Vision Statement
The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery will build on its tradition as the world’s first Dental School to become a full partner with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland Medical System in achieving eminence in education, science and practice related to health, with a special emphasis on health of the oral-facial region. Embraced by and subscribing to the University and System visions, BCDS will be a leader for dentistry in:
| - Preparing practitioners/educators to practice at their highest level of expertise
- Initiating programs that cross school, university, state and national boundaries
- Innovating educational offerings in dentistry and related disciplines
- Adopting technological advances in dental education and practice
- Preparing practitioner-scholars for leadership in the future
- Integrating activities with the needs of the community
- Producing new basic and applied knowledge
- Influencing oral health care policies
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In living this vision, BCDS will achieve greater prominence through activities that bring recognition. Students will find excellent opportunity; faculty, unexcelled intellectual stimulation; and patients, high quality and caring treatment. The school’s performance will exceed the expectations of its supporters. BCDS will continually contribute to the resolution of health-related problems which plague mankind, and through special concentration in the oral-facial region, improve the quality of life. Return to Top
The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Dental School, University of Maryland has the distinction of being the first dental college in the world. Formal education to prepare students for the practice of dentistry originated in 1840 with its establishment. The chartering of the school by the General Assembly of Maryland on February 1, 1840 represented the culmination of the efforts of Dr. Horace H. Hayden and Dr. Chapin A. Harris, two physicians who recognized the need for systematic formal education as the foundation for a scientific and serviceable dental profession. Together, they played a major role in establishing and promoting formal dental education, and in the development of dentistry as a profession.
Convinced that support for a formal course in dental education would not come from a medical school faculty that had rejected the establishment of a department of dentistry, Dr. Hayden undertook the establishment of an independent dental college. Dr. Harris, an energetic and ambitious young man who had come to Baltimore in 1830 to study under Dr. Hayden, joined his mentor in the effort to found the college. The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery soon became a model for other schools throughout America. This was due in no small part to BCDS’s emphasis on sound knowledge of general medicine and the development of the skills needed in dentistry. The present Dental School evolved through a series of consolidations involving the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, founded in 1840; Maryland Dental College, founded in 1873; the Dental Department of the University of Maryland, founded in 1882; and the Dental Department of the Baltimore Medical College, founded in 1895. The final consolidation took place in 1923, when the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery and the Dental Department of the University of Maryland were combined to create a distinct college of the University under state supervision and control. As part of the University of Maryland, the Dental School was incorporated into the University System of Maryland (USM), formed by Maryland’s General Assembly in 1988. The new Dental School facility opened in 2006 with state-of-the-art technology for dental education and practice. Return to Top The Dental School today strives to offer the finest programs of dental education in the world. Continuing efforts are made to provide educational and training experiences consistent with evolving concepts and advances in the delivery of dental, oral and maxillofacial health care. All programs are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and have been granted the accreditation status of approval. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653 or at 211 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Dental School, University of Maryland continues to fulfill, through its graduates, the aspirations of its founders to provide scientifically trained professionals to serve the oral health care needs of society. Return to Top
Five hundred thirteen students are enrolled in the predoctoral dental education program in the 2009-2010 academic year. The total enrollment of 694 also includes 20 graduate, 84 dental hygiene, and 77 advanced dental education students. The entering fall 2009 predoctoral class has a mean grade point average of 3.5. Of these, 50 percent are female; 28 percent are minorities. Dental School students represent a variety of undergraduate institutions across the country. Return to Top Return to Top
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