Midwestern University Multispecialty Clinic

This is the best comprehensive dental answer that I have found in my years on this earth. It is thorough beyond belief (18 x-​rays), with a competence level that is off the charts (all recommendations and conclusions are double checked by professor/​supervisors), with a price tag that is typically half to a third of what I have paid at other clinics. This place is a gift to dentistry and the well-​being of our oral cavities in general!
The downsides are that everything takes much longer to accomplish. Exams are longer and more appointments are needed, but they operate with clarity and follow a detailed plan meticulously.
I highly recommended this place for anyone with a modicum of patience who wants the best for their mouths.

The students here are great but the faculty are not consistently good. I didn’t have dental insurance and was due for a root canal. I started coming here in July and did the initial screening. They said it takes 3 – 4 weeks to get assigned to a Suite or a team.
A month went by and nothing happened. During week 5, I started having terrible pain. I called and said I needed this root canal done. So they said come in for an urgent care appointment. At the end of the urgent care appointment, I asked if all I needed was a crown. The students said no, we didn’t do the root canal, we just got rid of the pain. You’ll have to go through the comprehensive exam first.
So I scheduled that for a month later because they had exams. I did the comprehensive exam and was told that I needed a root canal. Yeah, I know. But they wanted to fix captivities and do a cleaning first. My temporary fix was at the end of the road, so I had to get special permission.
Everything they do will be slow and painful. My root canal still isn’t done and it’s January. They make you sit in the chair for 5 hours at a time with your mouth pried open while the students run around looking for supplies they all of a sudden need.
The students are pretty great and do the best they can. I finally gave up on coming here when a periodontist specialist (faculty) looked at my mouth. He loudly proclaimed that I must do drugs because of the state of my gums and loudly asked personal questions and didn’t believe me when I said my thyroid disease can cause gum problems. The guy was mean and down right terrible to me. The students were embarrassed, but they had to do what he said.
After all this time, yes I saved money on some things. But a regular dentist could have addressed all of my issues by now and I wouldn’t have to miss so much work and wait forever for everything.
If you have extensive work to be done, you’ll wait forever. The faculty may be rude to you and not care about your comfort or satisfaction… at all. Not coming back!

I’ve been a patient at the dental school for over a year.
Are the students hard working, professional, and accommodating? Yes
Are the fees reasonable for the treatment? Absolutely
Can you get consistent and correct information about your dental/​periodontal issues from the faculty/​dentists? HELL NO
If you go here just go with the knowledge they are MOST concerned about teaching the students– not necessarily giving the best patient care possible. Sometimes those two things are the same, sometimes they are not.
I was rejected as a patient by the ortho department for reasons I still don’t understand b/​c I can’t get a consistent and correct explanation from any faculty. (only one dental student was helpful and honest) One instructor dentist told me I would need teeth extracted for braces– I don’t.
Telling a patient they have problems they do not have is bad care– and just weird.

