President Cunningham visits Outreach sites, brings awareness to rural dentistry

Two recent presidential visits brought attention to the collaborative partnerships between the School of Dentistry and Outreach sites.

In November, University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham unveiled her vision for the University’s future, Elevate Extraordinary 2030. One of the five imperatives guiding this vision is to “serve communities through knowledge creation and exchange in the arts, health, healthcare and the economy.” This imperative calls on us to “expand the current healthcare workforce to meet the needs of all Minnesota, especially rural Minnesota.” 

The School of Dentistry is proud to be a leader in preparing the next generation of oral health care professionals for Minnesota and beyond, ensuring they are ready to serve communities throughout the state. Community Outreach experiences are a key part of that leadership, inviting students to join communities throughout the state for reciprocal learning through clinical care.

Cunningham recently visited two School of Dentistry sites—CentraCare Dental Clinic in Willmar and Minnesota North College - Hibbing Dental Clinic—to learn more about the school’s rural outreach efforts and the state of rural health care in Minnesota. 

She visited CentraCare in October, where Dental Director Amber Walker, DDS ’09, provided a tour and information on the more than 17 counties the clinic serves. She then toured Hibbing in January, where she learned the history of the college and our partnership. At each location, she met with students and heard about their Outreach experiences. 

“Our Community Outreach and Engagement faculty and staff were so honored to host President Cunningham,” reflected Angie Hastings, DMD, director of the Division of Community Outreach and Engagement. “We had the opportunity to discuss the significant dental needs in each community and how our partner clinics are increasing access to care while providing valuable service-learning experiences for our dental, dental therapy and dental hygiene students. President Cunningham's presence and engagement at these dental clinics demonstrate her commitment to the University's strategic imperative to positively impact rural healthcare.” 

Hastings appreciated the opportunity to share the school’s excellence in patient care and education with President Cunningham. “Our office acknowledges the challenges rural communities face in accessing dental care, particularly for individuals without dental insurance or those relying on Medicaid,” she said. “We hope that by placing students in rural areas during their clinical rotations that they are inspired to work in these communities upon graduation.”

Dylan Martin, DDS ’26, was excited to meet with Cunningham during his rotation at Hibbing, and to share his passion for rural dentistry with her.

Driven by a passion for dentistry that was sparked by his own experiences receiving orthodontic care in a small town growing up, Martin feels even more strongly that rural dentistry is right for him after his experiences on Outreach. 

“I have been reminded in these experiences of the small town community feeling that I experienced growing up,” he said. “Getting to see and be part of interactions between patients and clinics, where patients are part of the community and seen as neighbors, has reinforced my desire to practice rural dentistry post-grad.” 

The opportunity to share this passion with Cunningham, and with Dean Keith Mays, DDS, MS, PhD, was exciting for Martin.

“Rural dentistry is in huge need in Minnesota, and it’s not spoken about enough,” he reflected. “Having someone who has practiced in the rural community, and seeing the community firsthand, puts into perspective the real struggles these communities are facing while giving a true visualization of the circumstances. Having President Cunningham and Dr. Mays come to the clinic and meet with dentists in the area, along with students, shows a lot about their commitment to rural dentistry.” 

Though he doesn’t yet know exactly what the future holds post-graduation, this experience further solidified Martin’s commitment to serving in rural communities like his own—and he hopes this visit was just the beginning of continued partnerships and eyes on rural Minnesota. 

“President Cunningham and Dr. Mays’s presence alone supports their initiative to encourage future dental providers to seek rural opportunities post graduation,” he said. “We can be truly impactful in the shortage of dental professionals in rural areas when we commit to being players, not just spectators.”