Dr. Miranda A. Albert recently was named Dental Director for the dental clinic at the Mile Square at SouthShoreHealthCenter at 7131 S. Jeffrey Ave. in Chicago. The University of Illinois at Chicago opened the new facility, which offers a full range of primary medical care, in 2006.
As the three-chair dental clinic’s inaugural director, Dr. Albert was responsible for starting up the facility and selecting dental assistants and instruments, equipment, and dental materials. She drafted the clinic’s policies, guidelines, and forms by adapting them from other University off-site clinics, and established relationships with vendors and labs. “It’s been a pleasure getting to work with such amazing equipment and such a great staff,” Dr. Albert said.
A pediatric dentist, Dr. Albert earned her DDS from the University of Michigan College of Dentistry in 2004 and her MS in Oral Sciences and certificate in Pediatric Dentistry from the UIC College of Dentistry in 2006. She spends four days per week at the clinic, and one day per week in a private practice, ABC Dentistry of Hoffman Estates, IL.
At MileSquareSouthShore, “My main duties are patient care, managing and training dental personnel, and taking care of the daily ins and outs of running the clinic,” she said. “We want to reach out to a community with high dental needs—the children on the South Side have a great need for dental care, and we can provide a state-of-the-art clinic that accepts Medicaid patients.”
To increase utilization of the clinic by the community, “I will be involved with outreach,” Dr. Albert said. “We hope to visit area schools and day care and head start centers to give the children lessons in oral health using our Bugsy Malone Puppet and an educational cartoon. We also will be holding various open houses.
“We really want to make a difference in examining children by their first birthday, which is what both the AmericanAcademy of Pediatric Dentistry and the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics recommend. I think we have a great opportunity to prevent dental disease before it occurs in the kids from this area. Because we are in a medical setting, we have the wonderful advantage of working hand-in-hand with the physicians and nurses here to provide education and raise awareness on the dental needs of children,” Dr. Albert noted.
When not working, Dr. Albert spends time with her husband, dentist Dr. Sherif Albert. “He’s from OhioState and I’m from the University of Michigan, so we argue about football,” Dr. Albert joked. The couple also enjoys skiing and other snow sports, spending time with family and friends, and playing with their dog, Oscar. They live in Chicago’s Lincoln Park community.
To contact the clinic, call (800) 600-CARE.