RELATED INFORMATION See a slideshow from the AEGD ceremony Video highlights of the ceremony (WSU Foundation)

The Wichita State University Foundation hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for WSU's Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) facility this morning (Thursday, July 22), south of the Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

Speakers were Don Beggs, WSU president; Elizabeth King, president and CEO of the WSU Foundation; Peter Cohen, dean of the WSU College of Health Professions; Dexter Woods, AEGD program director; and Linda Brantner, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Kansas.

Peter Cohen

"The AEGD program, the only dental education program in Kansas, will significantly impact oral health care by increasing its access and workforce," said Cohen. "It will facilitate dental residents in learning advanced clinical techniques, enabling them to provide primary and specialized dental care in urban and rural areas."

Ceremony attendees included members of the AEGD campaign cabinet, the first class of residents in the AEGD program, representatives of the top AEGD donors, members of the WSU Foundation Board of Directors and other university faculty and staff, in addition to the general public.

"It was no surprise, but always an honor, to have Delta Dental of Kansas and Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation step forward to kick off the campaign in October 2008 with a lead gift of $3 million," said King. "Their administrators and WSU leaders shared in the commitment to all Kansans to provide access to quality dental care. Today, that commitment is closer to reality."

When the facility is completed in about a year, the program will transition from a one-year to a two-year program with a capacity of 10 residents per year.

First-year residents will train at the AEGD facility with clinical rotations at GraceMed Clinic, the Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs medical center and other sites.

Second-year residents will rotate to clinical sites throughout Kansas.

Training in the AEGD facility is provided in all phases of general dentistry, including pediatrics, orthodontics, periodontics, operative/restorative dentistry, endodontics, prosthodontics, implantology, oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology, patient management, practice managerment, conscious sedation and risk management.

Howard + Helmer Architects designed the building, and Martin K. Eby Construction Co. Inc. is building the facility.