We are the first, largest and most comprehensive dental school in Canada – the only one to offer all 10 dental specialties for at least 50 years.

We celebrate over 145 years of training brilliant dentists and scientists and improving healthcare across the world. 

Our greatest strength is our people: we attract excellent Faculty, staff and students whose combined clinical, academic and scientific work consistently places us as one of the top dental schools in Canada and in the top 40 worldwide.

We take great pride in our alumni who continue to teach here or in other institutions; break boundaries in research; and further the dental profession by providing the best possible care for their patients and communities.

We are driven by our vision to improve health by advancing dentistry through inspired leadership, innovation, and excellence in:

• education;
• research; and 
• clinical practice. 

Every year, students at the Faculty of Dentistry clinics welcome over 15,000 patients through 90,000 patient visits, a significant number of whom are disadvantaged and cannot afford the costs of private care.

While our costs are dramatically lower than that of private practice, students provide our communities with world-class care under the supervision of licensed and seasoned instructors. 

Beyond the clinics and classrooms, our students engage extracurricular work, engage in philanthropy raising money and giving back to our community.

Meanwhile, our researchers serve the global community through pioneering ground-breaking advances crossing boundaries between oral and overall health, such as: 

• stronger, “smarter” fillings 
• advances in nanotechnology and wound healing
• cardiovascular testing 
• advances in dental implants and stem cell therapies 
• cancer diagnosis and treatment
• pain management research. 

Our vision

We improve health by advancing dentistry through inspired leadership, innovation, and excellence in education, research and practice.

Our mission

We shape the future of dentistry and promote optimal health by:

• Preparing the next generation of clinicians, scientists, educators, and leaders in the profession
• Conducting high-impact research
• Establishing partnerships and networks locally, nationally, and internationally to translate research knowledge into practice and policy
• Promoting comprehensive and patient-centred care from disease prevention to management
• Developing and supporting evidence-informed policies to advance and advocate for the needs of society

Our values

We are guided by the following values:

• Excellence in achieving the highest standards of scholarship, critical thinking, professionalism, clinical practice and outcomes
• Ethicality encompassing integrity in practice and behaviour
• Respect for diverse ideas, rights, beliefs and perspectives of all students, patients, staff and faculty
• Compassion in patient care
• Collaboration across disciplines and professions, with internal and external partners
• Accountability by fairness and transparency in all of our activities
• Social responsibility in meeting the oral health needs of disadvantaged populations and serving the needs of our communities

Our people – their awards

We are very proud of our faculty, staff and alumni and their achievements. Here are some of the major awards they have earned. 

Order of Canada 

• John B. MacDonald (Officer)
• Dennis Smith (Officer)
• Jack Gerrow (Member)
• Tom Harle (Member)
• Norman Levine (Member)
• Bryan E. Walls (Member)
• Donald Woodside (Member)
• George Zarb (Member)

Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

• Barry Sessle
• Dennis Smith

IADR Gold Medal

• Barry Sessle

IADR Distinguished Scientist Award

• Christopher McCulloch
• Daniel Haas
• Anders Bennick
• Jaro Sodek
• David Locker
• Jane Aubin
• Dennis Smith
• Barry Sessle

Governor General’s Innovation Award

• Paul Santerre

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