A first-of-its kind facility in Indiana at IU School of Dentistry will help dental students gain hands-on experience providing oral healthcare to adult patients with complex medical conditions, chronic illnesses, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. In doing so, it will help expand future access to care statewide.
Description of the video:
September 3rd, 2026 marks the beginning of an important and exciting chapter at IU School of Dentistry. The reason why is we're opening a new clinic where we'll be training oral health care professionals to provide care for adults with a wide variety of special health care needs. So here at the dental school, we're hoping to educate a generation of new providers to help treat hers within their own communities and uplift those that are vulnerable and in need of time-sensitive dental care here in the state. Our curriculum, we have learned all the pharmarmacology and all of the sciences approach and behavioral sciences approach to treating medically complex patients. And so having the special care clinic will be a complete gamester to oral healthc care in the future especially from IUSD graduates. Having this rotation as well as this clinic is going to allow for further exposure before we graduate and help us feel more comfortable in treating these patients when we are out on our own. I think this uh clinic is going to mean a lot to patients and families of people with disabilities all over the state. They're going to know that their oral health matters and they'll also know that they deserve the quality of care that everyone else gets. We have a unique position to be able to not only provide direct patient care in the state-of-the-art facility, but to train the oral health care providers for the future. And our impact through education will be even greater.
The Delta Dental Special Care Clinic expands access to oral healthcare for adult patients with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and medically complex conditions while preparing the next generation of dentists to provide compassionate, high-quality care for all patients. Too many adult patients with disabilities and medically complex conditions face limited or no oral healthcare options in their home communities. Every patient deserves compassionate, high-quality oral healthcare delivered with respect, understanding, and dignity.
As Indiana's only dental school, the IU School of Dentistry is uniquely positioned to address immediate patient needs while building a stronger oral healthcare workforce for the future. The clinic helps close the accessibility-to-services gap while preparing future dentists to confidently care for all patients. The school is developing tomorrow’s dental professionals and preparing them to provide special care services to patients in their home communities.
Facility Features
Patients with disabilities and complex medical conditions often face significant barriers to receiving dental care. Many travel long distances to find providers equipped to meet their needs.
The new clinic helps address this challenge by offering:
The clinic creates a safer, more accessible and more dignified care experience for patients who frequently have limited treatment options. It offers an affordable one-stop shop for patients while giving students access to hands-on training.
Serving Patients Across Indiana
The need for specialized oral healthcare extends throughout the state of Indiana.
This is a statewide referral-based resource that serves patients whose needs often cannot be met in traditional dental settings.
Training Indiana's Future Dental Workforce
The Delta Dental Special Care Clinic is not only a place of care. It is a hands-on training experience that will improve access to care throughout Indiana for decades to come. All Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) students at IUSD will participate in required rotations in the special care clinic.
At the clinic, IU School of Dentistry students will:
As a result of this training, we will graduate approximately 120 dentists annually who will be trained to provide this type of care in their own communities. With more than 3 out of every 4 dentists in Indiana being alumni of IUSD, this will have a significant impact on the availability of care statewide.
Recent Data
Within the past 18 months at IUSD, referred services have provided approximately 3,000 patient encounters, including:
Looking Ahead
Future growth opportunities include additional clinical faculty and staff, more student learning experiences, greater patient capacity, and expanded financial support for patients whose care needs exceed available resources and insurance coverage. If you are interested in supporting the clinic, contact Jackie Hinnefeld, IU School of Dentistry’s development officer.
We are currently working with our already established community of patients. We hope to have capacity to offer service to new patients soon, and will post referral instructions here at that time.
