The Rice Regional Dental Clinic is a collaborative effort between Rice Memorial Hospital and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.

Goals of the Dental Clinic include:

• To provide dental care to underserved patients in a rural setting
• To provide both dental and dental hygiene students with an opportunity to practice in a rural setting
• To promote careers in dentistry among people living in the area
• To engage area dentists and hygienists in public service
• To provide health education and service to the community
• To have a positive influence on the number of dentists and dental hygienists choosing to practice in the service area

The Dental Clinic is equipped with ten dental chairs and state-of-the-art dental equipment. Four dental students, two dental hygiene students, and one pediatric resident dentist are assigned to serve at the clinic on a rotating basis, year-round.

Patients are assigned to a dental or dental hygiene student who performs their care. The dental students treat patients under the direct supervision of a faculty dentist of faculty hygiene instructor. This is an educational environment, therefore treatments may take longer than usual.

The Dental Clinic is open to anyone, regardless of insurance status. All age groups are welcome, and fees for uninsured patients are determined on a sliding fee scale.

1. Please call in promptly at 8:00 am on the date(s) listed below. The Clinic answering machine is turned off promptly at 8:00 am.

2. Due to the overwhelming number of incoming calls, any messages left on the answering machine may not be returned until the following day.

3. Once you get the message, "Please stay on the line, your call will be answered in the order it is received." Do not hang up.

4. You are now "in line" on the phone and someone will be with you as soon as possible.

5. If you get the message and then hang up and call back, your call will go to the end of the line. This is a first called, first served process.

6. If you get a busy signal you will need to hang up and try again. The phone system can hold only the first 100 callers on hold.

7. Demand for appointments is far greater than our capacity.

8. The reality is that it may take several tries, meaning several months, before you get through and make an appointment.

9. Your wait time could be more than an hour on hold, and you may or may not be able to schedule an appointment once your call is answered.

10. The previous month's new patient treatment needs determine how many appointments are able to be scheduled on any given month. Some months there are 80 new patient openings and sometimes it is just 20. We will not know how many new patients can be seen until the call-in day.

Here are the new patient appointment dates for the remainder of 2009:

• Monday, August 10
• Tuesday, September 8
• Monday, October 5
• Monday, November 2
• Monday, December 7

In order to print a copy of "How to Schedule a New Patient Appointment," click here to download a pdf version.

How to Confirm Your Appointment

Call the Dental Clinic at 320.214.2620 to confirm your appointment 48 hours in advance. If you do not confirm your appointment, the Clinic reserves the right to give your time to another patient.

How to Change or Cancel Your Appointment

A 24-hour notice is required to cancel or change your appointment. Please call 320.214.2620 twenty-four (24) hours in advance. Anything less than 24 hours is considered a failed appointment. See below for the failed appointment policy. Please use the after-hours voice mail to leave a message 24 hours a day.

If You Do Not Come to Your Appointment

Patients, including children, who fail to keep an appointment will not be able to make an appointment for six (6) months.

Emergency patients who fail to arrive for an emergency appointment will also be restricted from making an appointment for six (6) months.

Please arrive on time for your dental appointments. Patients who arrive late (anytime past the scheduled time) can be considered a "Fail" and the Clinic reserves the right to give your time to another patient.

New patients must arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled appointment.

Returning patients must arrive 10 minutes before their scheduled appointment.

Patients who are paying on a Sliding Fee Basis must make their payment on the date of service.

Upon Arrival - Please Remain in the Waiting Room Area

• After you check in, you MUST be in the waiting area when your name is called for your appointment.
• A parent or guardian must check in and remain in the Dental Clinic for all patients under 18 years of age.
• If you need to use the rest room, please let the receptionist know.
• If you are not present when your name is called, you will lose your appointment and you may not schedule another appointment for six (6) months.

Please be Respectful of Others Around You

• Cursing, yelling, and rudeness are not allowed toward anyone while in the Clinic.
• If you break this rule, you will lose your appointment, and you will not be able to schedule another one.
• Please, NO FOOD OR DRINK in the waiting room area.
• Please turn off your cell phone - cell phone use is not allowed.

