Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is an American dental school located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the DMD degree, HSDM offers specialty training programs, advanced training programs, a Ph.D. program affiliated with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Master of Medical Sciences & Doctor of Medical Sciences degrees in Oral Biology.

Today, HSDM is the smallest school at Harvard University. With a total student body of 280, including pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students spread over several disciplines, HSDM is an intimate community of students and faculty. Even when compared to other dental schools, HSDM is small, and its total living alumni number is approximately 2,300 worldwide. While HSDM is small, it continues to have considerable influence on dental education and research within the broader oral health community. Of the 54 dental school deans in the United States, sixteen are HSDM alumni (as of 2005). Many other HSDM alumni pursue careers as full-time faculty members, department heads, and leaders of organized dentistry.

History

First University-based Dental School

In the early 19th century most dental practitioners had either learned their "trade" through apprenticeships, or they simply offered their services to the public as self-proclaimed experts. The move toward more formal dental education in the United States began when the state of Maryland chartered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1840. The establishment of this independent college, which may have occurred after the University of Maryland refused to add dental education to its curriculum, exemplified the nineteenth-century debate over whether dentistry should be part of scholarly education, or be taught in separate "trade" schools.^[1] As a result of this resistance, the four American dental schools that existed by 1865 were all freestanding. The move towards university-based dental education institutions (as they exist today) began with the formation of Harvard Dental School in 1867. Dr. Reidar F. Sognnaes, noted oral pathologist and founding dean of the UCLA School of Dentistry, commented on the significance of the school's formation in a 1977 New England Journal of Medicine article:

There was a time when the mouth, relatively speaking, was considered a scientific "no-man's land." That was when dental education fell between academic chairs--literally between the eyes, ears, nose and throat. In the United States dentistry was denied the academic status of other segments of higher education until 1867, when Harvard established the first dental school affiliated with a university-based faculty of medicine. ^[2]

Origins of DMD Degree

Harvard was the first dental school to award the DMD degree^{citation needed}. Harvard University only grants degrees in Latin and school administrators thought the Latin translation of Doctor of Dental Surgery ("Chirurgae Dentium Doctoris," or CDD) was too cumbersome. A Latin scholar was consulted and suggested "Medicinae Doctor" be prefixed with "Dentariae." This is how the DMD, or "Dentariae Medicinae Doctor" degree, was started. Other dental schools made the switch to this notation, and in 1989, 23 of the 66 North American dental schools awarded the D.M.D. There is no difference between the DMD and DDS degree; all dentists must meet the same National & Regional certification standards. Harvard also helped to establish the BDent degree program at the University of Sydney which was heavily modeled after Harvard's DMD curriculum.

Renaming the School: 1940

The school was established as Harvard Dental School in 1867, but renamed the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in 1940. This symbolic change was made to emphasize the biological basis of oral medicine and the increasingly multidisciplinary focus of dental research.

Expansion of Postdoctoral Educational Programs: 1957

In 1957, Harvard School of Dental Medicine was awarded a training grant from the National Institute of Dental Research (now the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) to expand its postdoctoral training programs. These new programs included an oral and maxillofacial surgery/MD/general surgery program; a Doctor of Medical Sciences (DMSc) in oral biology; and 3- and 4-year joint-degree programs with an emphasis on combining clinical training with research into health policy, public health, and/or biomedical sciences..

Major Changes in Predoctoral Curriculum: 1994

In 1994, a major change in the predoctoral curriculum included an increase of the predoctoral class size to 35, introduction of problem-based curriculum, and a switch from a 5-year program to a 4-year case based curriculum.

Some Notable Alumni

Early Graduates

• Dr. Varaztad H. Kazanjian, Pioneer in Plastic Surgery, Harvard's First Professor of Plastic Surgery, DMD 1905
• Dr. Robert T. Freeman, First African-American Dental College Graduate, DMD 1869
• Dr. Nathan Cooley Keep, First Dean of Harvard Dental School, DMD 1870(Honorary)
• Dr. George Franklin Grant, First African-American Faculty Member at Harvard University, DMD 1870

Deans and Former Deans of US Dental Schools

• Dr. Michael C. Alfano, Former Dean, New York University, Currently, Vice-President of New York University, MMSc Cert. Perio
• Dr. Leon Assael, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, former Dean, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, DMD'75
• Dr. Charles Bertolami, Former Dean, UCSF School of Dentistry, Currently, Dean, NYU College of Dentistry, OMFS '80
• Dr. Frank A. Catalanotto, Former Dean, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry Cert.'71
• Dr. Bruce Donoff, Dean, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, DMD'67, OMFS'71
• Dr. Donald Giddon, Former Dean, New York University College of Dentistry, DMD'67
• Dr. James Hupp, Editor-in-Chief, Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology Radiology and Endodontics and Dean, University of Mississippi School of Dental Medicine, DMD '77
• Dr. Marjorie K. Jeffcoat, Dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, DMD'76 Perio'78
• Dr. Lonnie Norris, Dean, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, DMD'76
• Dr. No-Hee Park, Dean, UCLA School of Dentistry, DMD'82

