Some of the most challenging patients the students in the Advanced General Dentistry Program at Marquette University see are offenders - and the relationship is a win-win for both parties  Not only do students have the chance to treat real patients, but the offenders also receive much-needed dental services.

The offenders hail from a trio of correctional centers in Milwaukee and are transported to the school's dental center by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.  For six years now, this partnership between the University and the DOC has been going strong, giving students hands-on-experience and maintaining inmates' dental health.

"I think it is a great opportunity for both organizations," said Dr. Barbara Ripani, Dental Director for the Wisconsin DOC.  "We are very grateful to have additional treatment help.  We don't have a facility that would be able to handle all of these inmates."

The partnership serves offenders who are housed at the DOC's three minimum-security correctional facilities in Milwaukee, all of which are located a short distance from the dental school.  Without sending these inmates to Marquette, the DOC would be forced to transport them to one of the state's higher-security correctional institutions where there are dental care units on site, a situation that the DOC does not consider to be optimal.

"If there are minimum-security inmates going into a medium-level facility, there are a lot of security issues," Ripani said.  "There are no [security] issues with inmates going to Marquette, [though]."

Patients with a Past

While the DOC sees no problem with having inmates visit the dental school for appointments, the students there have no qualms about it either, according to Dr. Timothy Creamer, Senior Associate Dean for Operations and Clinical Affairs at Marquette's School of Dentistry.

"We discuss with [the students] what to expect," Creamer said.  "We have not really had difficulties with [the program] from that aspect of it," he said, referring to the fact that the patients are also offenders. 

According to Creamer, the inmates are just like other patients the students see as part of Marquette's one-year, post-graduate program that aims to give new dentists more experience before they enter the field.  Typically, he said, the inmates visit the dental school for cleanings and fillings.

Having Marquette students take care of these types of inmate dental needs is a huge help to the DOC, which is already short-staffed when it comes to dental professionals, with only 24 dentists and 12 dental hygenists for all of the institutions.

"We have our challenges to even handle the inmates that are located within our institutions [with dental care units]," said Ripani.  "[This partnership] is fabulous because we don't have the staffing to accommodate those [offenders in Milwaukee]," she added.  "It allows the inmates at the correctional centers to get the same level of care [that] our inmates in the institutions get."

Getting Good Experience

But, the DOC and the inmates aren't the only ones who benefit from the partnership; the students also have something to gain.

"I think that it's an opportunity [for the students] to treat a different group of patients," said Creamer.  "This is a unique patient population that we want [the students] to have experience with."

Marquette students typically see between six and eight inmates each week, with appointments made at the request of the inmates.

"Any inmate who wants dental services puts in a request to the nurse and, then, the nurse will make the arrangements to set up the appointment with Marquette," said Ripani. 

Financial Feasibility

Perhaps the most important aspect of the partnership, at least for the DOC, is that the inmates' visits with the dental students are free; there is no money exchanged between the department and the university for dental services rendered.

"We do not have a direct charge to the Department of Corrections," said Creamer.  "We absorb [the costs] of these procedures because it's not an overwhelming number."

Last year, Marquette students saw 161 inmates, which, according to Creamer, was a fair number for the school to accommodate, especially since it receives a $2.8 million grant from the state each year.  Part of the justification for that grant is that the university gives something back to the state, an obligation Marquette partially fulfills through its partnership with the DOC.

"We get credited when the state asks us what we do for the state," said Creamer.  "It's not something we're forced to do, but it does work out for us," he added.  "It's positive for us and for our students."

And the partnership is beneficial to the DOC, too, even beyond inmate dental care.

"It's really good for the students to have some interaction with the inmates," said Ripani.  "We hope at some point, when they've graduated, they would have an interest in coming to work with us."

But, according to Ripani, the DOC has yet to hire a dentist from the Marquette program.

"Our salary is significantly lower than what they can make in a private office," she said.

A New Partnership is Born

To compensate for its lack of dental staff, the DOC has a new program in the works in addition to the Marquette partnership. 

"We're working together with the DOC education department and Moraine Park Technical College because we are starting a dental lab technician program for female inmates," said Ripani.  "The inmates who [complete] this program will get a certificate from [the college]."

Inmates who participate in the program will receive lab work from the dental units of the correctional institutions and make full and partial dentures for other inmates.  While the DOC will benefit from having the women support the dental staff, the inmates will develop a skill, too.

"The women will leave the correctional institutions with a skill that is highly marketable," said Ripani.  "It's a field that will give them a whole range of salary abilities.  A good lab technician can make $60,000-$80,000 [a year], depending on their skill level."

As the dental lab technician program takes shape, the partnership with Marquette still continues to thrive.  In fact, the DOC and Marquette are in the process of renewing it for another year. 

Resources:

To contact Dr. Barbara Ripani, call (608) 240-5132

To contact Dr. Timothy Creamer, call (414) 288-6928