I have nothing bad to say about the dental school, the cleanliness of the facility, and the availability of parking. I live in Chicago and was referred to MWU by a dentist from CCDPH, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. My impression was that I was going from one «ghetto» to another; however, I was astounded by the professionalism of the staff, the students, and the faculty. The patient lobbies are soothingly decorated, and we all need that when going in for an extraction, a root canal, or oral surgery! I tell my assigned students of the last time I went to a private dentist, and developing oral thrush a few days thereafter — indicating they probably didn’t sterilize their instruments, or used contaminated ones in my mouth! Due to that bad experience, I am always aware of the environment in which I will be worked on. At MWU I have found nothing to complain about. Even the restrooms are impeccable. The Hispanic cleaning lady, does an excellent job at maintaining the restrooms serviced and refreshed. The drinking fountain on the first floor is always clean. I usually don’t drink from most fountains because you always have the ignorant people who spit, or leave some sort of disgusting debris on the fountain. This is not the case at MWU!
I also wanted to point out that the first student I had (he already graduated), was excellent. He did extensive restoration work on my teeth, since I suffer from dry mouth, and was having a severe case of erosion. The student I currently have is a D-​3; she’s a bit timid and I can tell she is because her nerves make her a bit talkative, but I understand… I was a student myself at one time and know how it feels. I often feel like telling her, «just do it, and if it’s not right, do it all over until you learn.» If it weren’t for patients like us, willing to have students practice on our mouth, we wouldn’t have such excellent dentists graduating from MWU! Things usually run at a slower pace in a dental university, because everything the students do or plan is discussed, and checked by Board Certified Dental Staff.
I also wanted to point out that MWU has an excellent Hardship Assistance program for those who are financially disadvantaged. I applied for the dental (since dental is so expensive), and it wasn’t difficult at all — unlike asking for SNAP benefits! Robin Wett is very gracious, patient, and kind. She is in charge of processing the Hardship applications, and efficient in responding to your application in a timely manner. I must mention that if you plan on enrolling for the Chiropractic, Optic, or other services, and you want to apply for Hardship, I was told you have to apply separately; which shouldn’t be difficult if you kept copies of everything you submitted for the first application.
Overall, I think the place is beautiful; the people are tremendously patient, professional and friendly to the patients, and I would highly recommend the place to anyone who has difficulty paying a regular dentist, or whatever services MWU provides. Mind you, not everything is covered, and not everyone gets 100% coverage –it’s all based on your income and household size among a few other things. Oh, and after ending your visit to the clinics, you can run over to the nearby shopping strips and wait till your dental anesthetic (as an example) wears out, so you can go dine in the nearby restaurants!

Midwestern University Dental clinic accepted me as a patient and I have had nothing but good experiences since! My dental students Brian and Josh have been phenomenal, they will be an asset to any office that hires them. I am sure they will make excellent Dentist when they graduate. Procedures take a while to get done as everything must be approved by the faculty. That is fine for me I need a lot of work done and the prices are very reasonable and it is a plus they accept my dental insurance. The place is clean, they are very hygiene conscious and their technology is state of the art. I am glad I found this place and it is great for people who don’t have dental insurance. Appointments may take all morning but they only take care of you and the appointments run right on schedule.

The dental clinic here is amazing! I have visited several times and had nothing but positive experiences. My student dentist, Laura Martinsen is the BEST! She does a great job, is very calm and relaxed, and works really hard to accommodate my schedule for appointments. 5 stars! Beautiful facility and those students work really hard.

A solid 3 stars.
The dental school is quite well put together, very clean, and majority of people are very helpful. In a pinch, they can get you in fairly quickly to be seen initially however that’s where the expedited service ends. I needed a procedure done and was in extreme pain, the soonest date of service was well over a month away. Not good for me at all, but I was told that I would be given a prescription for pain meds and antibiotics to control swelling and pain.
That’s not what happened.
My dental student, Stephen Skullborstad was phenomenal. Very professional and kind even though he did make me cry. I have no tolerance for dental pain haha. After our consult is where it all went south… Dr. Mary Kramer, Clinical Faculty Member is by far the least caring or compassionate person I’ve encountered at this facility.
So after being told I would have enough medication to last until my next appointment, I went to the pharmacy to pick it up. I was then informed that there were NO refills!!! Uh wait, what? I called the school back for over a week before I finally was able to speak to Mary. I was told I would need to become a regular patient and have more comprehensive exams (translation give us more $$$). I decided to cancel my appointment MORE THAN A MONTH IN ADVANCE and was hung up on.
So then I received a few harassing letters telling me what a horrible person I am for not caring about my teeth and skipping out on my appointment.
If there were a way to ensure I did NOT have to deal with this awful woman, I’d be back. I guess that’s what I get for being cheap. Haha
Although a bit outta the way, it’s still the best option for cash patients.

The Dental School is absolutely fantastic! The quality of service, price & the professional manner in which everything is handled is amazing! Jon Szleszinski (dental student) handled an enormous amount of work I needed done painlessly with the expertise of a licensed Dentist! That comes from someone that hated Dentists all of his life!!!

Lovely new clinic. A real asset to the community. Dental clinic is open now with other specialities such as the speech and language clinic opening next month.