Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of New England: Oral Health Center

  • 11/01/14
University of New England (UNE) College of Dental Medicine

PHOTOS © DARREN SETLOW

In the Fall of 2013, the University of New England (UNE) College of Dental Medicine, the first dental college in northern New England, welcomed an inaugural class of 64 dental students. The new dental program was developed to address the growing shortage of dentists in Maine and provides a platform for dental students to gain valuable clinical experience while offering the public access to affordable dental care.

The Oral Health Center, designed by Port City Architecture with consultant Kahler Slater and built by AlliedCook Construction, is the centerpiece and home of the dental program. The 38,000-squarefoot, two-story educational and patient care facility is located on the UNE’s historic Portland, ME, campus. The facility’s exterior, a combination of brick, glass and contemporary porcelain tile panels, complements the traditional New England-style campus buildings and green.

The waiting area, designed to provide a soothing and comforting atmosphere, includes a fireplace, an abundance of natural light and a warm color palette that is carried throughout the building. Within the educational wing is a 64-seat Dental Simulation Center where students develop and hone skills, as well as 15 dental stations, X-ray support, a clinical support lab and offices. A dispensary features a clinical-scale autoclave for sterilization of equipment and tools.

Sixty-one stations are utilized by second- and third-year students providing direct patient care under the supervision of licensed dental faculty. Also within the Oral Health Center are an urgent care clinic; the Delta Dental Comprehensive Care Clinic; a dental special care clinic; a radiology suite; and dental residency program.

The Oral Health Center becomes fully operational in 2017 and will treat an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 patients per year.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Acquires VPS Architecture

    Full-service planning, architecture, and engineering firm Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has acquired VPS Architecture, according to a news release. The move will help strengthen Wold’s education and public-sector design expertise, industries in which both companies have strong pre-existing ties and relationships.

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.