Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery - Dental Columbian Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 12 text:

A LESTER W. BURKET, D.D.S., M.D., Dean School of Dentistry, University of Pennsylvania The rapid strides made by Dentistry in research, prevention and a more comprehensive health service during the last decades have had a marked influence on the objectives of dental education. As dentistry has approached professional maturity, its representa- tives are being called upon to assume increased par- ticipation in the affairs of the community. It is the responsibility of the dental educators to graduate den- tists competent in the skills peculiar to the profession and who can understand, appreciate and take part in a changing social order. Dental educational institutions have been rea- sonably successful in affording their graduates an understanding and a proficiency in the skills of their profession. Other less tangible but important facets of professional education such as the health service aspects of dentistry, the necessity for continued edu- cation after graduation and the dentist ' s community responsibilities, deserve more emphasis. The success- ful practitioner must be not only professionally com- petent, but also a socially mature and aware indi- vidual. The professional preparation of the dental student should include a good cultural and social background. The predental student frequently does not appreciate the importance of this type of background for a suc- cessful practice of dentistry. Dental educators might well consider the desirability of professionally ori- ented courses in psychology, psychiatry and human behavior. It is likely that during your professional career there will be many changes from the present day methods of practice. These changes should be judged in terms of better dental services to a wider segment of the population. The increased use of auxiliary per- sonnel is inevitable and it is not unlikely that such personnel will perform in the mouth under the den- tist ' s strict supervision, specified technical procedures not requiring a detailed knowledge of the biologic sciences. It is also likely that the group practice of dentistry will assume greater importance as an ef- ficient method of rendering dental health services, especially in view of the current trend to specializa- tion. The furnishing of dental services must con- tinually adjust itself to changing social and economic conditions. The great accomplishments in Dentistry during the past hundred-odd years are a tribute to the vision and endeavors of the professional leaders of the past. Today ' s graduates have received a cultural and sci- entific background which should enable them to make notable contributions to the continued develop- ment of your profession. The future of dentistry will be determined by what you build upon the founda- tion of your formal professional education. Dr. Lester W. Burket

Page 11 text:

MAURICE J. HICKEY, D.M.D, M.D. Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Dental and Oral Surgery; Executive Officer, Department of Dentistry; Professor of Oral Surgery

Page 13 text:

HARRY LYONS, D.D.S, F.A.C.D. Dean, School of Dentistry, Medical College of Virginia The role of dental education in relation to den- tistry ' s professional responsibilities would appear, at first thought, to be too obvious to warrant elabora- tion. However, the facets of the problem are so numerous and important that it might be well to record certain facts and impressions concerning them. Dental health service requires, first of all, per- sonnel with specialized training in the science and art of dental practice. The education of dentists in this country, as health service practitioners, has now been elevated to that of a university discipline. The education of a dentist may be said to begin upon the admission of a student to the liberal arts college or university where the prospective dental student may obtain the academic requirements for ad- mission to a school of dentistry. Certain so-called predental requirements prevail. These include a rather heavy proportion of the sciences of biology, physics and chemistry. The logic of these require- ments as prerequisites to courses in the dental cur- riculum is sound enough for general acceptance. A question may be raised, however, regarding the em- phasis on these requirements by comparison with that given to the humanities and the social sciences. In these times, dental educators are increasingly aware that dentists must be more than technicians or scientists in a health service field. For example, the opportunities and responsibilities of citizenship weigh as heavily on dentists as on others. As a matter of fact, these opportunities and responsibilities should be recognized and accepted in greater weight by dentists as a superior group. Furthermore, dental health service programs in a democracy such as ours call for intelligent leadership, planning and public relations as well as technical knowledge and skills. It is obvious, therefore, that the education of a den- tist should prepare him for service in the community as a citizen of leadership ability as well as a health servant of fine skill and knowledge. It should be noted that dental schools and dental teachers cannot dismiss this phase of a dentist ' s edu- cation by the simple statement that this is solely the responsibility of the academic college or university. Good citizenship must be taught at every turn and a dental teacher cannot evade this responsibility. He must teach it in theory and practice and by his own precept and example. This is a challenge that the dental teacher and dental education must accept in the full realization that our social responsibilities to our population and the ideals of practice are not met by the attainment of high goals in technical skills and sciences alone. These must be balanced in equal weight by the factors that contribute to good citizen- ship and professional service in their broadest sense. The horizon of dental education must be broad enough to see both sides of the career of a health servant. Those who labor in the vineyard of dental education should cultivate both. Dr. Harry Lyons