MDC’s Medical Center Campus and Peñalver Clinic Open New Dental Facility
(L-R) Dr. Pete Gutierrez, Medical Center Campus School of Health Sciences dean, Flor Coronado-Muñoz, Peñalver Clinic Board of Trustees chair and Dr. Armando Ferrer, Medical Center Campus president.
Miami, June 2, 2011 - Administrators from Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Medical Center Campus and the Peñalver Clinic recently commemorated the official opening of a new dental facility designed to provide low-cost dental services for underserved populations.
The new dental facility is also made possible with collaboration from the Miami-Dade Health Department.
MDC dental hygiene students provide services to more than 2,000 patients each year at the low-cost facility in Miami-Dade County’s Medical District. For a nominal charge, with no eligibility requirements, students provide services that include cleanings, scaling and root planning, radiographs, sealants, nutritional counseling, tobacco cessation, periodontal adjunctive chemotherapies, desensitization and fluoride treatments, localized antibiotic treatments, and self-care instructions so patients can improve and maintain their oral health.
Founded in 1996, the clinic was a dream of Dr. Rafael A. Peñalver, a Cuban physician who wished to create a facility that would provide high-quality, affordable, preventive medicine, education and personalized treatment for all. The dental hygiene clinic is its new component. Through this partnership, students will continue to provide much-needed services to the community while gaining additional training.
For more information, please contact Eloisa Echazabal at 305-237-4064, eechazab@mdc.edu.
Media-only contacts:
Juan Mendieta, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu, MDC communications director
Tere Estorino, 305-237-3949, testorin@mdc.edu, MDC media relations director
Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu, media specialist
Tarnell Carroll, 305-237-3359, tcarroll@mdc.edu, media specialist
Alejandro Rios, 305-237-7482, arios1@mdc.edu