Texas A&M College of Dentistry dedicates building site

Texas A&M College of Dentistry has been a part of the downtown Dallas landscape for more than a century. Since 1905, the college has prided itself on staying at the fore when it comes to advancing the dental profession, and it’s done so with minimal relocation. In fact, students, faculty and staff have furthered the college’s mission from the same corner of Gaston Avenue and Hall Street since 1950.

Come fall 2019, patient care and students’ clinical education will move to a new facility just a short walk from the college’s main building.

An Oct. 23 dedication at the site of the college’s new $127 million Clinic and Education Building signals a new era in patient care and dental education. The nine-story, 157,756-square-foot facility is designed to foster group practice settings that emphasize patient care outcomes. Dental and dental hygiene students, along with their faculty supervisors, will work in “pods” that resemble group practices, allowing dental specialists to come to the patient, rather than requiring that the patient visit multiple clinics in the same building.

During the site dedication ceremony, Dr. Lawrence Wolinsky, College of Dentistry dean, shared with attendees a conversation he had with several longtime alumni.

“At Homecoming last month I chatted with members of the Dental Class of 1951, who were the first students to occupy our current building,” Wolinsky said. “They commented that they couldn’t imagine anything more state-of-the-art than what we have now. I told them to come back in two years and see just how advanced this new building will really be.”

The patient–centered clinical facility will feature nearly 300 operatories with the most progressive technology, specialized clinical support areas, classrooms and study spaces. Upon its completion, scheduled for August 2019, patients will have access to much-needed parking in a garage on the first three levels of the new structure.

“It is great to see you serving hundreds of thousands of Texans,” Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said during the site dedication ceremony, attended by students, faculty, staff and state officials. “This new facility will enable Texas A&M to continue providing cutting-edge dental care, and promises to be one of the many points of pride for the System.”

The new space also gives the College of Dentistry room to grow, with potential to increase enrollment by 25 percent. More students translates to increased access to quality care for Texans in Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond.

“As a result of the new facilities, the college’s capacity to provide such care to people across the region is expected to increase by up to 40 percent,” said Dr. Carrie Byington, Texas A&M University Health Science Center senior vice president. “The college is helping to close the dental health care gap throughout North Texas.”