There are no stickers or balloons given out after appointments at the Harvard Dental Teaching Clinic. And the 40 sterile cubicles where dental students "practice technique" on real patients are a far cry from the small, cozy offices where private dentists wield their drills.

Most students opt out of the clinic--run as a training ground for students at the School of Dental Medicine (SDM). Those who chose the Harvard dental plan often go to the University Health Services (UHS) for treatment rather than trekking across the river to the Longwood campus. Some say they do not trust the less experienced dental students.

But many administrators--and even some patients--say the clinic offers service that equals or surpasses anything a private practice has to offer.

While the cost for those insured through the Harvard program is the same at UHS and at the clinic, for those without insurance the clinic provides the same services at about half the price. UHS, a much smaller facility, sometimes sends patients to SDM to handle overcrowding, according to Dean of Dental Education Dr. Howard Howell.

"As more and more people choose to come here instead of going to Holyoke, we're feeling increasingly like a genuine part of the University community," Howell says.

Payment in Time

Doctors and patients at the clinic say there are disadvantages to working with students but they say a lower level of care is not one of them.

"There's no sacrifice in terms of quality, but in a teaching clinic you have to expect things to take longer," says Dr. Morton Sobel, senior tutor at SDM.