Mark R. Patters, DDS, PhD
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry
Dean’s Message
It is a great honor to be the 15th Dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry (UT COD). I would like to highlight just a few of our accomplishments:
- The college is fully accredited and the last two site visits were completed with no recommendations for improvement and several commendations. The pre-clinical teaching laboratories have been completely renovated with addition of state-of-the-art equipment, including forty virtual reality patient simulators.
- UT COD students have performed above the national average on Part I of the National Dental Boards for the past several years and have consistently ranked in the top ten dental schools in Part II National Board Scores.
- The American Student Dental Association is ranked among the top in the nation, winning Chapter of the Year for two consecutive years. The Student National Dental Association was presented the Best Chapter of the Year Award four years in a row (2000-2004). Our Student Research Program ranks in the top five of U.S. schools sending students to make research presentations at the IADR/AADR meeting.
- The Hinman Student Research Symposium is a national meeting of dental students and graduate trainees who have participated in dental research and features oral and poster presentations of research studies. The Symposium is co-sponsored by UT COD and the Hinman Dental Society, with the support of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the TDA Foundation, the Procter & Gamble Co., and Viral Antigens, Inc.
As dean, it is a privilege to be working with the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends to continue the rich heritage of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry.
Mark R. Patters, DDS, PhD
Introduction
The UTHSC College of Dentistry (UT COD) was founded in Nashville in 1878. It is the oldest still-existing dental college in the South, and the third oldest public college of dentistry in the United States. The College was moved to Memphis in 1911 in order to secure larger facilities. The COD made its final move to 875 Union Avenue in 1978. The building was memorialized as the Winfield Dunn Dental Clinical Building, named after 1955 UT COD alumnus who served as governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 1975.
The College maintains a 4-year dental program totaling approximately 320 students. The College is dedicated to; providing professional, graduate, and postgraduate education; conducting dental research; and delivering state-of-the-art patient care and public service.
The programs in dentistry are accredited by the Commission of Dental Accreditation, the United States Department of Education, and The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, the college is a member of the American Association of Dental Schools and the American Association of Dental Research.
The faculty of the College of Dentistry is committed to the education of a health professional whose primary responsibility will be the prevention of oral disease and maintenance of the oral health of the public. This encompasses the recruitment of well-qualified and motivated students who understand the need for a commitment to improving the welfare of those they serve, as well as the personal obligations of continuous development.
Highlights
The University of Tennessee, College of Dentistry (UT COD) has embraced the concept of the “paperless office” by implementing Axium, a state-of-the-art clinical management system. The network will enable faculty and students to record and access all components of patients’ records. Axium is a comprehensive clinic management software package custom-designed for the dental school environment. UT COD is one of only 23 dental schools in North America to convert to this computer-based system of record keeping. The software will be completely customized to record all aspects of Tennessee’s previous paper format, while including new capabilities.
The Hinman Student Research Symposium is a national meeting of dental students and graduate trainees who have participated in dental research addressing three important areas of national need: Attracting outstanding students into careers in dental research and education; Equipping dental practitioners and educators to meet the challenges of advanced technology and emerging oral diseases; Increasing awareness among those in the dental profession of the scope, methods, and importance of dental research. The Symposium’s objective is to help raise and maintain the quality of dental education and research in the U.S. by encouraging participation of dental students, graduate trainees, and dental school faculty members in research to improve public oral health.
The UTHSC College of Dentistry dedicated its dental simulation center in recognition of a one million dollar gift from Delta Dental of Tennessee. The center is the first of its kind and includes a laboratory with 40 interactive, virtual-reality simulators in one room with eighty conventional simulators in another. Dean Gilpatrick said, “We are very grateful to Delta Dental of Tennessee for their generous ongoing support. This latest gift will be used to provide maintenance and upgrades to the facility which is now known as the ‘Delta Dental of Tennessee Dental Simulation Center.‘“
History
The University of Tennessee Dental Department in Nashville became operational in 1878 in connection with the establishment of the new Nashville Medical College. This is recognized as the origin of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry making it the oldest still-existing dental school in the South and the third oldest public college of dentistry in the United States.
Although the dental classes remained small in Nashville, comprised of only 35 students in 1896, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees decided to move the dental school to Memphis to obtain larger facilities. When the University of Tennessee Dental Department in Nashville moved to Memphis in 1911, it was consolidated with the Dental College of the University of Memphis, being designated as the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 1913. At the time of the 1911 merger, class enrollment in Memphis increased to 115 students. Once established in its new location, the College of Dentistry flourished in its new environment.
In 2000 the institution was renamed The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry.
1897-1911—Dr. Justin Dewey Towner, Dean of the short-lived University of Memphis College of Dentistry, became Professor of Oral Hygiene and Prophylaxis. Dr. Towner established the Department of Mouth Hygiene, Oral Prophylaxis, and Periodontia, which was considered the first of its kind at any dental school.
1916—Minnie Enyeart McClellan became the first woman to receive a DDS degree from UT College of Dentistry.
1926—Dental Hygienist Program commenced with three students.
1960—UT Dental Alumni Association was founded.
1970-1978—Dean Jack Wells obtained funding for a new eight million dollar dental clinical building named after Governor Winfield Dunn. This tremendous project which was so critically needed was achieved without federal funding. Through his motivation, dental alumni contributed $600,000 to equip the dental facility.
1999—The dental class of was ranked first in the nation on Part II of the National Board Examination.
2001—Under the direction and fund raising efforts of Dean William Slagle, the College of Dentistry renovated the pre-clinical labs with state-of-the-art dental simulation units, making virtual reality simulation a key factor in the education of its students. These labs included 40 interactive clinical simulation units and 120 traditional clinical simulation units. At that time, UT’s pre-clinical lab was the largest such laboratory in the world.
2004—Dean Gilpatrick initiated an integration of the computer-assisted technology into the freshman curriculum by providing students an opportunity to cut preparations during the first week of school. This decision allowed the entering class to become familiar with clinical experiences much earlier in their education and provided an opportunity for them to apply classroom lectures to actual situations.
2006—The College of Dentistry goes “digital” with the establishment of a completely paperless patient record and digital radiology throughout the College clinics.
