Hope Dental Clinic

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Often the patients say it the best. Consider the words of 29–year–old Terrence Thompson.

“About seven or eight years ago, my grandmother told me about the work they do here. Since I was raised in Ypsilanti, I returned as a student when I was at Wayne State University in Detroit because I didn’t have insurance. I still don’t. Here, they care. They do good work and today was no exception,” he said after being treated by dental hygiene student Jennifer Brodie.

Karen Ridly, assistant professor of dental hygiene, who travels with dental hygiene students to their rotations at Hope Dental Clinic, offers some advice to Sarah Henderson as she begins her patient examination.

Located in downtown Ypsilanti, Hope Dental Clinic is helping to address a critical need for oral health care.

“The demand for our dental services is so great that during our New Patient registration day last November, we had patients waiting outside at ten o’clock at night hoping to be seen when we opened at seven o’clock the next morning,” said Becky Lewis, dental clinic coordinator. “Unfortunately, we turned away over seventy–five people, many with tears in their eyes, because there are not enough available resources in Washtenaw County to meet the needs of the uninsured.” The Clinic adds 100 new patients during its New Patient program in the fall and a similar number in the spring.

Mirror in hand, dental hygiene student Jennifer Brodie shows Terrence Thompson the proper way to brush his teeth to minimize tooth and gum problems.

The majority of patients are from Washtenaw County. However, others drive from Jackson, Belleville, Canton, Westland and other communities.

“Many have never been to a dentist. Others haven’t been to a dentist in fifteen or twenty years,” Lewis says. “But we can help more patients because of the assistance we get from dental hygiene students, a part–time dentist, and more efficient scheduling.”

The demand was so great that by the end of last September, the Clinic recorded more patient visits than it did during all of 2006. For all 2007, 3,820 patient visits were recorded.

Karen Ridley, assistant professor of dental hygiene, travels with the students to their once a week rotations at Hope.

“It’s a different experience for them because it’s like a private practice environment because they have one hour and fifteen minutes with a patient,” Ridley says. “They also treat a significant amount of periodontal damage in patients here. The students have a lot of independence, but they know I’m available if they need me.”