A Legacy of Service to the Community

Ann Arbor, MI — June 04, 2012 — “We are meeting a basic need – providing quality oral health care – to many Washtenaw County residents including low income families, senior citizens, young adults, and the homeless,” says Dr. Bonita Neighbors, director of the Community Dental Center. “We are a part of the solution to concerns about access to care.”

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the nonprofit Center is located in downtown Ann Arbor at 406 N. Ashley St. Built in 1981 with funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Center began as a cooperative venture between the University of Michigan and the city of Ann Arbor.

“We are here to serve,” says Neighbors who earned her dental degree from U-M in 1986. “We want everyone treated here to feel valued and to know that they will get the best care we can provide.”

Treating More Patients

The number of patients seeking care at the Center has increased significantly in recent years. Nearly 2,100 individual patients were treated last year, an increase of nearly 14 percent from 2010, and nearly 40 percent since 2008.

Community Dental Center provides patients with a full range of services including cleanings, extractions, crowns and bridge work, and implants, plus oral health care education. Generally, patients are seen by appointment only. However, emergency care can be provided, when needed, depending on the number of patients being treated on any given day.

One patient, Terri Griffon said she was introduced to the Community Dental Center by her husband, Nicholas Wilcox, “who’s been going there for years because he likes the care he receives.” Griffon said she and her husband, both blind, “are always treated as normal adults, not as children. The dentists take time to explain the work they will do and do their best to put your mind at ease.”

Compassionate care was important to another patient, Charlotte Payne, who had some broken teeth fixed after she fell on a sidewalk while walking her dog. “I was at the Center four times,” she said. “My teeth were pulled, replaced, repaired, and color matched perfectly. The work the dentists did was excellent.”

Assisting Neighbors are Dr. Anne Bibik (DDS 1989), dental hygienist Darlene Jones, and a staff of six. Faculty and students from the School of Dentistry are also involved.

Bibik, who has been at the Center for 14 years, says working at the center has been “very rewarding. I leave the office every day knowing I have helped someone whose options for receiving oral health care were very limited, or perhaps nonexistent. But the nicest compliment,” she adds, “is when an existing patient refers a new patient to us, which happens frequently.”

Dental Students, Faculty Involved

University of Michigan School of Dentistry faculty and students are involved in helping the Center meet the growing demand for oral health care. Last summer, fourth-year dental students began providing care at the CDC as a part of the School’s Community Outreach program.

Two days a week both third- and fourth-year dental students are at the Center providing restorative, surgical, and periodontal treatments as well as emergency care. Recently, second-year dental students also got involved. They observe how a dental office runs, participate in infection control procedures, review the health history and blood pressure of patients and taking radiographs.

“I’m really pleased with the way dental students are able to step in and help out. They do everything we ask, and the patients are very receptive,” Neighbors said.

Bibik agrees. “Because of their education and training, the third- and fourth-year dental students are able to hit the ground running when they come here to help us,” she says. “That’s a major benefit because care can be provided to more patients.”

Both Neighbors and Bibik emphasize that any and all work a dental student does is closely monitored and reviewed before a patient’s treatment plan progresses.

In addition, dental assisting students from Washtenaw Community College are trained at the Clinic as are internal medicine residents from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital who observe and gain additional knowledge about the effects of oral health on systemic health.

Dr. Philip Richards, clinical professor of dentistry in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, provided care for patients at the Center for 18 years.

“I believe the Center’s goal and major achievement of ‘doing more with less’ is its greatest legacy,” Richards says. “The level of care that is available at the Community Dental Center to underserved and economically challenged patients is limited in the area.” Now devoting all his time and energy to teaching, Richards says helping at the Center one day a week for nearly two decades “significantly shaped my personal philosophy and career path in periodontics.”

Dr. Daniel Balbach (DDS 1961) a member of the Center’s Executive Board, says, “The Community Dental Center is able to help so many in Washtenaw County because it has the personnel, facilities, and equipment. Because of the state of the economy and the quality of care provided, the need for the Center will continue to grow in the years ahead.”

The Center celebrated its 30th anniversary of service to the community on May 10.  Among those attending the event included elected officials from the city of Ann Arbor and the state of Michigan.  Leaders from the School of Dentistry and the Michigan Dental Association were also present.  During the celebration, State Representative David Rutledge presented CDC Director Dr. Bonita Neighbors with a proclamation signed by Governor Rick Snyder and four other elected state officials.  Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje also presented a proclamation on behalf of the city.

While the Center looks to all sources for financial support – public, private, and grants – it’s community support and grants that enable patients with major financial challenges to receive the care they need. All assistance is welcome and the full amount of all donations is applied toward patient care and treatment.