Which dental schools in America have joint curriculum with med students?

[airfryerwings]

I was reading Columbia College of Dental Medicine's website and it said, "At Columbia, one of only four U.S. schools where dental students are trained alongside medical students, the curriculum begins with 18 months of side-by-side learning with students from the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons." Which 3 other schools have a joint curriculum with medical students for the first few years?

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[thisismyacct]

I think UCONN does

 

[zToothinator]

I think UCONN does

Yes, UConn does. Dental and med students take the first 2 years together. Dental students ALSO have lab classes.

 

[Nachatta]

Harvard

 

[knewstance]

I would personally see this as a negative point for choosing a school. I don't want to learn about leg and foot diseases. My patients will not be barefoot or without pants in my office.
Lol so there's my $0.02

I know that UW also has shared classes with MD students.

 

[2jz]

UConn used to be a full two years, now it's only 40 weeks, so the majority of medical school clases are done by Thanksgiving of D2.

 

[Likkriue]

Most schools are year and a half or less now. No longer a full 2 years. My school is only 2/3 of the first year.

And in response to the poster saying you don’t wanna learn about leg and foot disease, it is not a bad idea to have a background on it so you can make the patient comfortable in the chair. Certain findings such as swollen ankles can mean heart failure which can impact heavily how you treat a patient. You might think that chances are the patient knows and it’s in the chart but cases of poorly controlled heart disease is common and you have to be vigilant. A complacent dentist is one that will end up with a lawsuit.
We are dental healthcare providers we obviously aren’t treating onychomycosis cases but it is our duty to refer to our physician colleagues when we see something abnormal. Just my 2 cents.

 

[2TH MVR]

I recently went to a CE seminar where the integration of medical and dental treatment under a single roof seems to be the future of our professions. The infections originating in the oral cavity (periodontal disease) is a causative factor related to strokes, CHF, diabetes, heart attacks, etc. etc. It is hard to imagine that the medical and dental professions hardly have any diagnostic interaction when it comes to diagnosing and treating these diseases.

 

[Blueshirts]

I recently went to a CE seminar where the integration of medical and dental treatment under a single roof seems to be the future of our professions. The infections originating in the oral cavity (periodontal disease) is a causative factor related to strokes, CHF, diabetes, heart attacks, etc. etc. It is hard to imagine that the medical and dental professions hardly have any diagnostic interaction when it comes to diagnosing and treating these diseases.

To add onto this, the head of the ADA, Dr. Joseph Crowley is also of this belief, so pre-dents should take note.

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

I don't mind it at all. I'm enjoying school. Totally agree with likkriue. Don't see why it's crazy and dystopian to imagine a future where dentists aren't arbitrarily sectioned of from the other guys.

An ophthalmologist would consider it an insult if you talked about him the way some dentists talk about themselves, and it's not like his potential areas of speciality/subspecialty are any broader than the various dental disciplines.

The difference is that they don't bitch when they have to learn more background info, mostly just because that's the convention in their profession; they're expected to be MDs -> ophthalmologists.

But if you rewound history, it could well have just turned into a residency after optometry school or something.

"Don't talk to me about all that patellar reflex crap; I'm just an eye mechanic."

In the mean time, I'll enjoy the primary upside of our current peon status - the severely reduced regulation. My MD classmates have so many more hoops to jump through when it comes to setting up a practice or making big treatment decisions.

 

[cooliyak]

To add onto this, the head of the ADA, Dr. Joseph Crowley is also of this belief, so pre-dents should take note.

This has little to do with anything. First, because the ADA president’s opinion on something like this is irrelevant. Second, because he is not even president anymore.

 

[hellopeople]

I don't mind it at all. I'm enjoying school. Totally agree with likkriue. Don't see why it's crazy and dystopian to imagine a future where dentists aren't arbitrarily sectioned of from the other guys.

An ophthalmologist would consider it an insult if you talked about him the way some dentists talk about themselves, and it's not like his potential areas of speciality/subspecialty are any broader than the various dental disciplines.

The difference is that they don't bitch when they have to learn more background info, mostly just because that's the convention in their profession; they're expected to be MDs -> ophthalmologists.

But if you rewound history, it could well have just turned into a residency after optometry school or something.

"Don't talk to me about all that patellar reflex crap; I'm just an eye mechanic."

In the mean time, I'll enjoy the primary upside of our current peon status - the severely reduced regulation. My MD classmates have so many more hoops to jump through when it comes to setting up a practice or making big treatment decisions.

I do see what you're saying.
Although opthomology is much less similar to the job of a mechanic than general dentistry or most of the dental specialities.

Having them take classes together seems good from an efficiency standpoint. I kind of like it. Although every once in awhile the instructors would loop the discussion back around to dentistry, which was nice. You'd lose out on that aspect of the first two years I'm afraid.

 

[SmileItsLife]

I do see what you're saying.
Although opthomology is much less similar to the job of a mechanic than general dentistry or most of the dental specialities.

Having them take classes together seems good from an efficiency standpoint. I kind of like it. Although every once in awhile the instructors would loop the discussion back around to dentistry, which was nice. You'd lose out on that aspect of the first two years I'm afraid.

Esp with the integrated boards.... I think that looping and connecting the info in a clinical sense would be necessary

 

[PreDentToBe]

Most schools are year and a half or less now. No longer a full 2 years. My school is only 2/3 of the first year.

And in response to the poster saying you don’t wanna learn about leg and foot disease, it is not a bad idea to have a background on it so you can make the patient comfortable in the chair. Certain findings such as swollen ankles can mean heart failure which can impact heavily how you treat a patient. You might think that chances are the patient knows and it’s in the chart but cases of poorly controlled heart disease is common and you have to be vigilant. A complacent dentist is one that will end up with a lawsuit.
We are dental healthcare providers we obviously aren’t treating onychomycosis cases but it is our duty to refer to our physician colleagues when we see something abnormal. Just my 2 cents.

Yes! Oral health = overall health