M Dentistry - Fall 2022

School’s Major Renovation Marks

The newly renovated and expanded University of Michigan School of Dentistry was a popular destination for members of the public and the university community on Friday, Sept. 16, during an open house and ceremony celebrating the completion of the major building project.

Dental school organizers estimated that more than 1,000 people toured the school during the two-hour open house Friday afternoon, with about 250 people joining school and university leaders for the ribboncutting program that followed.

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and U-M Provost Laurie McCauley, the former dean of the dental school, joined the school’s interim dean, Jan Hu, in recognizing the impor tance of the first major renovation of the dental school in nearly 50 years. Speakers praised the foresight and commitment of school and

university leaders and staff who spent more than a decade planning the $140 million project, called Blue Renew. Construction workers and the school’s students, faculty and staff also were applauded for their flexibility and resilience in completing the project on the original timetable despite the myriad difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which arrived halfway through the four-year construction schedule.

President Coleman noted the dental school’s longstanding commit ment to improving public health by educating dentists and dental hygienists who provide high-quality healthcare to patients throughout the state of Michigan. About 160,000 dental appointments are held within the school each year and thousands more are completed around the state when dental students travel to more than a dozen clinics as

U-M President Mary Sue Coleman addresses the audience during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Marks Start of New Era

part of the school’s Community-Based Collaborative Care and Educa tion curriculum. Last year, students and faculty treated patients from 82 of the state’s 83 counties.

The renovation not only improves patient care, Coleman said, but it advances scientific research as well. The school has in recent years led the nation’s dental schools in research grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in areas such as prevent ing caries in children, treating head and neck cancer, and regenerat ing damaged or diseased dental, oral and craniofacial tissue. “This cutting-edge work by faculty and students, including undergraduates, helps position us as a leading research university that addresses the most-pressing medical needs in our nation,” Coleman said.

Provost McCauley, who served as dean of the dental school from 2013 until earlier this year when she was appointed provost, called Blue Renew a milestone that will be forever marked in the long and impressive history of the school, which was founded in 1875.

“We are proud that today the University of Michigan School of Dentistry represents the citizens of Michigan as a top dental school not only in the nation but in the world,” McCauley said. “We take great satisfaction in knowing that we have educated nearly 13,000 dentists, more than 3,500 hygienists and thousands of graduate students who have chosen to improve the oral and overall health of millions of patients in Michigan, across the country and around the world.”

McCauley noted that the first official renovation request to the university was 14 years ago, in 2008, when a capital needs assessment was submitted to the Provost’s office during the tenure of the former dean, Peter Polverini. McCauley then led the project when she became dean.

“With these new facilities, I envision the future with hundreds of thousands of patients from all walks of life who will be served here and the thousands of students who will be educated here and go on to take care of literally millions of patients,” McCauley said. “In order to optimize this vision, we studied innovative ways to teach students about changing technologies and new dental procedures. A strong scientific foundation and built-in flexibility were key. We highlighted collaborative research and how many disciplines have evolved into vibrant communities of contemporary shared science.”

McCauley said the history of the School of Dentistry shows that its leaders have never wanted it to be just another dental school. “Even before the term ‘Leaders and Best’ was coined for the university’s athletic fight song, the founders and first professors here aspired to lead the profession of dentistry and provide the best dental care possible,” she said. “We continue that mission today. Blue Renew re-launches us, advancing and strengthening our students, faculty, staff and patients with even greater resources for our mission of advancing health through education, service, research and discovery.”

U-M President Mary Sue Coleman (right) offers a “Go Blue!” cheer with U-M Provost Laurie McCauley (center) and School of Dentistry Interim Dean Jan Hu after the trio cut a ceremonial ribbon.

U-M Provost Laurie McCauley gets a congratulatory hug from alumnus Dr. Dan Balbach (DDS 1961, MS 1965) after the ribbon-cutting.

What's New?

Blue Renew addressed a wide variety of needs. About half the existing facility was renovated and approximately 48,000 square feet was added by building a four-story addition in the former courtyard. Here’s a summary of what was accomplished:

New Entrances: The school’s north entrance, nearest the Fletcher Parking Structure, was redesigned with a covered, drive-through access that leads directly into a much-improved patient registration area. The design’s improved wayfinding signage, pathways and eleva tors allow patients to more easily navigate to their appointments and waiting areas for predoctoral, specialty and faculty clinics throughout the building. Patients can still enter the building’s south entrance on North University Avenue, with the new floor plan more easily guiding them to the main registration area at the north entrance.

Clinic Improvements: Outdated clinical space was redesigned with larger, improved operatories that have the latest technological advances in dental equipment, including digital imaging. All clinical spaces were designed to enhance current trends in interprofessional treatment, which involves health care providers from many disciplines contributing to the treatment of patients. A unique clinic for special needs patients was funded with a gift from the Delta Dental Founda tion. The clinic provides specialized equipment and practices to serve patients with a wide variety of physical and mental limitations, such as developmental disabilities, cognitive impairments, blindness or hearing loss, stress disorders related to military service or vulnerable conditions unique to the elderly.

Advancing Dental Education: Many of the benefits for patients are also benefits for students, faculty and staff, particularly the larger dental operatories and new dental equipment. Centralized equipment dispensaries and sterilization services will help students provide more efficient patient care, as will the revised design of the clinic areas. Technology improvements include operatories with video capability for creating instructional videos. Student study spaces and meeting areas were also upgraded. The school’s former library was converted to a Faculty Commons with new offices and meeting space.

New Research Labs: Two floors of the new four-story building in the courtyard are dedicated to labs that expand research capacity beyond the existing five floors of the Research Tower. The new labs are configured with a more open design than traditional labs in order to facilitate collaboration among faculty, students and research personnel. Graduate students, research assistants and faculty have more common areas – conference rooms, write-up spaces and break areas – where they can easily meet to discuss existing projects and inspire new ideas.

Utilities Improvements: Major upgrades of the heating, air condi tioning and ventilation needs of the school are part of the project.

For more information and details on Blue Renew and the Showcase celebration, go the School of Dentistry’s website at https://dent.umich.edu

1 Dr. Suman Vij (left), a clinical assistant professor, talks with fourth-year student Caleb Rainey about his patient’s treatment plan in one of the school’s newly renovated clinics.

2. DDS students treat a patient in a new clinic.

3. Dr. Stephanie Munz, the Dr. Walter H. Swartz Endowed Professor of Integrated Special Care Dentistry, shows a wheelchair lift to a visitor touring the school during the Blue Renew Showcase. The lift is located in the Delta Dental Integrated Special Care Clinic.

4. A new laboratory in the school’s Research Commons.