Texas A&M dental school opens new clinic, education building

First: The Clinic and Education Building, which features nearly 300 dental chair stations, is the first stand-alone building constructed for the dental school since 1950. Images provided by Texas A&M College of Dentistry.

Texas A&M College of Dentistry announced Jan. 17 it opened it’s new 160,000-square-foot, nine-story clinic, which enables the dental school to increase underserved patients’ access to care.
   
The Clinic and Education Building, which features nearly 300 dental chair stations, is the first stand-alone building constructed for the dental school since 1950.
   
“Patients and students are at the heart of what we do,” said Dr. Lawrence E. Wolinsky, dental school dean, in a news release. “The new clinical building is truly going to help the college meet the ever-expanding need for reputable patient-centered care in a compassionate environment. Our students will gain a unique learning experience that will benefit them throughout their professional careers.”
   

Increase: The capacity for patient visits, which currently number about 100,000 per year, is expected to increase by up to 40%. The increased capacity allows the dental school to help address the shortage of dental health care providers in the state’s underserved areas.

The clinic also allows the dental school to shift from a traditional disciplined-based approach to a “whole health” educational model, according to a news release. It includes advanced technology, specialized clinics, clinical support areas, classrooms and study spaces.
   
The capacity for patient visits, which currently number about 100,000 per year, is expected to increase by up to 40%. The increased capacity allows the dental school to help address the shortage of dental health care providers in the state’s underserved areas.
   
“This is an exciting time as we reach a new milestone in the history of the College of Dentistry,” Dr. Wolinsky said.
   
The construction of the new $127 million facility was completed at the end of 2019. About $72 million of the building’s estimated cost came from approval for bond authority that the A&M Health Science Center received from the Texas Legislature during the 2015 session.