(submitted photo/University of Saskatchewan website)

By Glenn Hicks

dental expansion

University campus in P.A. prepares expanded dental offering

Feb 25, 2020 | 5:36 PM

After months of renovations, a key part of the University of Saskatchewan’s new downtown campus in Prince Albert will soon be fitted out with dental equipment and a bigger offering for education and patients than initially planned.

Doug Brothwell, the dean of the College of Dentistry says the $1 million donation from Toronto-based dentalcorp last year allows them to get their full-service dental clinic underway with a seven-chair set-up as opposed to the four chairs they thought they’d be starting with. He said seven chairs was always the ultimate aim but they figured that may have taken five years.

“Within just a few months we’re going to begin installing all our dental equipment,” Brothwell told paNOW. “We’ll get it all set up, tested, certified – radiation units for X-Rays have to be certified – so we’ll get that all in place.”

He expected the fully fledged dental clinic to be up and running a few weeks before the school year starts in early September. A qualified dentist/instructor will take on four fourth year students at a time.

“Every single graduating dentist in the U of S program out of Saskatoon will have gone up to Prince Albert and have completed a rotation providing care to the very unique population group we’re going to be caring for,” he explained.

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Brothwell said the model of instruction proved highly effective in encouraging graduates to embark on a career in the geographical setting where they had their work experience.

He added the clinic would also serve to address referral patterns where patients in the North requiring more specialized treatment could be helped in P.A.

The seven chairs at the new clinic will allow the four students to receive hands-on instruction and experience under the supervision of the qualified dentist while that dentist can also offer care to patients in the other three chairs. There will also be four staff working at the facility.

“At any time we should have seven patients getting treatment done,” he explained. “We’re looking forward to expanding access to care in P.A and the North and providing education on how best to treat that population for all the future dentists graduating in Saskatchewan.”

The new central downtown University of Saskatchewan campus in P.A. will open in September with a full service seven-chair dental clinic. (Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said the news of an even bigger dental clinic than initially planned is exciting news for the wider community.

“I believe we are the recreation, service, education and health centre for northern Saskatchewan,” he said. “Those seven dentistry chairs will really help with the disabled, seniors and poor people. It’s a niche in the market that we were missing.”

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow