In the ten years since its founding, the University of Utah School of Dentistry (UUSOD) has built one of the most innovative community-based oral health care systems in the nation. We did not do it alone. “If you build it, they will come,” is often used to describe how to attract patrons. We did the exact opposite.
Our mission is to care for Utah’s under-resourced individuals with compassion and equality while providing exceptional clinical experiences for our students. We looked to partner organizations to find unmet oral health needs and better understand the barriers people face in accessing oral health care.
Early on, we struggled to attract pediatric patients to the dental school’s clinic in Research Park. You might say we built it, but they did not come. So, one of our first partnerships began with the holistic vision of pediatricians at University of Utah Health’s South Main Clinic. That vision is about reducing barriers to care and integrating oral health care as part of a patient’s overall health plan. The opportunity to reduce patient barriers and create an innovative care model was a home run.
We are grateful for early visionaries who identified barriers to oral health access, which led us to expand to five more clinics in only three years. Why so many clinics in such a short amount of time? The answer is threefold: community needs, timing, and COVID-19.
Community Health Begins with Community Needs
Jeri Bullock, DDS
Jeri Bullock is Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Director of Admissions of the South Main Clinic. A graduate of Loma Linda School of Dentistry, Bullock has carried the school’s motto, “Service Is Our Calling,” into her own career. Serving as dental director for two Federally Qualified Health Centers, she has gained unparalleled experience in the public health space, while also establishing herself as a respected dentist focusing on integrated care models in underserved communities.
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