Brushing up New MU Dental School will

change focus of curriculum
The changes to the Marquette University School of Dentistry will be more than just a new building.
The only dental school in Wisconsin is endeavoring to change the face of dental education with a revamped curriculum that will more closely resemble the real world and put the focus back where it should be – on the patients.
“Traditionally, dental schools are not patient-friendly,” said William K. Lobb, dean of the Marquette School of Dentistry. “They are very discipline-oriented and struggle to integrate. We hope to bring all the branches of dentistry together so that patient care is not so chopped up.”
The goals are to develop a case-based educational approach, to create a clinical environment that focuses on the patient’s needs rather than a series of procedures, and to become the front-runner in dental education throughout the Midwest.
“We hope that students will go through school thinking like dentists,” Lobb said. “They are starting a life-long journey and we hope they will see their education as a continual process.”
Marquette has the distinction of being the only dental school in the nation to have the opportunity to build a “ground-up” facility. Other schools have reformed their curricula and added onto existing facilities, but none have done what Marquette is doing.
“I believe we are ahead of where other schools are,” Lobb said. “We are moving ahead.”
In the past, dental education has been separated into a series of specialty areas, each one self-contained with little interaction with other disciplines. Marquette is taking its current 80 courses and reorganizing them into a possible 11 major course tracks in the hope of stopping that trend.
Lectures will be reduced by 30%. The number of subject-specific exams will also be reduced, and a new comprehensive exam will be added.
The curriculum will shift from the technical detail-oriented tradition to a more comprehensive, oral health-care focus, a reflection of the changes in the field of dentistry.
Clinical practice will remain at the heart of education, but the way a student’s time is spent will change. First-year students will attend fewer lectures and overall students will spend more time in clinical settings. In addition, students will spend 25% of their time at off-campus dental projects.
“We want students to be less passive,” Lobb said. “Through the outreach programs, the focus is on public health.”
Technology will be a key factor in the new facility. The plans include interactive audio and video conferencing, where a dentist working on a patient can be observed by students in a classroom. The possibility also exists where graduate and continuing courses could be placed online, allowing students gaining practical experience at outside locations to not miss valuable classroom lessons.
The new Dental School is attracting new faculty from one of the leading dental schools in the country, Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, including Bill Babler, associate dean for academic affairs, Andris Jaunberzins, assistant professor of endodontics, Linda Wells, general practice group leader, and Anthony M. Iacopino, associate dean for research and graduate studies.
Construction for the new school began March 5 at the site on West Wisconsin Avenue between 18th and 19th streets, with a projected completion date of August 2002.
The building, designed by Kahler-Slater of Milwaukee and under the general contracting of Oscar J. Boldt Construction company, will house approximately 280-290 pre-doctoral and 20-25 post-doctoral students.
“We are very excited,” said Larry Schnuck, a principle at Kahler-Slater. “Construction is going well and the building will open on schedule.”
Included in the three-story structure is a 96-chair main dental clinic located on the first and second floors. Additional chairs will be located in other areas for patients with special needs such as oral surgery, periodontal surgery, prosthodontics, orthodontics, endodontics, and pediatric and advanced care will be serviced.
The total cost for the project will be $30 million, $15 million of which will be financed by long-term bonds issued by the State of Wisconsin. The remaining amount will be matched by Marquette through its fund-raising efforts.
In addition to $3 million in federal funds, Marquette has received private gifts of $2 million from Robert J. Sullivan, retired vice chairman of the board of Sullivan-Schein Dental, the largest dental supply company in the country; $1 million from Wayne Holt, former president of equipment for Sullivan Dental Products of West Allis; and $1.1 million from Delta Dental Plan of Wisconsin, a not-for-profit dental service corporation located in Stevens Point.
July 6, 2001 Small Business Times, Milwaukee