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Accredited dental school

Indiana University School of Dentistry

500 West University Blvd., UH-3145, Indianapolis, IN 46202

School website Health centers in Indiana

Indiana University School of Dentistry is a dental school in Indianapolis, IN 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.

What This School Publishes for Patients

This school screens new patients before taking them on. It publishes a screening charge of between $110 and $160, payable at that first visit. 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.

The school lists a patient line on 317-274-7433 and clinic hours on its patient pages. Both change between academic terms, so check again shortly before you travel.

Common Questions

Do they do braces or orthodontics?

Many schools run a graduate orthodontics clinic, and treatment there costs substantially less than private orthodontics — but waiting lists are long and the clinics are selective, because residents need particular kinds of case. Adults are treated as well as children at most of them.

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.

What if I need a specialist the school does not have?

You would be referred out, and that referral is usually to a private specialist at full price. This is the single most common way a dental school plan falls apart, so ask at screening which parts of your treatment the school can do itself and which it cannot.

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 should I bring to the first appointment?

Photo identification, your insurance or Medicaid card if you have one, a list of your current medications, and any recent X-rays or records from a previous dentist. Some schools also ask for proof of income. Allow far more time than the appointment length suggests.

What if the school cannot take me?

A common outcome and not the end of the search. Federally funded health centers in Indianapolis, IN 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.

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?
  • 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 X-rays from your own dentist accepted, and how recent do they have to be?
  • If the school cannot treat part of your case, where does it refer that work?
  • Are evening or Saturday appointments available, or is it weekdays only?

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2028. It reviews the program every few years against a national standard for teaching. Patient access, fees and waiting times are outside what it looks at.

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