Orthodontics
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The University of Detroit began its educational work in 1877 and
was incorporated as the Detroit College in 1881. In 1911, it was
reorganized and given its name, the University of Detroit. In 1991
it merged with Mercy College, and today it is known as University
of Detroit Mercy. The School of Dentistry was established in 1932.
It is located at 8200 West Outer Drive, at the intersection of
Southfield freeway on the University of Detroit Mercy Outer Drive
Campus. The 60,000 square foot dental clinic building was completed
in June 1997 and the first orthodontic class entered into the new
building in July.
The Orthodontic Clinic Experience The Graduate Orthodontic Clinic is in operation five days every week. During this time, five separate and distinct "Clinical Teaching Teams", functioning one-half day each week, instruct the graduate students in variously modified approaches to treatment utilizing the edgewise mechanism. The students also spend approximately three days each week in Specialty Clinics, staffed by additional "Teaching Teams": The Orthognathic Surgery, Mixed Dentition and TMJ Clinics, operate one-half day each week; the Cleft Lip/Palate and Advanced Orthodontic Clinics which alternate one-half day every other week in the second year. Since it is the philosophy of the Department of Orthodontics to expose the student to as many varied clinical experiences as is both possible and practical, his or her clinical exposure is both extensive and immediate. Almost immediately after his or her arrival into the Program, each student begins treatment for approximately 25 patients in need of comprehensive therapy. At the end of his or her first year he or she will have also begun treatment for approximately four patients in need of orthognathic surgery, ten to fifteen patients in the Mixed Dentition and Functional Appliance Clinic, and 1-2 TMJ cases. At the beginning of the second year, six to eight patients will be assigned in the Craniofacial Anomalies and Cleft Palate Clinic. Therefore, each student will be directly exposed to and responsible for the treatment of between forty-eight and fifty-seven active treatment patients during the first year of the training program. In addition, approximately forty active transfer patients will be assigned in the second year. These patients are carefully screened and selected from the many orthodontic examinations that are conducted each year.Dental Library Along with the new Dental Clinic, the University provides a newly renovated library on the Outer Drive Campus. It features the area's most current and comprehensive resources in dentistry and the biomedical sciences. The dental collection contains over 100,000 volumes including 32,000 that support the Orthodontic and other Dental Programs. There are more than 450 journal titles in dentistry and biomedicine. The library also provides Internet access to dental information and free online searching in Medline and numerous other health related databases. Internet training and Medline searching are also available at the library. Full-text access to core biomedical online journals is offered, too. An extensive slide and video collection can be viewed in study rooms in the library. Other services include Interlibrary Loan, evening and weekend hours, and personal assistance from librarians. |