The clinic is expected to open in February in Mercy Hospital's Marian Professional Building, 515 Abbott Road, Buffalo. UB dentists project they will serve 1,500 children covered by Medicaid the first year.

"This project is a prime example of how a successful health consortium can work," said Louis J. Goldberg, dean of the UB dental school. "Three parties have pooled their resources to make this happen."

The new pediatric dentistry clinic will be a six-chair expandable facility. The total cost of the project, approximately $375,000 including equipment, computers and furnishings, will be shared by the two hospitals.

Children who are seen in Mercy's pediatric primary-care center-which handles more than 15,000 patient visits a year-and require dental services are referred to Children's Hospital for follow-up, said Timothy J. Hogan, vice president for professional services at Mercy Hospital.

"For many of our patients, getting to Children's from South Buffalo can be difficult," he added. "As a result, their dental care needs often are not addressed. This clinic will make it possible for underserved children to receive accessible dental care and enhance their overall health."

The facility will be managed jointly by the three participating institutions. Dental students and residents will rotate through the clinic, with UB dental-school faculty serving as attending dentists. Children will receive basic pediatric-dentistry services initially. Oral surgery and orthodontic services will be added as resources become available.

"The Children's Hospital of Buffalo is very excited about the new partnership between Mercy, Children's and the UB dental school," said Mary M. Ward, vice president of clinical services at Children's Hospital.

"Our joint-venture pediatric dental clinic on the Mercy Hospital campus provides for an innovative approach to meeting community need for expanding primary dental services to complement the Children's Hospital Dental Clinic on our campus. It allows us to make certain the children of our community have access to a pediatric dental network responsive to their unique needs."

The clinic is one of several UB dental-school outreach initiatives underway aimed at bringing dental care and oral-health education to unserved and underserved residents of Erie County and the Southern Tier. Outreach projects will complement the school's on-campus clinics, which in 1994 provided nearly $3 million in unreimbursed care.

The dental school recently received a $160,000 grant from the Gebbie Foundation of Jamestown to purchase a 36-foot van outfitted as a mobile dental clinic to serve children in rural Chautauqua County. Efforts are under way to secure funding for another van to serve Buffalo's inner-city children.

Other outreach initiatives under development include:

Expansion of on-campus pediatric and geriatric clinics to serve Medicaid and Medicare patients.

Research projects on the status of pediatric dental health among Native-American, Amish and other minority populations in Western New York.

A rural clinic to serve persons with disabilities.

Dental screening of homeless women and children at the City Mission in Buffalo by dental-student volunteers.