Community Outreach

The College of Dentistry is one of the largest providers of low cost dental care to Florida's indigent residents: more than 70 percent of the college's patients meet federal low income guidelines. Dental care at our student clinic costs 30-50% less than private practice.

In addition to providing reduced-fee care in its student clinics, the College hosts several other community outreach programs in the areas of patient care, education and research, as well as holding fundraisers to benefit charity organizations.

UF Campaign for Charities

The college participates each year in the UF Campaign for Charities (formerly the UF Community Campaign). Past activities have included a silent auction, dunking booth and used book and media sale.

Call for help and donations

2009's book and media sale was so successful that we're doing it again this year! The sale will be on Wednesday, October 6, 2010. We're looking for donations of used books, music and movies (children's items are especially popular). You can also print out the flyer below and post it in your work area.

GatorBookworm Book and Media Sale flyer

Wish Upon a Star

The College of Dentistry works with the Partnership for Strong Families during the holiday season to help sponsor holiday gifts for children in our community. Holiday Giving Trees are set up in the college, each decorated with stars that list a child’s name, age, clothing sizes and their three wishes for holiday gifts. Individuals or groups can select a star to sponsor a child and purchase gifts for him or her.

American Cancer Society Relay for Life

As part of the "Bald for a Cause" promise to raise funds for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life College of Dentistry faculty and students committed to having their heads shaved if certain fundraising levels were met. The effort raised almost $20,000, and six people gave up their hair in March and April 2009!

Patient Care

"We Care" Clinic

The Alachua County Health Department runs the "We Care" clinic at Santa Fe College with support from the Alachua County Dental Society. College of Dentistry students and faculty members volunteer to provide treatment to low-income Alachua County residents.

Pediatric Dental Care

Pediatric dentistry faculty, residents and staff provide dental care to low-income and disabled patients at:

The ACORN clinic (Brooker)
The Florida School for Deaf and Blind (St. Augustine)
The dental clinic at Tacachale, a state-operated residential facility for disabled people

Humanitarian Service Trips

The College of Dentistry has established ongoing partnerships with Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Quito, Ecuador and Universidad Catolica Nordestana (UCNE) in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic, to sponsor international service trips and student exchanges. During college breaks, dental students travel to provide much-needed oral care to underserved patients in these countries and other locations.

In August 2009, a trip to the Dominican Republic took place. A group of 26 students, five doctors, one dental technician, and one assistant spent a week traveling to different locations, ultimately providing care to 25 communities. The destinations included a residential nutrition center for sick and malnourished children in Las Matas de Farfan; a prison in San Juan de la Maguana; and a remote mountain community, Yacahueque, which had never before had a dentist visit.

Education

Summer Learning Program

The Summer Learning Program is sponsored by the College of Dentistry. It allows disadvantaged and minority undergraduates to spend two weeks being introduced to the profession of dentistry, lab and patient care techniques, and the UFCD admissions process. Students have the opportunity to network with dental faculty and students, and housing and meals are provided free.

SNDA Impressions Program

The Impressions program is a one-day program of activities sponsored by the Student National Dental Association. Its mission is to expose underrepresented pre-dental students to careers in dentistry and to the application and financial aid process, making participants stronger dental school applicants.

Research

Southeast Center for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health

The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 34,500 new mouth and throat cases will be diagnosed in the next year. In the U.S., there are more than 7,550 deaths per year from head and neck cancer (compared with 3,670 for cervical cancer). Survival from head and neck cancer is one of the lowest among all malignancies; it has not improved in recent decades and remains about 58%. Survival rates and quality of life improve greatly with early detection and treatment.

The Southeast Center for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health opened in October 2008, The Center opened in October 2008 with support from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its mission is to:

Promote early detection and prevention of head and neck cancer among low-income rural and minority individuals in Florida
Provide new resources through which multi-disciplinary teams jointly conduct targeted community-based intervention research
Strengthen the partnerships among researchers, clinicians, and the community The Center’s first community-based intervention project will apply scientific health promotion models to increase the likelihood that African American men obtain oral cancer screenings.

UF Colleges with a Conscience

UF Community Relations For more information on what other colleges are doing to help our local and global community, visit UF Colleges With a Conscience.

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