Growing Our Mission in Eastern Oklahoma

Over the past five years, the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry has provided dental and emergency dental care to more than 285,000 patients, with nearly 25% coming from the northeast corner of the state. As a state that ranks 49th in the nation for access to oral health care per capita, it is not surprising that nearly 60% of Oklahomans don’t receive regular dental care. One in four Oklahomans don’t have access to dental services within a 30-mile radius. For oral health care to be effective, it needs to be convenient, accessible and affordable, and with this as the focus, the college created the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Comprehensive Care Clinic at the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Campus

— a premier clinical environment that expands our ability to provide exceptional dental care in northeastern Oklahoma.

Dedication Ceremony

The Delta Dental of Oklahoma Comprehensive Care Clinic was officially opened in August 2022 with Chalmers Rieger Wood III, D.D.S., appointed as director of clinical operations. The 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art dental clinic serves as a student learning center by providing hands-on experience to third- and fourth-year dental students with the college. Under the oversight and supervision of licensed dental faculty members, the students provide comprehensive oral health care services to patients of all ages.

On Aug. 23, 2022, the college hosted a clinic dedication and ribbon cutting for the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Comprehensive Care Clinic. The dedication was attended by faculty and guests, with speeches given by Joseph Harroz Jr., J.D., president of University of Oklahoma, Paul Mullasseril, D.D.S., M.S., dean of the college, and John Gladden, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Oklahoma. Guests in attendance include Dr. Rieger Wood, Dr. James J. Sluss Jr., interim president of OU-Tulsa, Dr. Raymond A. Cohlmia, executive director of the American Dental Association, and third-year dental student, Targhee Boss. The dedication ceremony included a tour of the new facilities.

Delta Dental of Oklahoma Gift

An incredibly generous $2 million gift from Delta Dental of Oklahoma and the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation enabled the college to build the clinic at Tulsa, which fills a critical need in this part of the state. Delta Dental of Oklahoma is the state’s only not-for-profit dental benefits provider and the state’s single largest contributor to dental health and education related projects and initiatives. For more than two decades, Delta Dental of Oklahoma and its foundation have been incredible partners to the college, working hand-in-hand with the college to support the college's mission of improving the oral health of Oklahomans and educating the dental professionals of tomorrow. The shared mission between Delta Dental and the college allows a combined effort to create real change in improving dental health in Oklahoma.

Clinic Treats Its First Patients

Director of clinical operations, Dr. Wood, is excited about the progress that has been made since the opening of the clinic in May. Below, he answers some questions about the set-up and progress of the clinic.

Can you share what the screening process was like and how work was assigned to the students?

On May 1, 2022, we officially began the screening of patients for our new clinic to be able to have adequate patients for the initial 11 students. After a month of screening, we had over 150 patients ready to be assigned to the junior and senior students. Juniors were assigned eight to 10 patients, depending on the complexity, while seniors were assigned 12 to 14 patients. Since our large sterilizer had not been installed, we focused on patient workups during June and July as we could not sterilize our large instrument cassettes.

We slowly began to complete restorative procedures as treatment plans were signed and ready for actual care. The students completed full-mouth sets of radiographs as indicated and became quite proficient! After the summer break, comprehensive care began in full force. Oral surgery walk-in clinic was held every Monday and Thursday afternoon. Endodontic treatment began mid-summer and now nearly all of the seniors have completed their endodontic requirements for graduation. I expect the juniors to begin treating endodontic cases in early January, 2023.

How has the opening of the clinic been received by patients?

We have been well received by adult patients. They are very good about keeping their appointments and are willing to come on short notice when there are openings that need to be filled. We have nearly 100 patients waiting to be screened for care. Our pediatric patient flow has been slow to take off, but Greg Martin, business development coordinator with the OU Health Physician Outreach/Business Development team, has been instrumental in turning that problem around. He has set up appointments for he and I to go to pediatric medical offices and meet the doctors to stimulate the referral to our clinic. It has made a major difference in the number of clinical encounters for our students. We will continue to make visits in January to ensure the continued flow of pediatric patients to our clinic. Our pediatric patients are seen on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings.

How are the students finding the clinical experience?

Our clinical experiences have been amazing. Every student has completed multiple crowns. We are using the scanner on approximately 50% of the cases, which decreases the time a patient wears a temporary restoration to approximately one week! We have completed removable denture and partial denture cases, too.

Our amazing clinic manager, Jenni Barlow, keeps the students' schedules full. We have a very low no-show rate, and this translates to many clinical experiences for our students. It is rare that we see vacant chairs in our clinic. Our patients come from varied socioeconomic levels and we are able to help patients who struggle with costs of care through the use of grant funds made available by the school through generous donors.

Our faculty consist of general dentists and specialists from the metropolitan Tulsa area. They have had a major impact on our students and bring energy as well as excellent expertise to the clinic floor. We are very fortunate to have such amazing practitioners to mentor our students in a very professional manner.

