US Dental Help Find Care Near You

Accredited dental school

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Koury Oral Health Sciences, Suite 1611, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450

School website Health centers in North Carolina

Based in Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry is an accredited dental school. Schools like this one train dentists, and much of that training happens by treating members of the public in supervised clinics on campus.

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. North Carolina has 3 accredited dental schools in total, listed on the North Carolina 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.

This school states that it does not operate a sliding fee scale or provide free care. Its prices are reduced against private practice, but they are not adjusted to your income, so if you cannot pay a fixed fee a community health center is the better route.

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 (919) 537-3737 and clinic hours on its patient pages. Both change between academic terms, so check again shortly before you travel.

Before You Call

Patient clinics usually run separately from the school office, on their own line and sometimes at their own address. A few minutes on the phone saves a wasted journey.

  • 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?
  • 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?
  • What is the policy if you have to cancel or cannot make an appointment?

What a Teaching Clinic Is Like

Which clinic you are placed in decides what you pay. Student clinics take general work at the lowest fee, specialty clinics handle root canals and dentures for more, and the faculty practice is close to ordinary private pricing.

Expect a screening visit first, which decides whether your case suits the students and the teaching schedule rather than simply booking you in. Expect appointments of two to three hours as well, since the work is reviewed at each stage, and expect the clinic to slow down or close between terms.

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.

Other Accredited Dental Schools in North Carolina

North Carolina has 3 accredited dental schools altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:

Common Questions

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.

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.

Do I have to come during working hours?

Mostly yes. Teaching clinics run on the academic timetable, which means weekday daytime sessions and long appointments. A few schools hold evening or Saturday sessions. If you cannot take weekday time off repeatedly, this route is harder than it looks on paper.

Can I be turned down after the screening visit?

Yes, and it is common enough to plan for. Screening decides whether your case matches what students need to learn and what the schedule can absorb. Cases that are urgent, unusually complex, or need a specialty the school does not run are referred elsewhere. The screening fee is not usually refunded if you are not accepted.

How is this different from a dental hygiene clinic?

A hygiene clinic is staffed by hygiene students and does preventive work only — cleanings, X-rays, sealants, gum treatment. It cannot fill a cavity or pull a tooth. For preventive care it is cheaper and easier to book; for anything else you need the dental school or a dentist.

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.

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2032. That is a judgment on the education, not on the clinic: it says nothing about opening hours, prices or whether anyone is being taken on.

Other Low-Cost Options in North Carolina

Other Dental Schools Nearby