US Dental Help Find Care Near You

Accredited dental school

A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health

5850 East Still Circle, Mesa, AZ 85206

School website Health centers in Arizona

A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health is a dental school in Mesa, AZ with an accredited predoctoral program. Dental degrees are earned in part by treating patients under supervision, so many schools run clinics that anyone can apply to as a patient.

Fees at a teaching clinic are set by the school and are usually well below private practice rates, though the care is reduced-cost rather than free. In exchange, appointments are longer and treatment can take more visits than it would elsewhere. Arizona has 2 accredited dental schools in total, listed on the Arizona page.

What This School Publishes for Patients

This school screens new patients before taking them on. Being screened is not the same as being accepted: the school is deciding whether your case suits its students and its teaching schedule.

Some insurance is accepted here. Plans and public programs change from year to year, so confirm yours by name rather than asking whether insurance is taken in general.

A pediatric clinic operates alongside the adult clinics. Minimum ages and waiting lists differ from the adult side, so ask about children separately.

The school lists a patient line on 480.248.8100 and clinic hours on its patient pages. Both change between academic terms, so check again shortly before you travel.

What a Teaching Clinic Is Like

Care is normally split between a student clinic doing general dentistry at the lowest prices, graduate clinics where qualified dentists train in a specialty and charge more, and a faculty practice priced near private practice.

Two things surprise most first-time patients. Nearly every school screens you before agreeing to treat you, and being screened is not the same as being accepted. And appointments run long — often two to three hours — because an instructor checks the work as it goes, so a course of treatment can take months and follows the academic calendar.

Our guide to dental schools and teaching clinics covers the screening process, how the discount works on laboratory costs, and what to ask before the first appointment in more detail.

Before You Call

Schools commonly keep the patient clinic on a different line, and occasionally at a different address, from the school office. Ask before you travel.

  • Is the clinic open to the public right now, and taking new patients?
  • What does the screening appointment cost, and how long is the wait for one?
  • Which clinic would handle the treatment you need — the student clinic, a specialty clinic, or the faculty practice — and does it have its own waiting list?
  • What are the fees for that treatment, and do they include laboratory work for crowns or dentures?
  • Are evening or Saturday appointments available, or is it weekdays only?
  • If the school cannot treat part of your case, where does it refer that work?
  • Are X-rays from your own dentist accepted, and how recent do they have to be?

Common Questions

Can I ask for a different student?

Usually not in the way you would change dentist at a private practice. Assignment depends on which students need your kind of case and who has capacity. You can raise a concern with the supervising faculty member, who is responsible for the treatment regardless of who is holding the instruments.

Will I see the same person at every visit?

Usually yes for the student, which is one of the better features of this route: your case belongs to one person for the whole course of treatment. The supervising faculty member may change from session to session, and the practice varies by school.

Will a student be doing the work?

In the student clinic, yes, supervised by a licensed faculty dentist who checks the treatment at each stage and signs it off. In graduate and specialty clinics the work is done by a qualified dentist training in that field. Ask which clinic you would be assigned to, because it changes both the price and the wait.

I am nervous about being treated by a student.

Worth knowing that the work is checked more thoroughly here than almost anywhere else, because it is being graded as well as treated. What you trade is time, not care. If it helps, ask whether a graduate clinic could take your case instead — you pay more, but the treatment is done by a qualified dentist.

What if the school cannot take me?

A common outcome and not the end of the search. Federally funded health centers in Mesa, AZ charge on a sliding scale by household income and can usually see you sooner. Dental hygiene programs handle cleanings and preventive work cheaply. Both are linked further down this page.

Is sedation available if I am anxious?

Availability varies and it is rarely included in the quoted fee. Some schools offer nitrous oxide in the student clinic and deeper sedation only in a graduate clinic or through the hospital. If anxiety is the reason you have avoided treatment, say so at screening rather than on the day.

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2029. Accreditation covers the teaching — curriculum, facilities and faculty — not whether a public clinic is open, what it charges, or how long the wait is.

Other Accredited Dental Schools in Arizona

There is one other accredited dental school in Arizona, which is worth knowing about if this one has a long wait or cannot take your case:

Other Low-Cost Options in Arizona

Other Dental Schools Nearby