Ann Arbor, MI — May 25, 2007 — The University of Michigan School of Dentistry will again be providing dental care to migrant workers and their families in northern lower Michigan beginning Monday, June 18. The six-week program will continue through Friday, July 27.

A range of oral health care services will be offered at two locations - Suttons Bay Elementary School, 310 Elm Street; and Lakeland Elementary School, 616 Buckley Street, Elk Rapids. Children will receive the oral health care during the day while adults will receive care during the late afternoon or early evening.

Among the free services that will be provided include screenings, oral exams, and cleanings. When necessary, extractions, fillings, and x-rays will also be offered.

In addition to a "treating" component of the program, there will also be an "educational" element as the dental students teach children and their parents about the proper way to care for their teeth, including brushing and flossing, and give them advice on other things they can do to improve and maintain good oral health.

Portable equipment, including dental chairs, air, water, and x-ray machines will be set up in the classrooms at the schools.

Twenty-four dental students, who begin the final year of their dental education in August, will be providing the care. They will work in groups of eight in two-week rotations and will be supervised by Drs. Irma Gavaldon and Rodolfo Diaz, graduate students at the U-M School of Dentistry.

"Word about the great experiences our previous students have had participating in this program gets around very quickly which means that this year, as in previous years, we had more than twice as many students who wanted to participate than we had spots available," said Dr. Robert Bagramian, professor of dentistry and director of the summer migrant dental clinic program. Those selected to participate have previously demonstrated a commitment to serving others and are in the upper level of their class, both clinically and academically.

Last summer, 408 patients were treated. While most, nearly 200, were between the ages of 6 and 12, nine patients as young as three years of age were treated and two in their late sixties or early seventies. They received care ranging from screenings to x-rays, extractions, and fillings (amalgams and composites).

The program, begun in 1973, is funded by the U-M School of Dentistry and Northwest Michigan Health Services. The Michigan Primary Care Association also provides support, including limited funding to pay for housing, transportation, and food for the dental students and their two supervisors.

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation's leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care, and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the School to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists, and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia, and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.

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