IU School of Dentistry recently honored the 145th anniversary of Indiana’s only dental school. Faculty, staff, and students gathered for camaraderie, cake, and celebratory remarks by Dean Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch, who touched on IUSD’s venerable past, present, and future.
“Over these 145 years, we have excelled at our tripartite mission: educating oral healthcare providers for the future, conducting research and scholarship to advance oral and overall health, and providing service to the community and the world,” said Dean Murdoch-Kinch.
Where did we begin? In 1879 — the same year Thomas Edison invested the first incandescent lightbulb — a small group of Indiana Dental Association members created the Indiana Dental College in response to a new Indiana law that regulated dental practice. The law required dentists to train formally rather than through apprenticeships. The formal resolution birthing the dental school was passed on June 23, 1879.
Forty-six years later, in 1925, the trustees of the Indiana Dental College sold the private school to Indiana University for a large sum at the time of $35,000.
The dental school occupied four locations in downtown Indianapolis before settling in 1933 at 1121 Michigan Street, across the street from Long Hospital and the Indiana University School of Nursing. The original 1933 building that faces Michigan Street, with the beautiful limestone and iconic windows, was designed for 42 students per class. From the 1950s until today, IU constructed three additions to the dental school, including the state-of-the-art Fritts Clinical Center, which opened in 2018. Today we also occupy Coleman Hall (which was built as the first women’s hospital in the state) and Neff Hall in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
IUSD researchers have played a key role in public health advancements since the 1930s. They have created new knowledge, made major discoveries, and invented new technologies and therapies to improve oral health. In fact, IUSD researchers invented the bitewing X-ray, the first fluoride toothpaste, and antiplaque chewing gum for soldiers in the field.
IUSD faculty members have been awarded patents for novel peptides to treat neurological disease. They are world-renowned experts in digital and implant dentistry, regenerative endodontics, research in bone and mineralized tissue biology, dental informatics, and the biomechanics of tooth movement and its effects on bone, and more. They also have written the leading textbooks used across the globe on pediatric dentistry, oral pathology, operative dentistry, oral diagnosis and treatment planning, periodontics and dental hygiene, prosthodontics, and dental materials.
The Oral Health Research Institute, which was established using royalties from the sale of Crest toothpaste, is a globally recognized center for cariology research and dental product testing.
The approximately 13,000 living alumni provide vital oral health care in their communities and are leaders in academia, industry, and organized dentistry. IUSD alumni are characterized by their passion for service; for many, ignited through global service learning experiences while in dental school, Dean Murdoch-Kinch said.
“IUSD has a rich, respected, and venerated past,” the dean said in her remarks, and added where IUSD is today and our trajectory for the future.
“I returned several months ago to the School of Dentistry after serving as interim chancellor for eight months, before the appointment of Chancellor Ramchand, the inaugural Chancellor of IU Indianapolis,” Dean Murdoch-Kinch said. “In 1969, Dr. Maynard Hine, our dean emeritus, became IUPUI’s first chancellor when IUPUI was established. Following the lead of Chancellor Hine, Dr. Jeffrey Dean, Professor Gail Williamson, and Dean Emeritus John Williams, I am the fifth School of Dentistry administrator to be called up to serve in the chancellor’s office. This experience gave me a unique view of the university, our amazing campus, and the School of Dentistry’s place in our institution.
“I am happy to share that our School of Dentistry is a highly regarded and respected member of the university and the campus community. In fact, in last week’s celebration of the newly named IU Indianapolis, the Mayor’s proclamation included the School of Dentistry, by name, as the only dental school in the state of Indiana.
“Looking out at these bright, shining faces today is an affirmation that we continue to attract the best and brightest students. Each day, more than 700 students in our DDS, advanced education programs in dental specialties, PhD program, dental hygiene, dental assisting, and dental laboratory technology programs light up IUSD’s lecture halls, laboratories, and clinics, and serve our citizens in hospitals, clinics, and private practices in the community. As graduates, they go on to deliver essential oral health care here in Indiana, and across the country, and around the globe.
“Our faculty members continue to excel as scholars, teachers, and clinicians, creating and disseminating new knowledge. As one example, this past academic year, a team of faculty received the largest federal grant in the school’s history. IUSD was one of only 10 schools in the nation to be awarded this large NIH grant to transform clinical and translational research and build capacity for practice-based research in dentistry.”
“We are expanding clinical services available at the school, including new advanced specialty areas, such as orofacial pain, dental sleep medicine, telehealth, geriatric dentistry, craniofacial orthodontics, and multidisciplinary TMJ care.
“We continue to be a desirable place to work and have recruited and retained exceptional faculty and professional staff across all our academic departments and administrative areas. We cannot overstate the value and impact of our incredible, dedicated staff, who support our patients, students, faculty, and administrators, and ensure the day-to-day operations of the School. Our staff makes IU School of Dentistry run. Thank you to our staff.
“We have been responsible stewards of our resources, generating operating margins to invest in strategic growth and sustainability.
“And thanks to the generosity of our many donors and friends, we have invested philanthropy funds to integrate digital dental technologies into our educational programs and into scholarships that support and reward student success. This year, IUSD’s development team raised more than $6 million dollars from our generous alumni and donors, exceeding the annual goal by over 50%. Philanthropy, which comes as gifts of time, talent, and treasure, has been a constant companion over these past 145 years. We could not have accomplished all of this without our community of alumni, friends, and donors, and the great relationships that have been fostered by our development professionals and previous deans and faculty.
“With philanthropic support, we have invested in new instructional technology that has been installed in all our classrooms this summer, and we are ‘breaking ground’ on several large renovation projects that will modernize the graduate Orthodontics Clinic, create a Special Care Clinic for Adults with Disabilities, a new Commons and conference rooms, and clinical labs.
“And we are creating a new home for the Oral Health Research Institute inside the dental school, where it will continue to evolve and grow as a premiere clinical and laboratory research core that supports research across the School, while carrying on its important legacy in cariology and dental products research.
“For 145 years, IU School of Dentistry has made a difference in the lives of the people of Indiana, across the United States, and around the globe.
“Dentistry is a noble profession, and as a profession with a social contract to serve the public good. We enjoy the privilege of autonomy and self-regulation. Indiana University School of Dentistry, in partnership with organized dentistry and the broader profession, is Indiana Dentistry. Together, we must hold fast to our core values and ensure that everything we do is to serve the public good and advance oral health and overall health for all. We must do this as we rise to the challenge to adapt to ever-changing external conditions. We can, and we will!
I look forward to working with all of you as we envision and create our future. Together, we can, and we will,“Bring on Tomorrow!”