At New York University, the dental teaching clinic required patients to sign waivers forfeiting the right to sue in exchange for the care they received until a court decision invalidated the practice in 1990.

But administrators at the Harvard clinic say the school's small size and high student to faculty ratio have had a great effect in allowing the clinic to provide a high level of care.

One of the smallest graduate schools at the University, SDM has only about 33 students in each class, allowing teachers to closely monitor students' work.

But in the past 10 years, the clinic and the faculty practice downstairs have forked out money in eight malpractice lawsuits.

"I can't say exactly how our payments compare to other schools, but I look at all these numbers and reports and I think we're doing a darn good job," says Assistant Dean for Clinical Services John Brouder. He adds that 500,000 patients have passed through the two clinics in the past decade.

SDM student Peter A. Costalos cites the school's grading system as another factor in raising the teaching clinic's level of care.

"The pass/fail system means that there's no problem with asking an instructor for help. Students learn to do things the right way," Costalos says.

To learn procedures, dentists-in-training listen to lectures, spend their time in the lab working on mannequins to refine their technique, and on occasion even practice on each other.