MILWAUKEE — The Marquette University School of Dentistry is using a $2 million grant to advance dental education.

With the help of funding from Delta Dental of Wisconsin, the school will update its equipment and facilities. This also means that students will get more experience in taking care of patients with special needs before beginning their practice.

Marquette dental student, Rachel Thornton, is excited for the opportunity.

“A big part of my personality and I have always been drawn to dentistry of the long-term relationships you can build with patients,” said Thornton.

She currently serves as the President of the University’s Special Care Dental Association Club.

Their goal has been advancing dental care for special needs patients.

For Thornton, the most important part of being a dentist to a special needs client is communication.

“[We] work really hard to build rapport with the patients before we start treatment so they have trust in us as both the person and the provider,” Thornton said.

Mariah Kane is also a Marquette dental student and sometimes acts as a patient for other students. 

She believes practicing with classmates is key for being prepared for special needs clients.

“It’s definitely intimidating the first time you have to walk into a clinic and actually be that provider. I mean, we hear a ton of lectures about it but when we are working on each other,” Kane said. “It’s a good chance to get all of those bugs out of the way and those first nerves and so when we do finally get to see the real patient.”

Thornton said it’s been great to focus on these types of patients because it puts more on emphasis on reinforcing what she already learned.

“Patients who are coming into the clinic with intellectual disabilities really benefit from a provider who is compassionate, wants to provide the best care possible. It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone with extra training, which is a great thing they advocate for at Marquette,” said Thornton.

Thornton and Kane still have a year left before graduation.

Until then, these clinics give them the experience they need to provide the vital oral care to patients with varying needs.

Marquette University will begin the process of updating their equipment this summer.

The school expects to finish the project by 2026.