SDM UCHC

School  of Dental Medicine 

UCONN Health Center

University Connecticut Health Center

University of Connecticut
School of Dental Medicine
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT  06030
860-679-3415

Emergency Dental Care

The University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine provides emergency dental care for our patients and for the community. Emergency care is available without appointment during regular clinic hours. If you have questions about emergency care, call 860-679-2325.

If you require emergency dental care after hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, care is provided by the School in the John Dempsey Hospital Emergency Department of the University of Connecticut Health Center. Call 860-679-2588 (Emergency Department) or 860-679-2626 and ask for the dental resident.

Student Clinics

Student Clinics offer patients comprehensive dental care in a comfortable environment provided by dental students under the supervision of experienced and licensed clinical faculty. Although the time required to complete treatment in our student clinics is longer than with in a private practice setting, fees are generally less.

You will receive an appointment for a brief oral and dental examination to determine your general treatment needs and to make an assessment whether your needs can be met by our student providers. If accepted, you will be assigned to an appropriate clinic for your care.

UConn Celebrates Grand Opening of the Center for Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry

State-of-the-Art Technologies, Nationally Recognized Experts

FARMINGTON, CONN. – Officials with the University of Connecticut Health Center recently celebrated the grand opening of a new center where nationally-recognized experts provide a full range of dental implant services to improve health and enhance smiles with natural-looking replacement teeth.

The Center for Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry, part of the New England Musculoskeletal Institute, is located on the main level of the Health Center. It has eight modern treatment rooms and sophisticated equipment including a ConeBeam tomography unit that quickly and precisely captures 3D and 2D images of jaws and teeth.

“We offer patients today’s best technologies as well as the highest quality care from providers who are leaders in the field of dental implant therapy,” said Donald Somerville, D.M.D., M.S., the director.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Somerville thanked everyone who helped make the new center a reality, including philanthropic support from Straumann USA and Astra Tech AB, and stressed that UConn has been at the forefront of dental implant care, education and research for many years.

“The UConn team has already made meaningful advances to improve the dental implant process through the development of new biomaterials and cutting edge work to promote bone growth,” said Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., the Health Center’s vice president for health affairs and dean of the UConn School of Medicine.

“These are real, tangible results that will help men and women throughout the region and beyond,” he added, noting that ongoing research initiatives bring together experts from the UConn Schools of Dental Medicine and Medicine, the UConn Center for Osteoporosis and the UConn School of Engineering.

“This new center will facilitate our faculty’s ability to provide superb care as well as the ability to perform cutting edge research that will also benefit our patients,” added Dr. Jay R. Lieberman, director of the New England Musculoskeletal Institute and professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Dental implants are long-term, natural-looking tooth replacements. Unlike dentures or bridges, the implant is surgically implanted in the patient’s jaw bone and supports the replacement tooth or bridge.

The surgical implant process typically spans between three to six months, depending on the patient’s specific needs. National and local studies report very high patient satisfaction rates with dental implants. Many patients reported increased comfort and confidence with talking, chewing, or smiling.

More information about the Center for Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry is available at dentalimplants.uchc.edu or nemsi.uchc.edu. To make an appointment, call 860-679-7600.

 The School of Dental Medicine is the major provider of dental safety net services for low-income families in Connecticut. It accomplishes this through its predoctoral and pediatric programs, network of community clinics, and Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program.

Good news… if you are looking for a permanent solution to missing teeth or dentures, you have found the right place!

The new Center for Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry at the University of Connecticut Health Center brings together today’s most sophisticated technologies with a team of highly-accomplished dental specialists, in a comfortable, state-of-the-art setting.

Dental implants are long-term tooth replacements that look and feel like real teeth. For many people, dental implants can greatly improve confidence and comfort when smiling, chewing and speaking.

Thank you for visiting this site. We recognize that deciding to undergo dental implant therapy is a major decision. We hope this site will help you understand why so many people are choosing the UConn Health Center for dental implants.

Through the Pediatric Dentistry program, dental students, pediatric residents, fellows and faculty provide dental care to Medicaid eligible children in Connecticut. The school's AEGD residents provide comprehensive dental care to both children and adults at four community health centers.

