The new academic year is always a busy time, but the School of Dental Medicine’s calendar was particularly full this fall. In addition to our traditional engagements, like the alumni reception at the ADA’s annual meeting and homecoming, we hosted special events to dedicate new centers that demonstrate SDM’s commitment to provide contemporary, quality care for all patients. In September, we held a dedication ceremony for our Center for Patients with Special Needs, which will greatly expand access to care for patients with disabilities who traditionally have been underserved. The SDM’s new Multidisciplinary Implant Center hosted a grand opening reception for its state-of-the-art facility that integrates prosthodontics, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, endodontics, and general dentistry.

Some of the advances in patient care are taking place behind the scenes, as well. As electronic health records become more common, it’s important to look to digital solutions in as many areas of dentistry as possible. That has led the SDM to incorporate digital imaging, including the purchase of a cone beam CT (CBCT) scanner, into patient care.

Groundbreaking research efforts are another way in which the SDM is shaping the future of the profession. The SDM has advanced its ranking of NIH funding by 12 positions since 2002. As evidence of these efforts, renovated state-of-the-art research laboratories will house the Center for Craniofacial Regeneration. This unique unit, in conjunction with the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine and a number of other University departments and schools, will lead the way in regeneration of orofacial tissues, recognizing this may be contemporary practice within the next decade.

All of these new benchmarks in patient care and research are noteworthy, but we have been looking to the future in our educational mission as well. In order to better prepare our students for success, it then follows that we find ourselves in a new era of dental education as well.

Indeed, the SDM is in the midst of a process that will lead to an updated clinical curriculum that more effectively integrates basic sciences into the practice of dentistry and introduces students to the clinical setting earlier in the course of their studies. Representatives from each of the SDM’s departments have actively participated in this process, which is one indication of how thorough this examination has been.

In addition to the broader curricular changes, the committee also has dedicated some of its efforts to ensuring that students will benefit from the SDM’s expanded patient care initiatives by gaining experience that will prove to be invaluable after they leave our halls and begin their careers. Ultimately, each student will participate in the care of patients with special needs, as well as the placement and restoration of a dental implant.

While these developments have generated excitement at the SDM, soliciting input from internal and external constituents has been critical in our success. We continue to seek opportunities for evaluation of our progress, to ensure that this progress supports our goals and fulfills our mission.

Our recent Board of Visitors meeting, held in November, offered us such an opportunity, and as we begin the preparation for our accreditation process that will culminate in May 2010, we will once again look back at where we’ve been and forward to where we’re headed. We can’t foretell how dental medicine will be practiced decades from now, but it is certain that the school will uphold its commitment to excellence in education, patient care and research.

Best regards,
Thomas W. Braun, DMD ’73, MS ’73, PhD ’77
Professor and Dean