Other Notable Alumni

• Dr. O. Ross Beirne, Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Washington, DMD'72
• Dr. Robert Binder, Chair, Department of Orthodontics, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, DMD, Cert. Ortho
• Dr. Michael S. Block, World-renowned dental implantologist, Former Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Louisiana State University New Orleans, DMD'79
• Dr. Thomas Dodson, Director, Center for Applied Clinical Investigation, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, DMD'84
• Dr. Carla Evans, Chair, Department of Orthodontics, University of Illinois Chicago, DMSc, Cert. Ortho
• Dr. Joseph P. Fiorellini, Chair, Department of Periodontology, University of Pennsylvania, DMD'90, DMSc'93, Cert. Perio'93
• Dr. Christopher H. Fox, Executive Director, International and American Associations for Dental Research, DMD'87
• Dr. Earl G. Freymiller, Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of California Los Angeles, DMD'84, OMFS'89
• Dr. Mithran Goonewardene, Orthodontics Program Director, School of Dentistry, University of Western Australia, MMSc, Cert.Ortho
• Dr. Walter Guralnick, Pioneer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, DMD'41
• Dr. Jack H. Gotcher, Former Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Knoxville, DMD'75
• Dr. H. David Hall, Pioneer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Former Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vanderbilt University, DMD'57
• Dr. T. Howard Howell, Professor and Dean of Dental Education, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Cert. Perio
• Dr. Vincent J. Iacono, Chair, Department of Periodontology, Stony brook Dental School; President, American Academy of Periodontology, DMD'72, Perio'74
• Dr. A. Thomas Indresano, Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pacific, DMD'71
• Dr. Leonard Kaban, Chief of Service, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, DMD'69, OMFS'74
• Dr. John P.W. Kelly, Chief, Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Saint Raphael, Yale Medical School, DMD, OMFS
• Dr. Max A. Listgarten, Former Chair, Department of Periodontics, University of Pennsylvania, Cert. Perio'63
• Dr. Samuel E. Lynch, Founder, President, and CEO of Biomimetic Therapeutics, Inc., DMSc, Cert. Perio
• Dr. Peter Ngan, Chair, Department of Orthodontics, West Virginia University, DMD
• Dr. Linda Niessen, Former President, American Association of Public Health Dentistry, DMD '77
• Dr. Bonnie Padwa, Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston, DMD'88, OMFS'94
• Dr. Jeffrey Posnick, Former Medical Director, Division of Plastic Surgery, Hospital of Sick Children Toronto, Former Chief of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Georgetown University Medical Center, DMD'77
• Dr. Steven Roser, Chair, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, formerly, Dean of Graduate Medical Education, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, DMD '68, OMFS'71
• Dr. David Shafer, Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Connecticut, DMD'86
• Dr. Stephen T. Sonis, Chair, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Chief, Division of Oral Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Cert. Perio, DMSc
• Dr. Philip Stashenko, President and CEO, The Forsyth Institute, DMD'73, Cert. Endo'85
• Dr. Norman Trieger, Former Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, DMD'54
• Dr. Hans-Peter Weber, World-renowned dental implantologist, Chair, Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, DMD'90
• Dr. Ray C. Williams, Chair, Department of Periodontology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Cert. Perio'73
• Dr. David Wong, Associate Dean of Research, Director of Human Salivary Proteome Project, University of California Los Angeles, DMSc'85, Cert. Oral Path'85
• Dr. Richard Valahovic, Executive Director, American Dental Education Association, DMD '82

Affiliated Organizations

Harvard Odontological Society

External links

• Harvard School of Dental Medicine
• The Forsyth Institute
• Harvard Odontological Society
• Harvard Dental Center

References

1. ^ "Dental Education at the Crossroads." 1995. Report by Institute of Medicine (National Academy Press). Editor: Marilyn J. Field. Pg.39
2. ^ "Why "mouthless" medical schools?" New England Journal of Medicine. 1977. Oct 13;297(15):837-8. Sognnaes, RF.
3. ^ "Public perception of DDS versus DMD degrees." Journal of the American College of Dentists. 1999. Fall; 66(3):29-37. Lalumandier, JA.