Changing Lives by Expanding Access to Care
As former Dean, Dr. Raymond Cohlmia explained in an interview with Tulsa Public Radio, “This is not just about the University of Oklahoma, this is not just about the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, but this is about the profession and this is about our responsibility to deliver care to those in need.”
Our expansion to the OU-Tulsa campus enables the college to fulfill one of our primary roles: To improve the health of the community and surrounding area by bringing dental services, at substantially reduced fees, into areas of our state with underserved oral health needs.
Why Tulsa – Why Now: Oklahoma currently ranks 49th in the nation for access to dental care and northeast Oklahoma has fewer dentists per capita than most areas of the United States. In fact, our own records show that a significant percentage of patients we see in our Oklahoma City clinics must travel from Tulsa to receive the dental services they need. There are also 7 counties in the state in which indigent care patients do not have access to dental care within a thirty-mile radius. Three of these counties are in the northeastern part of our state.
Serving You: The location of the dental clinic in the OU Health Physicians Clinic building has the added benefit of providing patients with access to the medical and dental services they need for optimal health in one convenient location.