Operations at Stony Brook University’s Dental Care Center have been temporarily halted to integrate the clinic into the hospital’s ambulatory care unit. 

President Maurie McInnis said at a university faculty senate meeting on Mar. 1 that the integration will “centralize sterilization,” “address procurement of equipment” and “redesign workflows.” The clinic was closed on Mar. 1 for renovations and will open on Mar. 10, according to Dr. David Lam, the interim associate dean for clinical affairs at the dental school. 

Lam said moving the Dental Care Center’s sterilization process to the university hospital’s central sterilization facility will allow the clinic to get sterilized equipment “more quickly and reliably.”

“We believe these changes will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our work and will positively impact our student’s and our patients’ experiences,” Lam wrote in an email to The Statesman.

Students and residents are continuing their clinical hours with other opportunities while the Dental Care Center is closed.

“The faculty and staff have also done an outstanding job providing additional alternative clinical experiences for the students and residents during this time, and the students and residents have been very flexible and understanding during this transition,” Lam said.

Correction 3/13/21 11:30 a.m.: An earlier version of this article stated that the Dental Care Center was moved to allow the clinic to better use the hospital’s sterilization facility. The Dental Care Center as a whole was not moved, just the sterilization process.