Looking Back: Dental Health Center Marks 20-Year Anniversary
“I saw my first patient, Phil, on February 2, 1991,” said Hygienist, 20-year employee, and “unofficial historian” of the Dental Health Center at 930 Commonwealth Avenue Anne Jensen. “At that point I was the only full-time hygienist—there was one other part time—and our clinical space wasn’t ready so we worked temporarily on the 7th floor of the Dental School.”
From February to June of 1991, the skeleton crew of original faculty and staff members, lead by Center Director Dr. Christine Paige, worked diligently, dividing their time between seeing patients in their temporary location and doing anything and everything that was needed to get the new space up and running. “I remember doing everything from scrubbing furniture to driving out to Western Massachusetts to get the fire permit,” said Jensen.
Since then the Dental Health Center has come a long way, with an update of their original space in 2000, and then a move to a new state-of-the-art space in September 2008. They’ve also expanded their faculty and staff. Now, under the leadership of Director Dr. Margaret Errante, they employ twenty dentists, eight hygienists, and sixteen dental assistants, along with a large number of administrative staff to keep operations running smoothly.
“Providing excellent oral health care has always been part of our mission,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “The staff of the Dental Health Center play an integral role in achieving this mission, and with the opening of the new state-of-the-art facility in 2008, we are able to ensure that patient care at the Center remains second to none.”
While countless things about the Center have changed, many of the early patients still remain. Dental Assistant Eudocia Reis has worked at the Center for close to 19 years. She explained, “Some patients came here before they were married and now we see their kids. Others, we removed their baby teeth, and now we’re removing their wisdom teeth. Treating the same patients for many years allows you to build wonderful relationships and I have so many favorite patients.”
Center Oral Surgeon and GSDM Associate Dean for Advanced Education & International Programs Dr. Thomas Kilgore further elaborated on these special relationships: “The staff are tremendously important in providing continuity in the care of our patients at the Dental Health Center. Our patients see the dentists when necessary but they see our hygienists every six months. Many of our patients have seen the same hygienist for literally decades, and for them, their hygienist is the heart of the Center.”
“One of my long-time patients got married recently,” added Jensen. “At her last appointment she told me that the night before she had been looking everywhere for wedding photos to bring in. Her husband saw this and said, ‘I thought you were going to the dentist.’ She responded, ‘I am, to see Anne, my hygienist,’ then upon seeing his confusion she told him, ‘Oh you won’t understand.’ But as soon as I saw her in the waiting room I asked if she had brought me any wedding photos—that’s the kind of closeness that we have with many of our patients.”
Reis and Dental Assistant Solange Olivier—another nearly 19-year veteran of the Center—say one other thing they value about the Center is the collaborative work environment. “One of the greatest things about working here is that everyone is doing their best to work with everyone else,” said Reis. “We have a closeness not only to the patients, but to each other.” They also add that working with so many doctors over the years has allowed them to meet great people from a variety of cultures, which is something that they have both really enjoyed.
Dr. Errante added that those working at the Center also have the opportunity to get to know a large portion of the Boston University community. She said, “All of us at the Dental Health Center are extremely honored to have the opportunity to take care of the oral health needs of the Boston University community. Countless BU employees and alumni are patients at the Center, as well as many members of the general public. We look forward to continuing to provide oral health care to these important populations and to serving future members of the BU community.”
Learn more about the Dental Health Center on their new website, www.budentalhealthcenter.com.