College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics

Dean's Message

Each year at least 240 candidates interview to make up our incoming class. Interview day is a special day for each of these students, and it makes a difference, as many of our current students attest. One key part of that process is you. Each candidate is interviewed by four individuals from among our dentistry faculty and staff. Thank you for filling all of our interviews dates and times, but we always have last minute cancellations and there is still time to sign up as an alternate. I encourage you to do so. It matters, and it is a rewarding experience for our faculty and staff as well. Reach out to our admission's staff to volunteer. Cheers! ~Clark Stanford

Updates for July 8, 2022–July 14, 2022

Bernstein Graduate Research Fellow receives 2022 Summer Fellowship from AIDPH

Pamela Nwachukwu is a second-year PhD student in Dental Public Health and a Bernstein Graduate Research Fellow. She conducts research that informs policies that promote access to healthcare, especially for the underserved. Her research interests cut across the areas of public health that are directly related to access to care such as health services, health policy, and health economics, which is the focus of her PhD. Nwachukwu was named as a 2022 Summer Fellow of the American Institute of Dental Public Health. This 10-week program is focused on advocacy and research for special populations including veteran oral health, oral health for LGBTQIA+ people, and oral health in rural communities. Participants will have the opportunity to match areas of interest to opportunities within AIDPH's programming.

Participants in the operative dentistry CE course

60th anniversary celebration of the graduate program in operative dentistry

In June, the college celebrated 60 years of excellence for the graduate program in operative dentistry. It was a wonderful weekend for everyone as many alumni and friends of the Department of Operative Dentistry from all over the country (and world!), including those coming from Italy, Japan, Chicago, Florida, Colorado, California, North Carolina, Connecticut, Ohio, Seattle, Virginia, etc. We had many activities starting on Friday with the Operative Department CE course sponsored by Justine Kolker and the Fuller-Denehy Operative Dentistry Professorship. Several operative alumni lectured during the program, giving outstanding information in many areas of our field. It was very well attended and all the speakers are now in academia in the US.

Pediatric dentistry student group officers from left to right: Sara Saey, Kylie Scott, Michaela Mathews, and Uzair Ahmad.

Pediatric Dentistry Student Group Delivers Over 500 Oral Hygiene Packets to Local Organization

The Pediatric Dentistry Student Group recently completed a service project supported by a $1,000 grant received from the Crest and America’s Toothfairy organizations.

Why Iowa: Interview Day

Interview day is unique at Iowa, and it is vital for finding whether Iowa is the right fit for meeting the needs of our applicants. It always leaves a fantastic impression on our dental students. It takes our entire team to make that happen—faculty, staff, and students.

Kudos to you!

Cassandra W.'s review: "I have always been afraid of going to the dentist. This was the first time I did not fear getting treatment. My 4th year student, Jeremy, was extremely patient and caring, and very professional as were all the dentists/instructors that work with the students. I would highly recommend the College of Dentistry."

@livtregilgas said, "Had such an awesome experience this weekend with @iowa.dentistry !!!!! Loved spending time on campus learning about dentistry and getting some hands on experience😁🦷💛"

Collaborative and innovative research

McNeil R, Bray KK, Mitchell TV, Pendleton C, Marchini L. Are adults with autism receiving regular preventive dental services? Spec Care Dentist. 2022 May 30. doi: 10.1111/scd.12738. PMID: 35636432.

Drawing from her master's thesis in dental hygiene education at the University of Missouri Kansas City, McNeil and her coauthors used de-identified data from electronic health records of adult patients with autism to assess how regularly they received preventive dental care. The team found that, for this sample, only about one in every three adults with autism has received at least one preventive dental procedure per year.

Dental history: Dental Admission Test Begins in 1945

The development of the Dental Admission Test Program began in 1945. At that time, there were 39 accredited dental schools in the United States, and 12,000 students were enrolled. There were three basic reasons for the development of the Dental Aptitude Test Battery, as it was known at that time. First, student attrition was very high, and lack of academic preparation may have been one cause. Second, veterans of World War II were beginning to apply to dental school in great numbers, and dental schools were concerned about academic records from several years prior being equivalent to students who matriculated more recently. Third, dental school admission officers were aware that the grades from various high schools and colleges indicated different degrees of educational achievement. For these reasons, a national test was developed as a common metric to compare student achievement.

Events

July 11, PhD Defense: Daniah Alhazmi, "A CBCT Investigation of Morphological Integration, Cervical Spine Non-Segmentation, and Volumetric Maxillary Sinus Association with Dental Impactions," mentored by co-chairs Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan and Trishul Allareddy, N212 DSB, 11:00 a.m.

July 12, MS Thesis Defense: Richard Sinn, "The Epigenetic Studies in Peri-Implantitis Subjects," mentored by Satheesh Elangovan and Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan, via Zoom only, 11:00 a.m.

July 22, Noon Presentation: Oliver D. Kripfgans and Hsun-Liang Chan, Anatomical and Functional Real-time Soft Tissue Imaging is Real!, Galagan A, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

August 5, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

August 11, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

August 26, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

September 8, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

September 9, CE Course: Olin Family Visiting Lectureship, Peter Nordland, Utilization of Periodontal Plastic Surgery to Assist in the Esthetic Outcome.

September 10, Pregame Professional Program, Iowa v. Iowa State.

September 15, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

September 16, Alumni Reunion Weekend Reunion and CE-Classes Ending in 2s and 7s (details forthcoming)

September 17, Pregame Professional Program, Iowa v. Nevada (University Family Weekend)

September 17, Alumni Weekend Tailgate, Iowa v. Nevada

September 23, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

September 30, CE Course: Elevating Patient-Centered Restorative Care: Integrating Technology and Biology to Optimize Outcomes

October 1, Pregame Professional Program (Michigan)

October 1, Alumni Tailgate, Iowa v Michigan

October 3, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

October 14, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students

October 21, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students