What is a dental school?
A dental school (school of dental medicine, school of dentistry, dental college) is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches dental medicine to prospective dentists and potentially other dental auxiliaries. Dental school graduates receive a degree in Dentistry, Dental Surgery, or Dental Medicine, which, depending upon the jurisdiction, might be a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, a professional degree, or a doctorate.
Schools can also offer postgraduate training in general dentistry, and/or training in endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, orthodontics, pedodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, dental public health, restorative dentistry, as well as postgraduate training for dental hygienists and dental technicians.
Other oral health professionals including dental hygienists, dental technicians and denturists, dental therapists and oral health therapists, Dental assistants or dental nurses, and other members of the dental auxiliary including orthodontic auxiliaries may be trained at dental schools, or at universities of applied science or polytechnics.
Sometimes dental education is done within medical schools, as in Pakistan; the separation between medical and dental educations is also blurred within certain sub-specialties, such as oral and maxillofacial surgery.
High enrollment in dental schools occurred during the 1980-81 academic year, when there were approximately 23,000 students enrolled in U.S. dental schools. In the mid-1980s, enrollment began to decline. Several dental schools have closed and the number of new dentists has dwindled for some time. As of March 2010, there were more than 19,000 students per year enrolled in dental schools training dentists.
List of dental schools in the U.S
This list of dental schools in the U.S. includes major academic institutions in the U.S. that award advanced professional degrees of either D.D.S. or D.M.D. in the field of dentistry. It does not include schools of medicine, and it includes 72 schools of dentistry in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These dental schools are a mix of stand-alone institutions and colleges within universities or associated with medical schools.
Alabama
- UAB School of Dentistry, Birmingham
Arizona
- A.T. Still University, the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Mesa
- Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona, Glendale
California
- California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine, Elk Grove
- Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Los Angeles
- Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, Loma Linda
- University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, San Francisco
- University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco
- Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, Pomona
Colorado
- University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, Aurora
Connecticut
- University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine at University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington
District of Columbia
- Howard University College of Dentistry, Washington
Florida
- LECOM School of Dental Medicine, Bradenton
- Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale
- University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville
Georgia
- The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta
Illinois
- Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine, Downers Grove
- Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, Alton
- University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, Chicago
Indiana
- Indiana University School of Dentistry, Indianapolis
Iowa
- University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Iowa City
Kentucky
- University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Lexington
- University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Louisville
Louisiana
- Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, New Orleans
Maine
- University of New England College of Dental Medicine, Portland
Maryland
- University of Maryland School of Dentistry (Baltimore), founded as the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Baltimore
Massachusetts
- Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston
- Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston
- Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston
Michigan
- University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor
- University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry, Detroit
Minnesota
- University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Minneapolis
Mississippi
- University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry, Jackson
Missouri
- Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine, Joplin
- University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City
- A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Kirksville
Nebraska
- Creighton University School of Dentistry, Omaha
- University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry, Lincoln
Nevada
- University of Nevada at Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine, Las Vegas
New Jersey
- Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, Newark (formerly University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – UMDNJ)
New York
- Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, New York City
- New York University College of Dentistry, New York City
- Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, Stony Brook
- Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College, Hawthorne
- University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo
- Eastman Institute for Oral Health, Rochester
North Carolina
- East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, Greenville
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill
- High Point University, Workman School of Dental Medicine, High Point
Ohio
- Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, Cleveland
- The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Columbus
Oklahoma
- University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, Oklahoma City
Oregon
- Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry, Portland
Pennsylvania
- Temple University, Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Philadelphia
- University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia
- University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Pittsburgh
Puerto Rico
- University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine, San Juan
South Carolina
- Medical University of South Carolina James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, Charleston
Tennessee
- Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, Nashville
- University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center College of Dentistry, Memphis
- Lincoln Memorial University, College of Dental Medicine, Knoxville
Texas
- Texas A&M University College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Dallas
- UT Health San Antonio, School of Dentistry, San Antonio
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry, Houston
- Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, El Paso
Utah
- Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, South Jordan
- University of Utah School of Dentistry, Salt Lake City
Virginia
- Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, Richmond
Washington
- University of Washington School of Dentistry, Seattle
West Virginia
- West Virginia University School of Dentistry, Charleston and Morgantown (main campus)
Wisconsin
- Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee