Celebrating Professional Rebirth: The 2026 IDAPP White Coat Ceremony
The Faculty welcomed international dentists embarking on their U of T Dentistry studies
By Diane Peters
Last summer, Alina Haider went back to Pakistan for a visit. While there, she bought a necklace with a phoenix charm. “I wear it everywhere. I feel like this symbolizes that I'm going to be reborn as a medical professional in Canada.”
She wore it on January 5 during the White Coat Ceremony as she began the International Dentist Advanced Placement Program (IDAPP) at the Faculty of Dentistry.
“For me, this ceremony means rebirth,” says Haider, who first graduated from dental school in Lahore in 2013, and then specialized as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. In 2024, she and her lawyer husband wanted a different life for their young daughter, so they moved to Toronto.
Their daughter, now age five, loves her new life with loyal friends, a school she adores and an affinity for cold weather. “Our first winter in Canada, I would go out and I'd be freezing, and she'd be making snow angels.”
And while this new life has been more of a challenge for Haider, who took a year to find a job in Canada while her husband started retraining at Osgoode Law School at York University, her time has now come.
IDAPP is a special, six-month preparatory program for graduates of non-accredited dental programs. It begins every January and at the completion of the program, successful students are admitted directly into the third year of the DDS.
The White Coat Ceremony sees these 24 new students promising to “provide ethical and considerate health care, always putting the patient first,” and celebrating their next chapter. (Incoming DDS students take part in a ceremony, too, but theirs happens every fall.)
“The IDAPP program exists because we recognize that excellence in dentistry transcends borders, but professionalism must be grounded in shared values, ethical responsibility and deep commitment to patients,” dean Anil Kishen said at the ceremony.
“As an international trained dentist myself, I know firsthand that transitioning into a new healthcare education system is both humbling and transformative. In many ways, the journey mirrors the very essence of professionalism reflected in the oath of commitment you will recite today — the understanding that dentistry is not merely a technical skill, but a privilege entrusted to us and that carries profound responsibility.”
Also present at the event were Daniel Faulkner, registrar and CEO with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and David Brown, president of the Ontario Dental Association. Joel Rosenbloom, assistant professor, teaching steam and director of student life hosted the event, which also featured Riva Black, assistant professor, teaching stream and director of IDAPP.
The new IDAPP students, including Haider, are now embarking on their first weeks of classes, which cover topics such as pharmacology and restorative dentistry. Those who join DDS3 after completion will then take advanced courses and do clinical rotations, graduating as part of the class of 2028.
For Haider, who misses dentistry, treating patients again is a goal, no matter what form it takes. “It’s all about changing people’s smiles and improving their quality of life. I call it ‘smile empowerment,’” she says.
She thinks either general dentistry or treating patients as a specialist can offer this kind of transformation. As she looks ahead to finally being reborn as a licensed dentist in Canada, hopefully in two-and-a-half years, she may or may not continue her education to specialize again.
“If I work as a general dentist here, I would be really grateful. I'd be really happy.”
See more photos from the IDAPP White Coat Ceremony
Top photo: IDAPP Class of 2026 (Jeff Comber)