We appreciate your cooperation of these Rice Regional Dental Clinic policies.

In order to print a copy of the Dental Clinic Patient Policies, click here to download a pdf version.

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Questions the Dental Clinic staff will ask if a new patient calls with a dental emergency:

• When did you first notice or have this dental concern?
• Have you been taking any medications (Prescription or over-the-counter)?
• What else have you been doing for this concern?
• Does this keep you awake at night?
• Do you have swelling that you can see on the outside of your face if you look in the mirror?
• Do you have constant bleeding?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, please contact the Dental Clinic as soon as possible.

Dental Emergencies for new patients are handled as follows:

• New patient emergency care is provided on a first come, first served process.
• Please call the Clinic at 320.214.2620 or 1.877.214.2611. Staff will go over the questions listed above to determine emergency criteria.
• If it appears there is a dental emergency, the new patient is encouraged to come to the Clinic at 8:00 am or 12:30 pm. Staff will ask for your name, birth date, phone number, and insurance information.
• Wait time for care could be up to three hours.
• When a scheduled patient fails to arrive for their appointment, the emergency patient is immediately seated in that spot.
• We do not promise that you will be seen if you wait. However, on average, emergency patients are treated within 48 hours of initial contact.
• We cannot promise, even if seated, that you will be treated the same day. However, if seated, we will try to assess what treatment is needed and re-appoint for that care.

The Rice Regional Dental Clinic is located at the corner of Trott Ave. SW and 4th St. SW in Willmar, Minn. Enter at the West Entrance of Rice Memorial Hospital and take the elevator to the 3rd Floor.

Directions from the North:

• Take Hwy 71 S / Business 23 to Willmar.
• Turn right at Trott Ave. SW stoplight.
• Travel four blocks west on Trott Ave. SW to 4th St. SW.
• Turn right on 4th St. SW.
• The West Entrance will be on your right with a public parking lot on your left.

Directions from the South:

• Take Hwy 71 S / Business 23 to Willmar.
• Turn left at Trott Ave. SW stoplight.
• Travel four blocks west on Trott Ave. SW to 4th St. SW.
• Turn right on 4th St. SW.
• The West Entrance will be on your right with a public parking lot on your left.

Directions from the West:

• Take Hwy 12 E to Willmar.
• Turn right at 2nd St. SW stoplight.
• Travel three blocks south to Trott Ave. SW.
• Turn right and travel two blocks west to 4th St. SW.
• Turn right on 4th St. SW.
• The West Entrance will be on your right with a public parking lot on your left.

Directions from the East:

• Take Hwy 12 E to Willmar.
• Turn left at 2nd St. SW stoplight.
• Travel three blocks south to Trott Ave. SW.
• Turn right and travel two blocks west to 4th St. SW.
• Turn right on 4th St. SW.
• The West Entrance will be on your right with a public parking lot on your left.

Fifty-four dental students reach out to more than 1,400 community members during the past school year

Students of the Rice Regional Dental Clinic experienced a busy school year that ended in June 2009. Not only were they students, but on occasion the students were teachers as well. Fifty-four dental students reached out to more than 1,400 community members through 42 oral health presentations at area schools, camps, and community centers during the past nine months.

Oral healthcare presentations are part of the training experience provided by the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry which oversees student internships at the Rice Regional Dental Clinic. >> story continues

Name-the-fish Contest has two winners!

The Dental Clinic has a new resident beta fish with a new name. Children who visited the Clinic during June were given the chance to submit a name for the fish. The child who submitted the winning name would win a bag full of fun summer toys.

Judges of the Name-the-fish Contest couldn't decide between two finalist names, so they combined the two entries for a winning name of D.K. Tuna.

The Dental Clinic also has a new Pediatric Dental Resident - Todd Allen (center) - who presented gift bags to the two winners, Ridwan Oahir (left) and Alex Alamo (right). Congratulations girls!