News

Dentistry Receives Donation from Delta Dental to Support Specialized Dentistry

A $100,000 donation by Delta Dental of Tennessee to General Dentistry will allow for advanced dental care for children and those with special needs in the East Tennessee region. The donation, presented by Delta Dental of Tennessee President and CEO Phil Wenk, DDS, on February 1, will allow General Dentistry to create an additional operating room for cases that require treatment beyond what can be done at a typical dental practice office.

"This donation will help us expand the services we provide to those in need in our community," said O. Lee Wilson, DMD, Associate Professor, Chairman and Residency Program Director of General Dentistry. "As the need for these procedures continues to grow, it is important for us to become more efficient and have the most advanced equipment available to serve our patients."

Dr. Wilson said in the years since completing his dental residency at the UT Graduate School of Medicine, the number of cases requiring a dental operating room has risen from about 30 to more than 150 per year. An additional dental operatory, according to Dr. Wilson, will allow for more cases to be scheduled within the busy operating suites. Also, training general dentists in the residency program in the use of the operating suite will help to add additional providers to care for their population of patients.

"Delta Dental of Tennessee is proud to be able to help fund this new children's oral health operatory so that the local dental community will be able to provide much needed care to their patients in a more timely way," said Phil Wenk, DDS, President and CEO, Delta Dental of Tennessee.

Dr. Wenk and Dr. Wilson expect the cases involving those with special needs and children who require a dental operatory in East Tennessee and throughout the state of Tennessee to continue to increase in the coming years.

Delta Dental of Tennessee, with its affiliates in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina and Ohio collectively are among the largest dental plan administrators in the nation. In 2011, the enterprise paid out $2.5 billion for dental treatment for nearly 10.4 million enrollees. Offices are located in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis, Tennessee; Sherwood and Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; Okemos and Farmington Hills, Michigan; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio.

April 8, 2013