UIC College of Dentistry

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry has received the Bud Tarrson Dental School Student Community Leadership Award for its work treating homeless patients at a student-operated oral health center in Chicago, Ill.

To read more about homeless patients, go to homeless patients.

More than 75 UIC dental students volunteer their time and talents every other Saturday at Goldie's Place in Chicago. The clinic has grown from a one-chair operation 14 years ago to a four-operatory dental suite, with additional space for a laboratory and sterilization room.

Sponsored by the American Dental Association Foundation, the Bud Tarrson Dental School Student Community Leadership Award annually highlights dental student outreach to vulnerable communities.

The award recognizes one exemplary community service project organized or conducted by students in a predoctoral dental program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. It is named for Emanuel "Bud"
Tarrson, the former chief executive of John O. Butler Co. and noted philanthropist who championed dental education.

Access to care is a major issue facing the dental profession, said Dr. Caswell Evans, associate dean of prevention and public health sciences at UIC. Through Goldie's Place, UIC dental students experience firsthand lessons from an underserved population.

"Both the homeless and students benefit from this partnership," Evans said. "What the students learn cannot be taught in the classroom. We expect that this experience will resonate with these students throughout their professional careers and will make a difference.

"It is wonderful that their hard work and dedication has been recognized through this prestigious award."

UIC dental students of all levels, from first- to fourth-year, assist at the clinic, which they operate as if it were their own private practice. The procedures they perform range from simple cleanings to filling cavities, extracting teeth, and replacing missing teeth with new prosthetics. A faculty adviser oversees the students' work.

More than 110 social service agencies in the Chicago area refer patients to Goldie's Place, which opened nearly 16 years ago in a 700-square-foot facility on North Clark Street. Dr. William Bjork, a Chicago dentist and UIC dental alumnus, began offering free dentistry at the center in 1997. Dr. Bjork also donated a chair and the equipment needed at the clinic.

A 2001 expansion doubled the size of Goldie's, and a modern two-chair operatory was installed after the agency received several grants. More user-friendly equipment enabled Goldie's to recruit additional volunteer dentists to assist Bjork.

Four years ago it moved into the new 5,100-square-foot facility on Lincoln Avenue.

Bjork and Johanna Dalton, executive director of Goldie's Place, approached Evans to ask if the college could assist the agency. In time, the college donated three chairs and additional dental items.

Other benefactors, such as Henry Schein Cares, the foundation arm of Henry Schein--a leader in the distribution of dental, medical, and veterinary supplies--provided contributions of equipment, supplies, and services.

"One of our goals at the college is to prepare an oral health care workforce that is competent in and committed to addressing the oral health needs of vulnerable and underserved populations and to play its part in eliminating health disparities," Evans said. "Working with Goldie's Place helps us achieve our objective."

A $5,000 grant comes with the Tarrson award, and a portion of the money will be used to purchase supplies and cover other expenses at Goldie's Place, Evans said.

For more information, go to www.brilliantfutures.uic.edu.

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