Resident Clinics

Advanced General Dentistry

·                 Comprehensive dental care, including restorative, cosmetics, and implant therapy

·                 Phone: 860-679-2325

Endodontics

·                 Root canal therapy

·                 Phone: 860-679-3261

Orthodontics

·                 Braces

·                 Phone: 860-679-2664

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

·                 Oral and facial surgery, dental implants

·                 Phone: 860-679-3300

·                  

Pediatric Dentistry

·                 Children's dentistry

·                 Connecticut Children's Medical Center
Phone: 860-545-9030

·                 Burgdorf Dental Clinic
Phone: 860-714-2140

Periodontics

·                 Periodontal (gum) disease, dental implants

·                 Phone: 860-679-3261

Prosthodontics

·                 Crowns, bridges, implants, dentures

Phone: 860-679-7646

University Dentists

University Dentists is a group practice comprised of highly trained and academically based faculty who provide comprehensive and specialized care in all fields of dentistry. Our experts work separately or together to help you to achieve and maintain optimal oral and dental health. University Dentists offers complete diagnosis, contemporary treatment, and comprehensive follow-up services as well as consultations.

How to Make an Appointment

Hours of care are generally 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 860-679-3170.

• Orthodontics: 860-679-2664
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: 860-679-3300

Our Services

University Dentists offers a wide range of comprehensive services as well as consultations. Our services include:

Click here for a directory of Faculty and Staff at the School of Dental Medicine UConn Helath Center

Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences

Department Head
Dr. Susan Reisine
Phone: 860-679-3823

Divisions:

·                 Periodontology

·                 Endodontology

·                 Oral and Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences

o                              Oral Medicine

o                              Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology

o                              Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology

·                 Behavioral Sciences and Community Health

Department of Craniofacial Sciences

Department Head
Dr. Ravindra Nanda 
Phone: 860-679-2349

Divisions:

·                 Orthodontics

·                 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

·                 Pediatric Dentistry

·                 General Dentistry

Department of Reconstructive Sciences

Department Head
Dr. Thomas D. Taylor
Phone: 860-679-2649

Divisions and Centers:

·                 Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry

Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development

UConn School of dental Medicine is a proud participant in the Robert Wood Johnson Dental Pipeline Project to foster more diversity in the dental student enrollment:

Project Activities
Over the next four years, the School of Dental Medicine will:

1. Increase the number of days students work in community clinics and private practices from 22 to 75.
2. Develop new community partnerships for student and resident rotations with private practitioners who care for the underserved.
3. Implement new community-based clinical tracks in Community Health Center - Comprehensive Care.
4. Expand the current mentor program by appointing community health center dentists as program faculty and matching students to these mentors.
5. Revise Years 3 and 4 curricula to include new/revised courses and modules in geriatric and special needs dentistry, public health care policy, culture and dental care, and community health center-based practice management.
6. Develop a national symposium on the needs of the underserved for the Year 4 program.
7. Develop a web-based module that will allow students at community sites to communicate with intramural faculty.
8. Implement a minority scholarship program that reduces debt incurred during the undergraduate years.
9. Identify, mentor and expose promising high school students to dentistry as a future career and guide them towards a combined BS/DMD degree.
10. Provide post-baccalaureate training with an emphasis on the Dental Admissions Test, study-skills and the basic sciences.

University of Connecticut 
Health Center 
School of Dental Medicine 
263 Farmington Avenue 
Farmington, CT 06030-3915 
(860) 679-2808 
Dean: Dr. Peter J. Robinson

2003 Facts
• Publicly supported
• 54 full-time, 32 part-time clinical faculty members
• 120 students
• 35 graduates
• 28 days spent by senior dental students in community based settings

Community Partners:
• Community Health Centers 
• Community Health Services, Inc.
• Connecticut Area Health Education Center Program
• State of Connecticut Department of Public Health
• State of Connecticut Department of Social Services 
• The Connecticut Health Foundation
• The Connecticut Oral Health 2010 Initiative

Project Contact Information
Dr. Cynthia E. Hodge
Project Director
Pipeline, Profession & Practice:
Community-Based Dental Education
University of Connecticut 
Health Center
School of Dental Medicine
263 Farmington Avenue
Mail Code 3905, Room AG030
Farmington, CT 06030-3915
Tel (860) 679-4150
Fax (860) 679-1899

