NYU College of Dentistry earned a $5.48 million grant in state funding to expand services for children with disabilities, planning to construct more specialized treatment rooms in its pediatric clinic.  

Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated the funding alongside New York’s Regional Disability Health Clinic Program — which falls under the state’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities — to improve care as patients transition into adulthood. The move comes after the OPWDD identified people under 21 as the state’s fastest growing age group to receive health care for disabilities in a December report, sparking greater investment into increasing pediatric patients’ access to these services.  

Amr Moursi, NYU’s chair of pediatric dentistry, emphasized that kids with disabilities typically experience more oral health issues. 

“The earlier that they can see a dental provider, the greater the likelihood that they will have less significant dental disease as they age,” Moursi said in the press release. “Engaging children in care sets them on a path for better oral health across their lifespan.”

With the state funding, NYU Dentistry will build eight private treatment rooms within its pediatric clinic on the center’s ninth floor — amounting to 17 total rooms that are larger than traditional dental offices to accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility equipment. The facilities will also include multisensory rooms to help patients manage anxiety and wheelchair tilts for improved transferability. Construction is slated to begin this year, with completed renovations projected by 2027.  

The expansion at NYU Dentistry’s Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities will open literal doors for people who, for far too long, have been shut out of the equitable and quality healthcare they deserve,” OPWDD Commissioner Willow Baer said in the press release. 

The university’s dental school established its Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities in 2019, aiming to support patients who are unable to receive oral health care in standard dental offices due to their disabilities. Beyond general dental care, the center also provides endodontics services, maxillofacial surgery and orthodontic care. 

In 2025, the NYU Dentistry center treated around 2,900 patients and performed over 25,000 dental procedures. The renovated space will also create additional opportunities for NYU dental students and residents, as well as other staff members, to practice working with patients with disabilities, as Charles Bertolami, NYU Dentistry’s Herman Robert Fox dean, highlighted. 

“Increasing our capacity to treat individuals with disabilities will continue our mission to train the next generation of dental providers to practice with competence and compassion in caring for this population,” Bertolami said.

Contact Justin Yen at [email protected].