The UCLA School of Dentistry's Special Patient Care Clinic has received a $4.2 million grant from the State of California to fund a multi-faceted expansion, increasing its footprint tenfold and elevating it into Southern California's premier facility for treating medically compromised patients.
The allocated funds are part of the California Health Facility Financing Authority's (CHFFA) $47.2 million Specialty Dental Clinic Grant Program, approved by State Treasurer Fiona Ma Feb. 27. The funds will support 13 projects across the state aimed at improving access to care for patients with special health care needs.
While UCLA Dentistry's Special Patient Care Clinic has been generously supported through philanthropic support since its 1975 opening — including longtime benefactors The Shapiro Family Foundation and Momentum (formerly UCPLA) — this state disbursement represents the clinic's single largest contribution to date.
"Securing this grant is a transformative milestone, enabling us to build and expand our facility to further address the critical needs of our most vulnerable populations," said Dr. Eric Sung, professor of clinical dentistry and inaugural holder of the school's Momentum Endowed Chair in Special Patient Care.
Among the clinic's expansion plans, with physical space enhancements beginning later this year, are:
- Eight new patient operatories — two inside private desensitization rooms — in addition to the current six chairs
- New office space for faculty and resident practitioners as well as support staff, with a total footprint of 2,586 square feet across the entire Special Patient Care Center
- Increasing available admissions slots in the school's one-year General Practice Residency Program
- Additional rotational opportunities for UCLA D.D.S. students in Special Patient Care, including hands-on training beyond shadowing
"I'm energized not only by increasing our clinic's size and capacity but by UCLA's ability to train more residents and dental students to care for patients with special health care needs," Sung said.
As is the case statewide, patients in the UCLA Special Patient Care Clinic currently face long wait times due to the limited availability of both general and specialized dental services. The forthcoming expansion will allow the clinic to accommodate significantly more patients while providing a nurturing environment for individuals who require such care.
Collectively, we will decrease appointment wait times for families in need of this essential care," Sung added.
UCLA's funding will be distributed through June 30, 2028, based on submitted estimates and reimbursement requests for the clinic expansion project.
The $47.2 million in grants from the state will collectively support clinics in 10 California counties, helping develop or expand roughly 124 dental operatories, surgery suites and other specialized treatment areas. The UCLA School of Dentistry joins three other dental schools, plus private and community-based clinics statewide, as grant recipients, selected from 110 total applications submitted to CHFFA by its April 2024 deadline.
The Specialty Dental Clinic Grant Program was created through advocacy efforts led by the California Dental Association, or CDA, and a coalition of health providers, disability rights organizations, and consumer advocates. The program aims to address the longstanding gap in dental care for patients with special health care needs, a population that often faces yearslong wait times or must travel extensive distances for treatment.
With this funding, UCLA Dentistry is poised to set a new standard in patient-centered, specialized oral health care in greater Los Angeles while training the next generation of dentists to serve this critically underserved community.
"I commend Dr. Sung and CDA's advocates for their dedication to special needs dentistry, ensuring this underserved population receives essential care through the Specialty Dental Clinic Grant Program," said UCLA School of Dentistry Dean and professor Dr. Paul H. Krebsbach. "Elevating our Special Patient Care Clinic into the region's premier dental center for special needs patients is one of our school's greatest public health achievements in its 60-year history."
