoy the quiet and elegant ambiance that the Innovation Clinic provides over the hustle and bustle of the main dental clinic.

The Innovation Clinic offers a springboard for the ever-expanding digital dentistry curriculum at UMKC School of Dentistry. The DDS Class of 2021 will be the first ever with a requirement to scan and mill at least one indirect restoration. Students will gain experience utilizing a variety of milling blocks from 3M/ESPE, Dentsply Sirona, and Ivoclar Vivadent following scanning with Sirona’s Omni-Cam and milling with Sirona MCXL milling units and SpeedFire Oven.

The UMKC School of Dentistry Innovation Clinic is one of three dental schools that are currently collaborating with CRET.^[2],[3]

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of Interest

The author certifies that they are not affiliated with or involved in any organization or entity with any financial (such a honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus membership; employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements) or nonfinancial interests (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript.



 

References

1.	ADA News. UMKC unveils Innovation Center. ADA News; 2013. Available at https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2013-archive/october/umkc-unveils-innovation-center.
2.	ADA News. Connecting dental students with the latest in dental technologies. ADA News; 2018. Available at https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2018-archive/september/connecting-students-with-the-latest-in-dental-technologies.
3.	Rossomando EF. How a unique collaboration between dental companies and dental schools solved an education program in 21st century dentistry. Dent Hypotheses 2014;5:1-2.     [Full text]

 
 

Tables

  [Table 1]