Oral Pathology Biopsy Service

For over 30 years, UConn Health Center has been home to the only Oral Pathology Biopsy Service in the State of Connecticut. We review approximately 4,300 specimens annually. Our oral pathologists are board-certified Diplomates of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Fellows of the American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology and have extensive training in the clinical, radiographic and histological interpretation of lesions occurring in the oral/head and neck area. Because of their educational focus, specialty training, and experience, our oral pathologists are able to apply relevant clinicopathologic correlations to help ensure accurate diagnoses and recommendations for disease management based in contemporary standards of care. Significantly, as members of an academic medical center we provide you and your patients an oral diagnostic service based in the latest research and innovations in health care.

Our Faculty

Ellen Eisenberg, D.M.D., graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. She completed a residency in oral medicine and oral pathology at Harvard University School of Dental Medicine with a clinical fellowship sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Dr. Eisenberg is chair of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, director of the Oral Pathology Biopsy Service, and professor of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences. She is board-certified in oral pathology and is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Dr. Eisenberg also sees patients referred for diagnosis and management of oral soft tissue and jaw lesions, with emphasis on mucous membrane diseases, oral cancer and precancerous lesions.

Easwar Natarajan, B.D.S., D.M.Sc., graduated from Bangalore University, India. He graduated with a Doctor of Medical Sciences degree from Harvard University and completed a residency at Harvard in oral and maxillofacial pathology. Dr. Natarajan is assistant professor in residence in the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences. He is board-certified in oral pathology and is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Dr. Natarajan is part of the Oral Pathology Biopsy Service, and sees patients referred for diagnosis and management of oral soft tissue and jaw lesions. His research interests include studying molecular mechanisms in the progression of epithelial neoplasia with a focus on extracellular matrix protein biology and cell cycle regulation.

Services Provided

Our service will promptly review and interpret your biopsy samples. We are housed in the same suite with both the Anatomic Pathology and Cytology Services and are fully supported by their histotechnology team. This allows us to provide a broad range of tissue diagnostic services including conventional histopathologic interpretation, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence analyses. Our goal is to provide timely, accurate and reliable diagnoses to assist you in providing excellent care for your patients.

Submitting Specimens

We offer free courier pick up of specimens as well as provide postage-free mailers. Pick-up service can be arranged on a regular basis from your office or from pick-up boxes usually located outside the front door of your office. In addition, we can pick up on an “as needed” basis. Special transport medium for specimens requiring immunofluorescence testing is also available at no cost to you. Please contact Ms. Izabela Rak, Oral Pathology Service Manager, at 860-679-3333 or fax us at 860-679-3765, and we will provide the necessary supplies for your specimens and assist in making arrangements for their submission. We participate in most major insurance plans as well as Medicare and Medicaid. A complete list is available upon request.

Reporting/Consultations

Diagnoses are generally made within 24 hours of the specimen’s arrival in our laboratory, and will be automatically faxed to your office. Upon request we will send hard copies of the report directly to your office. Once you have received the pathology report, our experts are available for further consultation or to discuss treatment options and follow-up care.

We also provide diagnostic consultations for second opinions on microscopic glass slides from other hospitals or labs.

Clinical Consultations/Referrals

Drs. Eisenberg and Natarajan see patients on referral for clinical diagnostic evaluation and management of lesions of the oral mucosa and jaws. Appointments for clinical consultation/evaluation can be made by faxing a referral from the dentist or physician to the University Dentists clinic: fax 860-679-8162; telephone 860-679-3170. Once the fax is received, patients will be contacted promptly to arrange for an appointment.

Educational Contributions

Since their inception, the Oral Pathology Laboratory and the Clinical Oral Pathology service have played vital roles in the pre-and postdoctoral educational programs of the Schools of Dental Medicine, Medicine and the Graduate School. They remain richly active and integral sources of both teaching and investigative material for the study of diseases of the oral and maxillofacial region. The Biopsy service also has served as the reference laboratory for key intra- and extramural collaborative research efforts. The corresponding research projects have not only contributed significantly to the expansion of the body of knowledge of oral diseases, but have also served to forge ongoing productive collegial relationships between UConn and other institutions committed to research and lifelong learning.