Practicing dentistry at the Michigan State Prison in Jackson. That’s what fourth-year dental students Chady Elhage and Mohamed Saad will always remember about their participation in the School of Dentistry’s outreach program.

“It was an incredible experience, certainly a unique one, and it’s been a great topic of conversation,” Saad said. “My dad, a retired Ford employee, was practically speechless when I told him what I was doing.”

Reaction from Elhage’s parents was similar, adding, “my mom thought what I was doing was pretty cool.”

Elhage was the first dental student in the current outreach program who volunteered to treat patients, in this case inmates, at the facility doing so during the final two weeks of September. Saad was the second, working on patients the first two weeks in October.

Providing oral health care and education at correctional facilities is nothing new for U-M dental students. During the 1950s, both dental and dental hygiene students did so at both the Michigan State Prison and at the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan.

“Never Felt Threatened”

Before entering the Jackson Clinical Complex at the state prison, the Michigan Department of Corrections requires every dental student to pass a background check.

Arriving at 7:00 a.m. to begin their first day of work, each dental student was required to participate in an orientation session. They were not allowed to take laptop computers, cell phones, pocket cameras, or even pens or pencils inside with them. About 1,500 inmates are in each of the three facilities in Jackson. The Reception and Guidance Center processes every male inmate that enters. Processing includes a dental screening and, when necessary, urgent care. About 1,200 patients are treated each month in the RGC.

“You pass through three doors, but only one is open at a time,” Elhage said. “When I was inside, I never felt threatened.” Saad agreed, adding, “the guards, staff, prison dentists, and the warden were all great people and went out of their way to make us feel as comfortable as they could,” he said.

Elhage said no patients were in chains during the time he treated inmates in the prison’s dental clinics. “The inmates were never handcuffed, chained, or restrained, so they could freely walk to the dental clinic on their own.” he said. “If they wanted to, they could also move freely while they were in a dental chair.” Saad said the only time he saw inmates in chains was when a psychiatric patient was being treated. In those instances, a security guard was nearby as oral health care was provided.

Both Saad and Elhage wore a personal protection device – a security badge with a cord that could be pulled to alert a guard if they needed help. The device was never used.

Extractions and Restorative Dentistry

“Many of the inmates we saw were in so much pain that they were grateful that we were there to help them,” Saad said. “Most of the time I was extracting a tooth or placing a filling,” he said. “We didn’t do any endodontic work, crowns, or cosmetic dentistry.”

Elhage said he too was involved in numerous extractions brought about by decay, but also did some restorative work.

“Many of the patients we saw were seventeen and eighteen years old, and grateful for what we did to help them,” Saad said. The average age of inmates at the State Prison is 38.

Unlike treating patients outside the prison, Elhage said “no shows” or patients cancelling appointments rarely occurred. “Outside the walls, appointment cancellations can, at times, be as high as forty or fifty percent,” Elhage said. “Since we had few, if any, in this environment, we treated nine or ten patients a day.”

Elhage and Saad were effusive in their praise of Dr. Bonita Neighbors (DDS 1986), now director of the Community Dental Center in Ann Arbor, who was Region 3 dental director for the Michigan Department of Corrections and her staff of dentists. “Dr. Neighbors and the dental staff were eager to help us and teach as much as they could,” Elhage said.

“Dr. Neighbors was always there for us, asking if there was anything she could do to make our experience better,” he added. “But she was also curious to learn more about what was going on at the dental school and our experiences in Ann Arbor.”

This article appeared in the following publication

DentalUM Spring/Summer 2011