University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

The ribbon was cut last week on the dental school’s new mobile dental unit. Photo: DOUGLAS LEVERE

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  A UB dental student offers a chair to Dean Michael Glick after the ribbon-cutting of the “S-Miles To Go” dental van. Click on the image to see a larger version. Photo: DOUGLAS LEVERE

  

  The 42-foot-long dental van features three chairs, panoramic X-ray unit, digital radiography, an intake/education area and electronic patient records. Click on the image to see a larger version. Photo: DOUGLAS LEVERE

By SARA R. SALDI

Published: Nov. 15, 2012

The School of Dental Medicine celebrated the unveiling of its new, state-of-the-art, mobile dental unit (MDU) “S-miles To Go” on Nov. 9 in the lobby of Squire Hall, South Campus.

Constructed by LifeLine Mobile, the “S-miles To Go” dental van is a 42-foot-long, three-chair dental clinic built on a semi-trailer chassis. It can be moved between elementary schools in Chautauqua County. The new unit features a wheelchair lift, a panoramic X-ray unit, digital radiography, an intake/education area and electronic patient records.

Tooth decay is the most chronic disease among children. In one year, more than 51 million hours of school is missed because of tooth decay or other dental-related illness.

The UB dental school has served the oral health care needs of children in Chautauqua County for 15 years with its school-based dental van. Chautauqua County is designated a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area, with few dentists serving Medicaid-eligible patients. UB’s MDU staff has provided care during 38,000 patient visits since 1997.

The new MDU was funded in large part by a grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. The Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation and the Lenna Foundation, both of Jamestown, N.Y., also made significant contributions to the project.

Speakers at the event included Rep. Brian Higgins; Michael Glick, dean and professor of the dental school; Michael Cain, and vice president for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; and mobile dental unit clinic director Barbara Moore.

In his remarks, Higgins praised the dental school for its commitment to the children of Chautauqua County and their oral health needs.

“UB is an extraordinary resource to our community. I applaud the efforts and vision of UB for bringing oral health care to the underserved in Chautauqua County and public service to the citizens of Western New York,” Higgins said.

Glick thanked the team who helped bring the new dental unit to UB, from those who authored the grant to the staff who works on the van.

“We are very pleased that with our new mobile dental unit, the UB mobile dental program has been presented with the unique opportunity to continue to provide necessary dental/health care to 24 schools and more than 3,000 children per year in Chautauqua County,” he said.