The Topeka Correctional Facility/Greenbush Dental Laboratory Technician Program is the result of collaboration between Correction Care Solutions (CCS), The Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation, the United Methodist Health Ministries Fund (UMHMF), The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (KAMU) and the Kansas Department of Corrections. The program is a vocational training program for female inmates who are taught how to work on and complete full dentures, partials and repairs in order to improve their chances of employment after release. Classes are taught by a licensed dental lab technician who has experience working in private denture laboratories and the program is overseen by a volunteer board made up of three dentists and other interested parties.
To be eligible for the training program, women must be in the medium or maximum custody levels of the prison, must have a minimum of three years remaining on their sentences (to assure they have time to graduate), have a high school diploma or GED and must demonstrate appropriate eye-hand skills to allow them to be successful with the fine motor requirements of the job. In order to graduate, students must complete three phases of training: 48 weeks of curriculum instruction, a level one internship requiring semi-independent denture building using real products, and demonstration of independent denture-making abilities and proper work attitudes.
Denture cases are provided by dental clinics that serve low income patients across the state. The fee the clinics are charged for finished products is based only on the program costs. This allows for cost savings for the clinics and provides patients with dentures they may not have otherwise had.