Delta Dental is managed by dentists and is accepted by most dentists in the state. As members of the '99-'00 Bargaining and Grievance Committee, we visited last month with Dean Steve Stefanac, assistant dean for patient services at the College of Dentistry. Since TAs and RAs represent a varied demographic and therefore need the same types of dentistry services as typical patients of private practitioners, serving TAs and RAs offers dentistry students the opportunity to develop the skills they will use when they graduate. Therefore, Dean Stefanac is committed to making the Dental College an attractive option to graduate employees. While changes will not be immediate, Dean Stefanac and others are currently exploring ways to streamline the appointment process and cut wait times, the main obstacle in the past to usage of College of Dentistry services.
Patients can choose to see dental students or licensed dentists.
The private practice dentists' costs will probably not vary much from any other private practitioner, but the cost of services provided by dental students could be significantly less. Unfortunately, as is true for virtually all employees across the United States, our health care premiums will be going up. This will be the first premium increase we have experienced since the inception of UIGradCare. At the University of Iowa next year, all employees, regardless of plan, will see a 25-30 percent premium increase. Also, our contract establishes that any increase in plan costs must be proportionately shared by the University.