The
first university-based dental school in the country, Harvard Dental
School was founded in 1867. It was also the first to be established
in close affiliation with a medical school (Harvard Medical School)
and to make the full scholarly and scientific resources of a university
available to dental education.
In
1940, under President James B. Conant, the School was reorganized as
Harvard School of Dental Medicine to place stronger emphasis on the
biological basis of oral medicine and to institute multidisciplinary
programs of dental research. A unique feature of the curriculum placed
dental students in joint classes with medical students for two years
of basic science and pathophysiology and for an introduction to clinical
medicine on the wards of Harvard teaching hospitals and in community
health centers.
In
1957, the School of Dental Medicine was awarded National Institute of
Dental Research training grant funding and began to expand and enhance
its postdoctoral educational programs, combining advanced clinical and
biomedical research training for dentists planning careers in academic
dentistry. Several postdoctoral programs were developed under the leadership
of former dean, Dr. Paul Goldhaber. These include a four-year Doctor
of Medical Sciences in Oral Biology program; a five and six-year Oral
and Maxillofacial Surgery/MD/General Surgery program; and a group of
three and four-year, joint-degree programs combining advanced clinical
training and research in health-care systems, health policy or biomedical
sciences.
Currently,
Dr. Catherine Hayes, associate professor in the department of oral health
policy and epidemiology in the School of Dental Medicine at Harvard
University, is the principal investigator of one of CREEDD's major projects
- a study to investigate the relationship of early childhood caries
to growth and "failure to thrive" syndrome in toddlers and
small children.
