Ostrow Receives $2.5 Million for Digital Dentistry Expansion
The gift, bestowed by Henry Schein Incorporated, could catalyze a full-on digital revolution at Ostrow, outfitting the Advanced Operative and Adhesive Dentistry Clinic with the technology necessary for a fully digital workflow.
BY JOHN HOBBS MA ’14
OSTROW IS ONE STEP CLOSER to realizing one of its strategic goals of integrating a fully digital workflow into its clinical education program, thanks to a new $2.5-million gift from Henry Schein Incorporated.
The gift will provide the Advanced Operative and Adhesive Dentistry (AOAD) Clinic — renamed the Henry Schein Cares Advanced Operative Digital Dentistry Clinical Laboratory in honor of this gift — with state-of-the-art equipment, including new operatories as well as the most cutting-edge hardware and software, to elevate patient care at Ostrow.
“We are thrilled to partner with Henry Schein on this endeavor, which is not only critical to our mission of educating tomorrow’s oral healthcare professionals today but also of providing excellent minimally invasive dentistry to our patient population,” said Dean Yang Chai PhD ’91, DDS ’96.
The sentiment was shared by Henry Schein Inc. Chairman of the Board Stanley M. Bergman.
“We thank USC for sharing our commitment to dental innovation, shaping the future of health and improving outcomes for underserved populations,” Bergman said. “This state-of-the-art facility represents an investment in the next generation of oral health professionals, one that empowers students with the tools, technology and expertise to provide the highest-quality care in every community.”
A Safe Space for Patients
The clinic, housed on the Norris Dental Science Center’s third floor, boasts a cosmetic-dentistry esthetic, with portraits of pearly-white smiles hanging on the wall in the waiting room and a photo room for “before” and “after” pictures.
Inside the bright, modern-looking clinic, there are five new operatories — provided by Henry Schein — awaiting a diverse population of patients, many from underserved populations, seeking comprehensive oral rehabilitation, often involving full-mouth or segmental rehabilitation. Such patients might have been born with genetic or developmental disorders or experienced substance abuse, severe accidents or other factors affecting their dentition.
The new Henry Schein Cares Clinic offers individuals with these longstanding issues — including patients living with HIV/AIDS — a safe space for treatment, provided by AOAD advanced specialty program residents under faculty supervision.
“AOAD provides these patients with highly customized, patient-centered, evidence-based rehabilitative care that respects both their medical complexity and their wish to preserve and restore their natural dentition,” said Associate Dean of Comprehensive Care and AOAD Advanced Program Director Sillas Duarte.
From using intraoral scanners to capture incredibly precise dental imagery to planning treatment using the latest technology to previsualize the desired outcome to 3-D printing or ceramic blasting prosthetics, the entire treatment will be completed on premises using a digital workflow.
Duarte has spearheaded the effort to build a clinic that can be an example for future investment.
“By modernizing the AOAD clinic, we are creating a visible, tangible example of what investment in clinical infrastructure can achieve — elevated patient care, a superior training environment and a platform for digital and minimally invasive adhesive dentistry that is second to none,” Duarte said.
A Catalyst for Change
While the gift will initially benefit the Henry Schein Cares Advanced Operative Digital Dentistry Clinical Laboratory, Duarte points out that the clinic often serves as a testing ground for technology that is eventually adopted schoolwide, and the gift’s impact is likely to be felt much more broadly.
“This kind of transformative upgrade often becomes a catalyst. It helps with recruitment of top residents and faculty, supports our mission and vision and gives us a powerful story to share with other potential donors and partners,” he said. “When alumni and friends of the school see how one strategic gift can redefine an entire clinical area, it opens the door for similar investments.”