Lyon College School of Dental Medicine and Arkansas Children’s have established a partnership to support patient care, clinical education, and research.
The affiliation, which was formalized earlier this month, will coordinate the delivery and oversight of pediatric dental services at Arkansas Children’s. It takes effect July 1.
Lyon College School of Dental Medicine, the state’s first and only dental school, enrolled its inaugural class last fall. The fully accredited institution educates dental students and residents, employs licensed dental professionals and faculty capable of providing pediatric dental services, and supervises clinical training programs.
Arkansas Children’s operates a hospital-based dental program that provides complex dental and craniofacial care, as well as fixed-site clinics, mobile dental units, and school-based oral health programs.
Under the partnership, Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will provide administrative oversight and faculty services to support the dental program at Arkansas Children’s. Arkansas Children’s will support clinical training and education of Lyon dental students. The organizations will jointly promote collaborative research, continuing education, and academic initiatives, and will work to expand high-quality pediatric dental services to Arkansas Children’s patients.
“Pediatric healthcare is unique and extremely vital to the overall healthcare system,” said Marcy Doderer, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s. “Working with Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will strengthen our dental programs and ensure we jointly educate and build a pipeline of future pediatric dentists in Arkansas.”
Doderer said the affiliation, along with existing academic partnerships with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Alice Walton School of Medicine, reflects Arkansas Children’s commitment to advancing pediatric healthcare across the region.
Dr. Burke Soffe, founding dean of the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine, said the partnership is central to the dental school’s mission.
“Our vision from the beginning has been to make dental education affordable and accessible while also providing services that benefit the people in Arkansas who need it most,” Soffe said. “This partnership will expose our dental students to more patients and real-world clinical settings than they would encounter in a traditional dental school model.”
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