Future perfect
The Faculty of Dentistry, like the dental profession, refuses to stand still. Here’s where we’re going in the coming years.
By Diane Peters
If you love vintage 1950s style and have fond memories of dental school, stop by 124 Edward St. for a nostalgic look at the retro vibes of Clinic 2, the Faculty’s largest clinic, which is always bustling with DDS students. Visit soon — perhaps at the Faculty’s 150th open house in May — as it won’t be this way for long.
In a year or so, the sledgehammers will be coming out to demolish the clinic and replace it with a $40-million updated space. The revitalized clinic will be renamed The Rossy Clinic, thanks to a $10-million donation from the Rossy Foundation, and will feature direct elevator access from the patient lobby, wheelchair-accessible treatment spaces, 15 fully enclosed operatories, radiology facilities and a more airy, modern look and feel.
“Infrastructure changes matter,” says Selina Esteves, director of advancement. “They matter because of the people. It’s never just about the building. It means we can serve more patients, we can improve our teaching and we can support patients in a more humanistic way.”
The Faculty already has a new simulation lab and upgraded lab spaces, so this change will take things even further toward modernization. Keeping up with what instructors, students and patients need is an ongoing task in dental academia. As the top dental faculty in the country and one of the highest ranked in the world, after 150 years, U of T Dentistry is still up for the challenge.
DIGITAL, DIGITAL, DIGITAL
Things are increasingly digitizing in a new Clinic 2, classrooms, specialty clinics and in research facilities across the Faculty.
Anil Kishen, professor and associate dean of graduate education, expects to see, beyond the now-accepted use of digital scans, 3D modelling and records in dentistry, growth in the use of augmented reality and dynamic navigation for surgery, as well as augmented reality for training new dentists. Artificial intelligence (AI) will increasingly help other digital tools function better, plus aid with treatment planning. AI’s role in research is already critical, but Kishen thinks that, as the quality of medical data increases, it will become even better at rapidly narrowing down candidates for valid biomarkers and effective drug targets.
“The cost is going to go down,” he says of all technologies, as uptake grows. For dental education, the challenge becomes deciding what to integrate into student clinics. Students still need hands-on learning, but they also need exposure to different devices and technologies to prepare them for their future workplaces. “We have to train them beyond the basics of digital scanning, so they can incorporate technology into the workflow of their day-to-day practice,” says Kishen.
Dental school must always prioritize the human side of the profession. “Digital technology and AI, they’re important, but they’re only tools. We’re treating patients,” says Jim Yuan Lai 0T0 MSc Perio, professor and vice dean of education. “At the end, it’s all about patient relationships and empathy, communication, professionalism. Digital technology will not replace that.”
PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
The future of dentistry and dental education looks like it will tilt more toward the “doctor” side of the Doctor of Dental Surgery. “This might be a controversial way of saying this, but dentistry is going to be less surgical,” says Lai. “The long-term future will be less cutting of gum tissue.”
Kishen expects minimally invasive dentistry to take off, with more products available to regenerate tissue and remineralize teeth, plus prevent problems such as caries. Dentists will become more family doctor–like in their approach, offering consultations around which products to use and how to get the most out of them — plus cleanings and screenings — and offering surgery only when needed.
Meanwhile, as Canada provides more public coverage for dentistry costs, Lai can see dental professionals becoming part of collaborative health teams.
Such shifts in health care will influence dental school curriculum, with top schools striving for that ideal balance between the aspects of medicine that impact oral health — the list grows longer every day — and those all-important hand and surgical skills that will always matter. “In the end, with dental education, we are going to have to be creative,” says Lai.
There will be other pressures on education, including the need to further expand students’ understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion, says Lai, and that may necessitate fully integrating community-based care into clinical education at dental schools.
STAYING THE BEST
The Faculty of Dentistry’s leadership team understands that to stay a top school, you must understand the past — all 150 years of it — and always keep a clear eye on the future.
Lai is passionate about maintaining a balanced education experience, which is why he’s tracking how many implants DDS students perform at the Faculty. “I think we’re the only program in Canada that has such a robust implant curriculum,” he says, noting that restorative dentistry will continue to play a huge role in the future of the profession.
Tracking excellence is a key way to future-proof dental education. Scrutinizing curriculum — including hand skills, didactic knowledge, professionalism and communication — and how it translates into success in practice is one of the Faculty’s strongest assets.
Prospective students are already getting the message, with 978 applicants last year for a mere 96 spots. Dentistry has been seeing those numbers grow, year after year, with 591 students applying for the DDS in 2019. “Our pool of candidates is amazing,” says Lai. Graduate programs also see robust interest.
To keep those talented new students happy, and to make sure graduates are ready for the increasingly tech-driven, health-focused and integrated profession of dentistry, the Faculty will have to keep thinking big. It’ll need funding, either from public sources, or philanthropists passionate about oral health and education. “We’re a strong school,” says Lai. “It’s so much easier to expand and stay on top of things when we have a strong foundation.”
Top photo: Concept rendering of an updated Clinic 2 lobby (courtesy of Montgomery Sisam Architects)
Interested in more stories? Read the PDF edition of the U of T Dentistry Magazine Winter/Spring 2025 Issue