New Simulation Clinic at U of M School of Dentistry

The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry is preparing for the grand opening of a $9.5 million state-of-
the-art simulation clinic filled with “new, unique, and interactive technology that will make the University of Minnesota home to one of the newest and most advanced dental education facilities in the country,” according to an October 24 University press release.

The new technology will help preclinical dental students develop eye/hand coordination, manual dexterity skills, and learn techniques and procedures they will need to treat patients, all without having actual dental patients present. With its students learning faster, better, and with greater precision and accuracy, the lab, says the U, “has the potential to revolutionize the way dental students learn.”

The 11,200 square foot clinic will contain equipment that exists in combination at no other Big Ten dental school: 100 patient simulators with realistic oral cavities, flexible cheeks, and full complements of teeth; modern operatory equipment; flat-screen monitors; technology room; wet lab; and 20 virtual-reality-based advanced student stations equipped with life-like mannequins, computers, cameras, and LED-tracked drills, the latter which measure a student’s tooth preparation in tenths of a millimeter.

“The equipment has made us reevaluate the way we educate dental students,” said the School’s dean, Patrick Lloyd.

A video virtual tour of the facility is available at http://www.dentistry.umn.edu.