Future dentists and hygienists are learning the tools of the trade at the Charles Dunlap Innovation Center, a contemporary dental practice. In collaboration with the Center for Research and Education in Technology, the center is only the second simulation lab among the 60+ U.S. dental schools. Alumni and friends helped fund the center, which honors Dunlap’s (D.D.S. ’60) 45-year career at UMKC.

1) The Innovation Center exposes fourth-year dental students to both the clinical and business sides of running a practice. The Center is equipped with seven treatment rooms, each housing a variety of state-of-the-art equipment.

2) Patient chairs are covered in soft leather and equipped with built-in massagers. The chair’s floating-base technology allows for easy positioning with just a touch of a finger. “The chair accommodates left- and right-handed dentists and is ADA compliant,” James Trotter says.

3) Trotter (D.D.S. ‘76), spent 30 years in private practice before joining the School of Dentistry as the center’s director. “We believe the center offers our students unique opportunity to better prepare for their professional futures.”

4) Students can create conventional crown impressions using the Virtual Mixer, an automatic mixing machine. “The mixer provides improved accuracy, faster mixing times and reduced stress on the dental assistant’s wrists,” Trotter says.