Expansion of services at Boyle McCauley

Inner-city low-income residents, newcomer immigrants and Indigenous peoples have a new dental clinic thanks to community partnership and support.

Tarwinder Rai - 10 July 2019

The newly expanded Boyle McCauley Health Centre Dental Clinic (BMHC) provides convenient access to dental care for vulnerable populations and will continue to be a valuable hands-on learning environment for dentistry and dental hygiene students.

“We are able to provide dental care to an underserved population that often goes without adequate care,” said Paul Major, chair of the University of Alberta’s School of Dentistry.

Located in its new site in the Métis Capital Housing Corporation Renaissance Tower, the $1.5 million expansion was made possible by a partnership between the School of Dentistry, The Métis Nation of Alberta, BMHC and Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Oral health-care services have been provided by the BMCH since 1993. It had since outgrown the space. Each year, more than 2,000 patients visited the clinic, which had only four operatory chairs. The modern eight-chair clinic will be able to accept 1,000 more visits per year, with reduced wait times for follow-up appointments and increased capacity to accommodate more emergencies.

“We are very excited that our partnership with Alberta Health Services and the University of Alberta’s School of Dentistry has resulted in the expansion of our dental clinic, making it possible for more members of our community to access comprehensive, affordable dental care,” said Cecilia Blasetti, executive director of the BMHC.

BMHC Dental Clinic Patient Statistics 2016-2017

  • 2197 active patients
  • 367 new patients
  • 2158 total visits
  • 1742 regular visits
  • 414 emergency visits

Students at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre Dental Clinic