Community Dental Center

Ann Arbor, Michigan

For the past 27 years, the Community Dental Center, at 407 N. Ashley in downtown Ann Arbor has been providing quality dental care at affordable prices to Washtenaw County residents.

Prior to an appointment, fourth–year dental hygiene student Rachel Chetosky (right) reviews a patient’s records with Drs. Ann Bibik and Doris Allen.

The Center is a cooperative venture administered by the School of Dentistry that receives funding from the City of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, the United Way, and other service organizations. The City owns the building but leases it to the School to provide oral health care to low–income residents of Washtenaw County.

In recent years, more than 4,000 patient visits have been recorded annually according to Dr. Doris Allen, the Center’s director. “That’s up from about 3,000 patient visits a few years earlier,” she says. “Some of the increase is undoubtedly due to the state of the local economy. We have also seen an increase in the number of Medicaid patients seeking dental care here.”

Most patients treated at the Center are between 24 and 50 years old. However, “we do see some children as young as three years of age, typically before they enter the Headstart program,” Allen says. “But we also have some patients who are in their eighties and older.”

Dental hygiene students from the U–M School of Dentistry provide dental care at the site.

Doris Allen, DDS

“It’s a chance for them to be in a real–life practice–like setting,” Allen says. “They enjoy the opportunities and challenges that go along with being in an active office environment.”

Undergraduate students considering the oral health care profession are frequent volunteers. “They perform many clerical tasks such as filing, confirming patient appointments, answering phones, and pulling patient charts,” she said. “It gives them a chance to see dentistry close–up before deciding if they want to apply to dental school.”

Allen encourages dentists, both retired and still practicing, to volunteer. “It’s a great way to give back to your profession and your community.”