MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry has received a $3.5 million gift toward the construction of what it calls the most advanced pediatric dental clinic in the Upper Midwest.

The gift comes from Delta Dental of Minnesota and will support the construction of the clinic adjacent to the new University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. The clinic is to open in April 2012.

The university says the new dental clinic will provide state-of-the-art care to its young patients while giving the university’s dental students access to the hospital’s operating rooms and emergency room.

Pediatric dentist Rick Baylon of Stillwater is co-chair of the fundraising campaign. He says more children will get dental care in the future due to changes in health care laws that mandate more dental benefits.

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