When Virginia Commonwealth University broke ground on a third building for its School of Dentistry last month, it was about more than expanding the only dental school in Virginia.

The expansion will address the growing problem of dentist shortages in rural areas of the state and bolster research that should help residents throughout the commonwealth.

"We've always taken seriously our mission to meet the needs of Virginians," said Ronald J. Hunt, dean of the VCU School of Dentistry.

The 55,000-square foot, four-story building on Leigh Street, which will be named after alumnus W. Baxter Perkinson Jr., will allow VCU to increase enrollment of the doctor of dental surgery program by 10 students per year and the dental hygiene program by 20 students.

VCU hopes those 10 new dentists will head for Southside and Southwest Virginia, which have the greatest need for more dentists, said Dr. Terry D. Dickinson, executive director of the Virginia Dental Association.

The dental school plans to recruit people for the new slots by "trying to find those individuals whose hearts and roots are in those areas of the state and want to go back and make it work," Dickinson said.

Hunt said it is a challenge to get dental graduates to settle in non-metropolitan areas. Justin Gates is one of the rare exceptions. After he graduates from the dental school in May, he'll return to his hometown of Marion in Southwest Virginia to join his father's dental practice.

He said many dental practices in rural areas are booked two or three months in advance.

"If we can have a good influx of seven to 10 new dentists every year . . . that would really improve that situation," Gates said recently after finishing an emergency tooth extraction in the VCU clinic.

The Perkinson Building won't be finished until 2009, but the doctoral program's enrollment will be increased next fall. The dental school will wait until 2009 to increase the class size for dental hygienists.

The $20 million addition, which will be connected to the existing Wood and Lyons buildings, will house laboratories to expand research of oral cancer in collaboration with VCU's Massey Cancer Center. It will also allow collaboration by faculty in the dental and engineering schools on dental bioengineering and tissue research.

Through this increased ability to examine new approaches in these fields, researchers can attempt to find different ways to cure diseases, which is a benefit to everyone, said Dr. Riki Gottlieb, director of the dental school's virtual reality simulation lab.

The new building also will expand the school's clinic, which offers dental services at discounted prices. The experience of working with live patients is a crucial part of the education of dentists and dental hygienists, said Hunt, the dental school dean.

"They have a very extensive clinical curriculum they go through, and they provide services for dental patients under the supervision of faculty members," he said. "It's a huge part of their training."

By the time students reach their final year in the four-year dental program, most of their time is spent in the clinic seeing patients, said fourth-year student Jillian Reynolds of Harrisonburg. "We're given more responsibility but are closely monitored."

VCU has a national reputation as a leading dental school, Hunt said. "You do that by continuing to develop new programs and new facilities."

Construction is to begin this month.

"Just a lot of good things are happening as a result of the expansion; it'll be good for the citizens of Virginia," said Dickinson of the Virginia Dental Association. "They're getting a good return on their investment."
Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6115 or jslayton@timesdispatch.com.