Press releases

Yale-New Haven Hospital news release
Release date: November 9, 2005
Media contact: Mark D'Antonio, (203) 688-2493

Yale-New Haven Pediatric Dentistry Center gets new chief, $1 million in funding

The Yale-New Haven Hospital Pediatric Dentistry Center, which opened last year at 860 Howard Avenue, marked its first anniversary with a new chief, more than $1 million in new funding, and a monthly caseload that is now up to 750 patients, including children and families who are deeply grateful for the service.

Brian K. Singletary, DMD, MS, a clinical assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine, is the new chief of the dental service at Yale-New Haven, including the pediatric center. Dr. Singletary oversees the treatment of patients and manages the continuing expansion of the operation with the help of a $900,000 federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to fund residency training in dentistry through 2008; a $162,500 Kohl’s Cares for Kids grant for pediatric dentistry outreach; and $112,500 in New Haven Oral Health Coalition/Connecticut Health Foundation funding to pay part of operational costs including support of a dental hygienist and a faculty dentist.

In June, the Yale-New Haven Hospital Pediatric Dentistry Center received the prestigious Connecticut Hospital Association Community Service Award for providing access to dental services to 12,000 underserved children in the New Haven area.

“We need to see children as early as possible - at age one when their teeth are starting to come in - so that we can begin to educate the parents or guardians, and children to establish healthy dental routines,” Dr. Singletary said.

The state-of-the art Pediatric Dentistry Center provides preventative, comprehensive and urgent dental care for children up to the age of 16, focusing on meeting the needs of underserved children in the community and those with special healthcare needs. Nearly 90 percent of the clinic’s patients are insured by the state’s HUSKY healthcare plan; many have never seen a dentist before.

“Many of the children we see have dental problems that cause them pain and infection, affect their sleep and their concentration in school, and many require treatment in the operating room,” explained Patti DeWitt, director of operations, Community Health, at Yale-New Haven, and project manager for the Pediatric Dentistry Center. “Two to three patients a week are going to surgery since the center opened.” Patients at the center have access to an oral maxillofacial surgeon, a pediatric faculty dentist, four pediatric dental residents, and two dental hygienists, including one hygienist who also serves as an outreach coordinator.

Click here for more information about the Pediatric Dentistry Center

Reporters: For more information on this release, contact Mark D'Antonio, (203) 688-2493.

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Last revised: November 9, 2005 (mv)

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