UAMS Oral Health Clinic Now Taking Appointments for January

By Jon Parham

The new clinic, part of the growing UAMS Center for Dental Education, will be open Monday from noon to 6 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Friday, 7 a.m. to noon. To make a clinic appointment, call (501) 686-5733.

The UAMS Oral Health Clinic, featuring five exam rooms with the latest dental technology, will offer comprehensive dental services including:

• Crowns
• Dentures/partials
• Fillings
• Endodontic (root canal) therapy
• Implants
• Hygiene Services
• Whitening/Cosmetic Services

Keith David Stillwell, D.D.S., who joined the UAMS faculty in September as director of the clinical and residency programs in the Center for Dental Education, will provide dental care to patients in the clinic. Two dental assistants and a dental hygienist recently joined the clinic staff. Additional dentists are expected to join the faculty soon.

The clinic will offer dental insurance filing. Initial insurance plans accepted include Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and Delta Dental. Subscribers to other dental insurance plans are encouraged to contact the Oral Health Clinic to discuss dental benefits.

“The UAMS Oral Health Clinic provides a new dental option for patients in central Arkansas, offering comprehensive care,” said Charles O. Cranford, D.D.S., director of the Center for Dental Education. “We are thrilled to open this clinic as a cornerstone of our Center for Dental Education and its commitment to improving access to dental care in Arkansas.”

The center is working toward accreditation for postgraduate residency programs in advanced general dentistry and oral surgery. The goal is that by 2014, the program will begin accepting dental residents who will provide dental care in the clinic while gaining further clinical experience.

By then, the Oral Health Clinic is expected to expand to include about 15 exam rooms.

“Educating dental residents on our campus will encourage their future careers in Arkansas and will increase the number of dentists beginning their careers in the state,” Stillwell said.

Stillwell previously served as associate director of General Practice Residency at the University of Alabama-Birmingham before coming to UAMS. He will lead the effort to secure accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation for a general practice residency at UAMS and will serve as director of the residency program.

For more information about the Center for Dental Education, part of the UAMS College of Health Professions, visit http://DentalEducation.uams.edu.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 775 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.