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By Stacie Crozier

Protecting the integrity of dental education will also protect the oral health of the public, said Dr. Richard Haught, co-chair of "Dental Education: Our Legacy—Our Future."

"The tremendous strides we've made in oral health status and dental care in the United States are a direct result of our dental education system," said Dr. Haught. "From private practitioners, to dental educators and administrators, to public health dentists to researchers—every one of those groups would not be where they are today without a strong dental education system."

Our Legacy—Our Future, a nationwide collaborative initiative to boost awareness of the challenges facing dental education, will help dental schools and stakeholders continue to make strides in improving the oral health of the public through quality dental education for dentists and dental team members and continued emphasis on research and access to care, he said.

"The dental profession's continuing service to society is safeguarded by academic dental institutions that recruit, educate and develop the future members of the profession: practitioners, educators, researchers, administrators and the organized dentistry's leaders," said Dr. Richard W. Valachovic, executive director, American Dental Education Association.

"Through teaching, academic dental institutions have ensured a competent workforce. Through research, academic dental institutions translate science into practice. Patient care is a distinct mission of academic dental institutions. Community-based dental education has be­ come a major focus of dental schools, energized by funding initiatives such as the Robert Wood Johnson Pipeline Project. Dental schools have and continue to play the primary role as the nation's safety net for underserved populations."

Change and innovation in dental education must be responsive to evolving societal needs, practice patterns, scientific developments and economic conditions, added Dr. Valachovic.

"Academic dental institutions must prepare students to enter the practice of dentistry as professionals, informed citizens and enlightened leaders in a changing health care system," he said.

"Academic dentistry is strong, a critical partner in supplying health care professionals for the nation's workforce and a real value to parent institutions," said Dr. Valachovic. "Yet, academic dental institutions face a number of significant challenges."

Those challenges, he said include financing of dental education and growing levels of student debt as well as the approximately 400 vacant budgeted faculty positions in U.S. dental schools.

"Student debt has a significant impact on students' career choices and practice locations. Without faculty, there simply is no dental education and therefore no dentists. These challenges are occurring at a time during which higher education in general is being forced to pursue new and innovative ways of funding to remain vital."

The most serious issue facing health care today, including oral health care, is providing care for an increasing population of unserved, underserved and uninsured patients who lack access to oral health care and as health care costs rise, Dr. Valachovic said.

"Not only do our dental students continue to serve a growing percentage of the underserved, their experience in access to care immerses them in a culture that teaches them how to be charitable," said Dr. Haught. "Dentistry and dental education have always risen to the occasion to help the underserved in our public and will continue to do so in the future."

Log on to www.ourlegacyourfuture.org  for more details.