Welcome to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry:
The Pediatric Dentistry Graduate program is sponsored by the Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics and is affiliated with the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Dentistry. The mission of Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics is to provide the highest level of medical care, technology, services, equipment and facilities in promoting the health and well-being of children in the region from birth through adolescence. Patients and their families are treated with compassion in a family-centered environment that recognizes their physical, emotional, financial, social, and spiritual needs. The comprehensive health care environment provided by the hospital includes clinical services, research and teaching efforts which are designed to serve today’s and tomorrow’s children and the community in which they live. Likewise the mission of the Children’s Mercy Department of Dentistry is to provide patients and their families with the highest level of pediatric dentistry, technology, services, equipment, and facilities in promoting the health and well being of children in the greater Kansas City area as well as numerous neighboring communities. To that end, the current graduate program in pediatric dentistry offers 1) emergency dental treatment to any child with an acute dental problem or a traumatic injury 24 hours a day, 2) comprehensive dental care to normally developing children, medically compromised children and children with developmental disabilities, 3) preventive dental care and patient/parent education, and 4) a dental center to which other health care providers can refer patients who need specialty level care.
The graduate program in Pediatric Dentistry has been in existence since 1953 and has provided training for over 150 dentists. The current pediatric dentistry facility includes five fully equipped dental operatories, a pediatric dental resident office area, a dental laboratory and on-site sterilization center. This facility is located on the third floor of the hospital outpatient center. Children who require general anesthesia for dental care are treated in the operating room suites located in the main building of the hospital. Approximately 1,000 children receive dental care under general anesthesia each year.
The University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry is the primary training program for dentists in the States of Missouri and Kansas. Currently there are approximately 100 students enrolled in each year of the four year professional program, as well as students enrolled in graduate specialty programs including orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The dental school is located adjacent to the hospital provides an excellent opportunity for experiences in interdisciplinary dental care for children.
Thank you for your interest in our program. We pride ourselves in providing our residents with an outstanding education in Pediatric Dentistry.
Sincerely,
Brenda Bohaty, DDS
Pediatric Denistry Residency Program Director
(816) 234-3162
Robin Onikul, DDS
Chair, Department of Denistry
(816) 234-3164