Address: Marquette University School of Dentistry, 1801 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Project Director Name: William K. Lobb, Dean, Marquette University School of Dentistry Contact Phone Numbers (Voice, Fax): (414) 288-6546, FAX(414) 288-3586 Email Address: William.lobb@marquette.edu Website Address, if applicable: https://www.marquette.edu/dentistry/ List all grant program funds requested in the application, if applicable: $1,020,853 Wisconsin’s only dental school since 1894, the Marquette University School of Dentistry (MUSOD) educates and trains future dentists to serve diverse patients, including at-risk geriatric patients, underserved adults and children, and special needs adult patients and promoting oral health statewide. Built in 2002, MUSOD’s Main Campus Clinic, located in Milwaukee, annually serves nearly 17,000 patients from 53 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. MUSOD provides oral health services through general dentistry and various specialty clinics including Advanced Clinical Care (ACC), Endodontics, Pediatric , Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral Surgery, Orthodontics, and Radiology. Nearly two-thirds of the patients are from Milwaukee County, many from high-poverty neighborhoods. MUSOD is among Wisconsin’s largest dental Medicaid (MA) providers, annually serving nearly 7,000 MA patients. MUSOD’s specialty clinics are notable for delivering care critical to oral health and overall health to many MA and underserved patients. This request supports dental operatory equipment as part of an overall MUSOD revitalization of the Main Clinic’s four original general practice dental clinics, all specialty clinics, and Central Sterilization. – MUSOD’s proposed HRSA Construction Grant request will utilize all funding to purchase 47 dental operatories and equipment to educate and train prospective dentists and residents to provide care to underserved patients in our Advanced Care, Pediatric, Prosthodontics Clinics and part of
the General Practice Clinics. Typically, only 10% of dentists care for patients with cognitive/medical/physical disabilities and the services needed are often not covered by private or state insurance plans. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, , 22% of Wisconsin’s children have a disability, many of whom lack regular oral health care options. These HRSA funds to support upgrading dental operatories will allow MUSOD to significantly impact care for this population, which has higher risk of untreated dental caries and periodontal disease due to prescribed medications, feeding regimens, and poor dental hygiene practices. Additionally, these operatories are heavily used to provide patient care to underserved communities across the whole state of Wisconsin. MUSOD’s construction grant request aligns with HRSA’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan Goals 1-3: 1) improve access to quality health services; 2) foster a health care workforce able to address current and emerging needs; 3) achieve health equity and enhance population health. MUSOD will do the following because of acquiring this equipment: • Provide greater direct access to care for adults with special needs to improve their oral health and possibly prevent certain medical issues and to reduce the oral health disparities in special needs patients. • Increase the number of prospective dentists who are educated and trained to provide care to special needs dental patients and the underserved patient populations. • Provide ongoing prevention and increase the amount of dental care available for special needs patients to minimize the need for sedation and general anesthesia, thereby further reducing the costs and risks of care. • Establish MUSOD and eventually other dental providers as a “dental home” for special needs patients. • Provide direct access to care for underserved children and adults in MUSOD’s pediatric clinic and general dentistry clinics.