NEW ORLEANS — LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry will open the Advanced Clinical Care and Research Building on May 23, at 10:30 a.m. on its campus at 1100 Florida Avenue. The $31 million, 64,899 square foot building will house $2.5 million of medical equipment, 4 clinics, and research labs. Local and state dignitaries have been invited to participate, as well as the DeSaix neighborhood, LSU Health New Orleans leadership, along with dental school faculty, students, staff, alumni, donors and patients. Tours of the facility will follow a short program and ribbon-cutting.
The 22-chair Faculty Dental Practice will provide care in general dentistry, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, orthodontics, oral pathology, radiology/diagnostics with a cone-beam CT unit and dental hygiene. The area also contains a consultation room, laboratory, sterilization rooms, a reception area and business office.
The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic has 9 surgical treatment rooms, 1 diagnostic room with a cone-beam CT unit, a laboratory and consult rooms.
The Outpatient Surgical Center features 2 state-of-the-art operating rooms with pre- and post-op areas, a nurses’ station and a sterilization area.
The Clinical Research area boasts 5 dental operatories, a reception area, laboratory, business office and conference room.
The new facility will enhance research capacity, both in basic science research as well as clinical research and clinical trials, offering patients and participants the very latest treatment advances.
Expanded patient care services and research activities will also create and support new jobs, including additional dental faculty, dental hygienists, dental assistants, nurses, research scientists and associates, administrative assistants and other support staff, among others.
The building, funded by FEMA to address damage sustained in the flooding following Hurricane Katrina and vulnerability, will raise the critical infrastructure that supports the operation of all of the buildings on the dental school campus above the 100-year flood plain.
For patient convenience, the building features covered parking and a covered patient drop-off area. It also connects to the other buildings on campus.
“Quality oral health is well-recognized as a critical component of quality overall health,” notes Dr. Henry Gremillion, Dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry. “The LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry Advanced Patent Care and Research Building will provide a state-of-the-art environment that will foster expansion of scientific knowledge and patient care."
An animated walkthrough of the new facility is available here.
LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry is the only dental school in Louisiana. It educates three of every four dentists and dental hygienists practicing in the state. From a national perspective, LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry is unique among the dental schools in the United States because it offers degrees in dentistry, dental hygiene and dental laboratory technology. By training students in all aspects of dentistry, the School offers a level of training that has resulted in a national reputation for outstanding clinical education.