In mid-September we incorporated dental hygiene students from Oklahoma City and Bartlesville programs in our Tulsa experience. There are four students who see patients in the morning and afternoons. They work in pairs to facilitate the clinical care of our patients, and this allows the senior dental students to work in a comprehensive care setting just like the students receive in Oklahoma City by directly working with the dental hygiene students. The dental student completes an exam on the hygiene student’s patient and collaborates about their oral condition and periodontal status. This opportunity affords both dental and dental hygiene students to develop a working experience to be better prepared for private practice.

On Nov. 1, we gained an additional junior student, making the total juniors at seven and seniors at five students. In June we will increase the numbers to seven junior and senior students. We will be operating at full capacity.

In the spring we hope to begin having the periodontal residents come to Tulsa to complete periodontal surgical procedures on our patients. This will help our patients by not making them drive to Oklahoma City for care.

How has the opening of the clinic impacted the education of the students involved?

As I reflect on where we started in May and see how far we have come, I am thoroughly amazed. Considering we started with virtually no patients and the students had to develop treatment plans for patients; we have made incredible strides. The students realize they are expected to be on top of their game every day. We operate in a medical building with OU clinics. As such, the students must raise their level of expectations to meet the level of care operating in this building. Our students have an incredible level of professionalism and pride in our clinic, which is reflected in the quality of care being rendered. They are excited to be in Tulsa and our staff are excited be part of this educational opportunity.

Overall, I am very pleased with the progress we have made in such a short period of time!

Expanding Affordable Dental Care

The expansion of the college’s program to the OU-Tulsa campus and the new Delta Dental of Oklahoma Comprehensive Care Clinic play a significant role in expanding access to affordable dental care to an underserved area of our state. While some free and low-cost clinics do exist in the area, their scope of treatment is limited compared to the comprehensive oral health care services now offered by this new clinic including: preventive care, such as examinations, cleanings and sealants as well as restorative care, such as fillings, bridges, crowns, dental implants, root canals and dentures. As the program expands, services will be added, providing even greater dental care and access to patients in northeast Oklahoma.

The clinic has made a great deal of progress in such a short time and is directly filling a need for affordable, high-quality dental care in an area which has traditionally been under-resourced. At the same time, dental students receive a hands-on experience working with the community and building skills and relationships that will last them a life-time.

Meet a Student

Targhee Boss is a third-year dental student and a part of the first group of students to commence training in Tulsa. Boss moved from Utah to Oklahoma for his dental education and he recalls the moment he received his acceptance. “When I first received my acceptance letters to dental school, I was ecstatic. I immediately began contemplating what it would be like to be a dental student.”

To be honest, not one of my thoughts were about lecture halls and studying for exams. My imagination skipped the entire first two years of dental school and went straight for the clinic experience. What would it be like working with my mentors and patients and what environment would that be in?”

Boss chose to study with the college because of the class size. He said “the class size was one of the smallest in the nation, which I hoped translated to a great student to faculty ratio.” He knew that the small class size would mean that he had greater access to faculty and a more personalized approach to his studies. He was also drawn to the design of the third-floor clinic at the college, “Every dental school's interview tour includes a clinic tour. Many of these clinics were best described as cafeteria clinics — involving lines and a massive room with anywhere from 75-120 dental chairs divided by a pony wall, if anything.”

Once Boss had completed his first year at the Oklahoma City campus, Dr. Wood presented the class with the opportunity to complete his third and fourth years of dental school in the brand-new clinic on the OU-Tulsa campus. Boss loved the idea, but was concerned about what it would mean to his family. “My family's move from Utah to Oklahoma City for dental school was still fresh and I was hesitant to put them through another move so soon, despite having their support," he recalled. However, he was cognizant of what a great opportunity it would be to his dental studies.

“Fast forward another year; I was unable to get past the Tulsa clinic opportunity. The opportunity to have 14 chairs in an exceptional clinic with both central sterile, faculty offices and front desk only steps from my operatory was so exciting to consider. Plus, the program offered a class size of only six, located in an underserved part of the state with a director I had heard great things about.” This cemented his decision and he made the move to Tulsa to take advantage of the new facilities.

The decision Boss made to be part of the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Comprehensive Clinic has been life-changing for him. “What can I say about my experience thus far?

Dr. Wood and Dr. Wann have lent me confidence in every challenge I have faced clinically. They have sought out an exceptional team to enhance our education here in Tulsa.”

In the short time that the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Comprehensive Clinic has been open, it is already offering a quality educational experience to students and providing access to quality dental care for many patients in northeast Oklahoma. Boss confirmed, “I am so grateful for the OU administration and Delta Dental for being a catalyst in dental education and creating a new prototype in clinical dental education. I am proud to occupy a chair as part of the best clinical education in the nation.”