Points of Pride

We are the state’s only dental school and the only dental school in the norther tier of states between Wisconsin and the Pacific Northwest. We are a regional resource to five states for dental education, consulting services, patient treatment and continuing dental education.

We educate dentists, dental specialists, dental therapists, dental hygienists, dental educators and research-scientists. We offer advanced degree programs in seven ADA-recognized specialties: endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics and TMD and orofacial pain. We educate scholars in oral biology, dental hygiene and oral health for older adults. Dentists from other countries who wish to practice in the United States matriculate through our Program for Advanced Standing Students. Learners have the option to pursue a Masters in Public Health or a PhD alongside their DDS degree.

We are the only dental hygiene program in the state associated with a dental school. Offering programs at the baccalaureate and master of science level, our integrated program prepares oral health professionals to collaborate from their first day in the profession.

We became the first dental school in the nation to educate dental therapists in 2009. Dental therapists perform basic preventative services, drill and restore teeth for children and adults and remove primary teeth under the supervision of a licensed dentist. As of 2024, we have graduated 98 dental therapists from the program.

Our work affects virtually every person in Minnesota. We educate approximately 73% of the state’s practicing dentists, 68% of licensed dental therapists, and 49% of dental hygiene educators. Our researchers develop and test restorative materials used by dentists around the world. In Fiscal Year 2024, we provided more than 96,000 patient visits in our campus clinics, and an additional 16,894 at outreach sites in underserved communities throughout the state. We provide continuing dental education for approximately 71,000 practicing dental professionals each year.

We operate four floors of dental clinics in Moos Tower, with 377 operatories. We staff the University of Minnesota Pediatric Dental Clinic, Made Possible by Delta Dental Foundation, for children and adults with special health care needs.

Our community outreach programs are an integral part of our education and service. Students spend six to eight weeks in these community service-learning experiences. The school has 21 outreach sites, including:

• four Twin Cities metro area sites (Native American Community Clinic, North Point Health & Wellness,
• People’s Center Clinic & Services, Ready Set Smile)
• four Indian Health Services & Tribal clinics (Cass Lake, Cloquet, Red Lake, Ogema)
• three clinics in South Dakota (Howard, De Smet, Martin)
• one clinic in North Dakota (Grand Forks)
• in Cook, Faribault, Fergus Falls, Grand Marais, Moorhead, Mounds View and Willmar, MN
• at the Hibbing Community College Dental Clinic
• and on the Mobile Dental Clinic that travels to 15 locations throughout the state

Our students are professional leaders. First in the nation to become full members of their state professional association, our students take part in the Minnesota Dental Association’s 8th District Dental Society. They participate on association committees and the District’s Board of Trustees. They also have voting privileges at the MDA House of Delegates.

Our accomplished graduates include the co-inventor of the Sonicare toothbrush, the first licensed dental therapist in Maine, past members of congress, three American Dental Association presidents and deans of schools as far away as Dubai and China.

We are a research leader in virology, biomaterials, the mechanisms of pain and bone development and the relationship between oral and overall health. Our researchers discovered a “molecular motor” that provides clues to the ways viruses assemble and infect new cells. Our Minnesota Dental Research Center for Biomaterials and Biomechanics developed ART, a mechanical mouth capable of duplicating the effects of one year of chewing in a single day. ART is used to develop and test dental materials and study the impact of various foods on teeth, and it was displayed at the Smithsonian. Our Orofacial MRI Center, established in 2024, is the site of the first dental-dedicated MRI in the United States, and just the second worldwide. Studies at the center will revolutionize imaging, care, research and education.

We are leading the way in digital dentistry. From investing in cone beam CT technology to renovating our Advanced Simulation Clinic to prepare the next generation of oral health professionals in the latest technological advances, we are making digital dentistry a priority.

We have received top honors. The school is a four-time recipient of the Gies Award for Vision from the American Dental Education Association. Our collaboration with 3M and Sumita Mitra resulted in her receipt of a European Inventor Award in 2021. Our researchers receive dozens of funded grants from National institutes each year to support their studies. We are home to an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Oral Medicine, leaders of several specialty associations, the author of the second-most cited article in dentistry in 2020 and more.