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Arkansas Children’s and Lyon College School of Dental Medicine to Partner
The state’s new dental school inks academic affiliation with Arkansas’s only pediatric health system.
Published date: May 07, 2026
(Little Rock, Ark.) May 7, 2026 – Lyon College School of Dental Medicine and Arkansas Children’s have established a new partnership to support patient care, clinical education, and research. The affiliation, which was executed earlier this month, will coordinate the delivery and oversight of pediatric dental services at Arkansas Children’s.
Lyon College School of Dental Medicine, the state’s first and only dental school, welcomed its first class of students last fall. The fully accredited school educates dental students and residents and employs licensed dental professionals and faculty capable of providing pediatric dental services and supervising clinical training programs.
Arkansas Children’s operates a hospital-based dental program that provides complex dental and craniofacial care, as well as fixed-site clinics, mobile dental units, and school-based oral health programs.
In this new partnership, Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will provide administrative oversight and faculty services to support the dental program at Arkansas Children’s. Arkansas Children’s will support clinical training and education of Lyon dental students. The organizations will jointly promote and support collaborative research, continuing education, and academic initiatives, and will continue to provide and expand high-quality pediatric dental services to Arkansas Children's patients.
“Pediatric healthcare is unique and extremely vital to the overall healthcare system. Our job at Arkansas Children’s is to ensure high-quality, accessible pediatric services. Working with Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will strengthen our dental programs and ensure we jointly educate and build a pipeline of future pediatric dentists in Arkansas,” said Marcy Doderer, President and CEO of Arkansas Children’s. “This affiliation, along with our academic affiliations with UAMS and the Alice Walton School of Medicine, demonstrates our commitment to academic partnerships as we advance pediatric healthcare in Arkansas and in the heartland.”
Dr. Burke Soffe, founding dean of the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine, echoed Doderer, noting the importance of the partnership to the launching of the state’s first dental school.
“Our vision from the beginning has been to make dental education affordable and accessible while also providing services that benefit the people in Arkansas who need it most. Arkansas Children’s serves hundreds of thousands of pediatric patients from across the region. This partnership will expose our dental students to more patients and real-world clinical settings than they would be in a traditional dental school model and will expand access to dental services statewide. It is truly a win-win,” he said.
The affiliation begins July 1, 2026. Both institutions remain solely independent, freestanding non-profit entities.
ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S
Arkansas Children's is the only health system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 850,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes the Arkansas Children’s Golisano Campus in Little Rock, home to Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), and the Arkansas Children’s Walker Campus in Springdale, home to Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW). The two pediatric hospitals host 361 licensed beds, supported by a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define, discover and deliver unprecedented child health. ACH is a Magnet-recognized facility operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2025-2026): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology & Lung Surgery and Urology. ACNW, the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region, is a Level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates an inpatient unit that will expand in 2026; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912 and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.
ABOUT LYON COLLEGE
Lyon College, a private liberal arts institution founded in 1872 in Batesville, is the oldest college in Arkansas with its original charter. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a 2025 “Best College,” Lyon enrolls 781 students from more than 33 states and 14 countries. Students can tailor their education, selecting from 32 majors, as well as pre-professional, individualized options and select graduate programs. The college expanded its academic offerings with the opening of the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine in Little Rock in 2025 and plans to open the Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine in Cabot in 2027, pending accreditation. Learn more at lyon.edu.
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