Dallas-based Texas A&M College of Dentistry announced Jan. 17 that it had opened its Clinic and Education Building, according to an American Dental Association news post.
The 160,000-square-foot, nine-story building features 300 dental chair stations. It is the first standalone building to be built for the dental school since 1950. Texas A&M College of Dentistry developed the school to increase the number of patients treated. Currently, the school has the capacity to treat about 100,000 patients annually. That number is expected to increase about 40 percent with the new facility.
Texas A&M College of Dentistry spent $127 million to develop the clinic, which was completed at the end of 2019. Around $72 million came from approval for bond authority that the A&M Health Science Center received from the state in 2015.
"Patients and students are at the heart of what we do," said Lawrence Wolinsky, DDS, the dean of the dental school, in a news release, according to the ADA. "The new clinical building is truly going to help the college meet the ever-expanding need for reputable patient-centered care in a compassionate environment. Our students will gain a unique learning experience that will benefit them throughout their professional careers."