Chancellor Visits Tri-County Family Dental Center As Part of His Carolina Connects Initiative

Chancellor James Moeser of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill visited with Tri-County Community Health Council Inc. officials (including dental and medical practitioners) in Dunn on Nov. 28.

Part of Moeser’s Carolina Connects initiative, this visit focused on how Tri-County is advancing health in a five-county area of rural southeastern North Carolina – and also on a new residency program in collaboration with the School of Dentistry.

Tri-County officials meeting with Moeser included J. Michael Baker, Tri-County Community Health Council Inc. chief executive officer; Dr. Horace Harris, Tri-County Family Dental Center director and UNC School of Dentistry alumnus; Dr. Jason Lee, staff dentist and UNC School of Dentistry alumnus; and Dr. Uday Reebye, an oral surgeon and UNC School of Medicine alumnus.

Through a partnership that began in August, the School of Dentistry sends two dental residents on rotation simultaneously during four-week periods. These residents, totaling eight for the academic year, are on-site at Tri-County Family Dental Center Monday through Thursday, returning to the School each Friday for class and clinic. The School of Dentistry administers this program through its Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) Program.

Moeser met the two UNC dental residents then on rotation at Tri-County Family Dental Center – Drs. Tom Shannon and Andy Mancini – during his visit.

Tri-County Family Dental Center is a community dental center dedicated to providing affordable dental care that improves the oral health of its surrounding communities. In February, the freestanding family dental center had its grand opening; the center includes 18 operatories filled with state-of-the-art dental units. The School of Dentistry is one of the partners in Tri-County’s Community and University Partnership to Improve Dental Access. Other members of the partnership include the Golden LEAF Foundation and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.

UNC School of Dentistry Dean John N. Williams and Dr. Frank Brantley, director of the AEGD Program, accompanied the chancellor on this visit to the center.

Carolina Connects is an initiative begun by Chancellor Moeser in 2004 that takes university officials around North Carolina to highlight the ways in which Carolina serves the state’s people and its communities.