The UConn School of Dental Medicine is home to University Dentists\u2014a practice consisting of faculty providers. Dr. David Manz, interim director of University Dentists, Dr. Harshiv Karia, assistant professor of prosthodontics, and Dr. Angelica Gargano, clinical assistant professor of general dentistry, answer questions related to University Dentists.<\/p>\n
What is University Dentists, and how does it differ from student and resident clinics?<\/strong><\/p>\n Manz<\/strong>:<\/em> University Dentists is a multidisciplinary dental practice comprised of faculty providers from the UConn School of Dental Medicine. Located in the UConn Health Farmington Campus, University Dentists provides comprehensive general dental care as well as specialist dental care including endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, orofacial pain, orthodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics.<\/p>\n Karia<\/em><\/strong>: The main difference is who treats you. When I\u2019m in the student clinic, I\u2019m teaching, and the students do the treatment under our supervision. When I\u2019m in University Dentists, I\u2019m treating patients myself. The student and resident clinics are a great option, with lower fees, though student care in particular takes longer because teaching is part of the process. University Dentists works more like a private practice, and because our general dentists and specialists work together, most of your care can stay under one roof.<\/p>\n What does the practice offer? <\/strong><\/p>\n Manz<\/em><\/strong>: Due to the breadth of general and specialty care, University Dentists provides consultations, comprehensive diagnosis, and follow-up services \u2013 all within the same practice. Our academically based faculty providers offer contemporary treatments rooted in evidence-based care and work collaboratively to help each patient achieve and maintain optimal oral health.<\/p>\n What are your areas of interest?<\/strong><\/p>\n Manz<\/strong><\/em>: I practice comprehensive general dentistry utilizing evidence-based practices and modern approaches. Dental care can be stressful for some, so I always make an effort to thoroughly explain root causes of issues and the rationale for treatment options. My areas of clinical interest include preventative, restorative, and implant care, as well as cosmetic dentistry.<\/p>\n Karia<\/strong>: <\/em>I\u2019m a prosthodontist, a specialist in restoring and replacing teeth with crowns, veneers, implants and dentures. I help people who are missing teeth, have worn or broken teeth, or have dentures that don\u2019t fit well, as well as people who simply want to change their smile. My particular interest is digital dentistry. We can often scan your teeth instead of using impression putty, plan your treatment on screen and show you a preview of the result before we touch a tooth. I like patients to help design their own smile, and I always talk through the simplest option, not just the most extensive one. My research looks at making digital treatment more accurate and predictable, from veneers to full-mouth implants.<\/p>\n Gargano<\/em><\/strong>: My areas of interest include general dentistry, cosmetic and restorative dentistry, fixed prosthodontics, and digital dentistry.<\/p>\n How much time do faculty dentists divide between seeing patients and teaching?<\/strong><\/p>\n Gargano<\/strong>: <\/em>The balance varies depending on each faculty member\u2019s role and appointment. Some faculty have a primary clinical role, while others have a greater emphasis on teaching, administration, research. My role includes academic and administrative duties, as well as teaching and supervising residents in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program and students in the predoctoral clinic.<\/p>\n Karia<\/em><\/strong>: For me, it\u2019s two half-days a week in University Dentists treating my own patients. The rest of the week is split between teaching and research. On the teaching side, I supervise dental students in clinic, lecture and lead our partial denture course. What I see in my patients shapes what I teach, and teaching keeps me current, because students question everything.<\/p>\n How can I make an appointment?<\/strong><\/p>\n Manz<\/em><\/strong>: Please visit our website or call (860) \u2013 679 \u2013 3170 for more information or to schedule an appointment. If you are a UConn Health or state employee, openings are available to fulfil HEP dental requirements by the end of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learn more about UConn School of Dental Medicine\u2019s faculty practice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":254307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2166,179],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2177],"class_list":["post-254304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sdm","category-uconn-health"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-23 09:51:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254304"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254342,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254304\/revisions\/254342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/254307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254304"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=254304"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=254304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}