Office of Public Relations — Newsroom
News Release
CU School of Dentistry and Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation Establish New Oral Health Center
Center will forge a new link between dentistry and medicine for better care
AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 28, 2005) — A new center that will enhance patient care through educational collaborations between dentists and physicians will open Nov. 30 at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center's Fitzsimons campus.
The Delta Dental Foundation Frontier Center, made possible through a $1 million grant from the Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, will be located in the CU School of Dentistry's Lazzara Center for Oral-Facial Health. An official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
Officials said the new center is the result of a unique partnership between the CU School of Dentistry and Delta Dental's foundation. Patients will benefit because dentists and medical doctors will work together to promote the best possible health care for patients.
"There have been a number of recent studies that link overall health and well-being to oral health in patients such as links between oral health and blood sugar management in diabetics and a reduction in low birth weight outcomes in pregnant women," said Phyllis Albritton, the foundation's executive director. "We've partnered with the CU School of Dentistry to explore the overlap in medicine and dentistry and to ensure students are taught about the relationship between oral health and general health."
The strategic initiatives of the Delta Dental Foundation Frontier Center will include educating students and practitioners about the oral manifestations of systemic disease, and the impact of oral disease on health. The initiatives will be set forth by an external advisory committee consisting of faculty from both the CU School of Dentistry and School of Medicine. The committee will have their first meeting on Nov. 30, prior to the ribbon cutting and opening ceremonies.
"The educational programs that arise from this partnership with the Delta Dental Foundation will be structured to have an immediate impact with current students and will result in long-term improvements in communication and collaborations between dentists and physicians," said Denise Kassebaum, DDS, MS, interim dean of dentistry. "Such interdisciplinary collaborations are consistent with the vision of the Fitzsimons campus – to support interprofessional collaborations in education, research and patient care – and will enhance the care of the patients we are privileged to treat."
The CU School of Dentistry officially opened its new Lazzara Center for Oral-Facial Health in September 2005 at the UCDHSC Fitzsimons campus. The 95,000-square-foot, three-story building is twice the size of the former CU School of Dentistry on UCDHSC's Ninth Avenue campus in Denver, and is exceptionally designed as a clinical facility with the technology to support both patient care and the educational mission of the only dentistry school in Colorado. For more information about the Lazzara Center for Oral-Facial Health and the CU School of Dentistry, visit http://www.uchsc.edu/sod/.
The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is one of three campuses in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu.
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Information about the Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation: Founded in 1997, the Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation promotes activities towards the improvement of oral health care in Colorado. The foundation mission is to sponsor programs that prevent oral disease and advance the science and practice of oral health care. The primary funding for the foundation is by Delta Dental of Colorado. The Foundation's activities are governed by a Board of Trustees whose members include dental and public health experts and community leaders throughout the state. Visit www.deltadentalco.com for more information.