Should Medicare offer dental coverage for millions of older or underserved Americans? This is the question currently under consideration before Congress.

According to Dr. Lisa Simon, physician, dentist, and educator at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard Medical School, the answer is a resounding yes.

Simon weighs in on the impact that such a dental benefit could have for millions of underserved Americans in a newly published commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine.... Read more about Making the Case for a Medicare Dental Benefit

On Saturday October 2, 2021, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) opened its doors to veterans for free dental care and consultations during the School’s first Give Veterans a Smile event.

Similar to HSDM’s annual Give Kids a Smile event, the event was organized by dental students with the goal of providing care to the community and addressing gaps in veterans’ access to oral healthcare. Over 30 predoctoral students volunteered for the event along with residents from AGE specialty programs, faculty, and Harvard Dental Center staff members. Veterans from several branches of...

The COVID-19 pandemic brought into focus the vulnerabilities of the health care system, as well as sparked conversations surrounding data, integration, and technology. During the fourth biannual Leadership Forum, which was hosted by Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine, experts in the fields of medicine, dentistry, academia, and business convened to discuss such topics and what integration would mean....

Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) have teamed up to address critical oral health challenges in the African region, worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project aims to build the capacity of primary care workers in oral health promotion, and oral disease prevention and control, to better address the unmet demand for oral health services and strengthen oral health care systems. The team will develop an online oral health training program that will leverage digital technologies... Read more about Strengthening Oral Health Care Systems in Africa: New Agreement Between HSDM and the WHO Will Address Critical Needs

Ashiana Jivraj, DMD21, jokes that she was born in a dental chair. Her mother worked through most of her pregnancy as a general dentist, and Jivraj spent most of her childhood being shuttled to and from the orthodontist’s office. While it would be easy to assume that for these reasons, Jivraj was destined for a career in dentistry, she actually credits a trip to India during her sophomore year of college with her decision to pursue a career in dentistry.

“I wound up working in a dental clinic and saw the immense challenge that the social determinants of...

Prior to his arrival at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) in 2017, you might have found William “Brennan” Arden, DMSc21, jumping out of helicopters, practicing dentistry on an oil tanker-sized hospital ship, or visiting the farthest corners of the globe to deliver humanitarian aid. As a military dentist with the United States Navy, Arden treated service members and organized humanitarian efforts in countries like Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Vietnam. At HSDM, he pursued an advanced degree in endodontics and served as...

For Kobie Gordon, MMSc21, the ability of dentists to transform lives by fixing smiles was a superpower he wanted to possess.

“There was a young girl in my neighborhood back home who was born with cleft lip and palate,” Gordon said. “Over the years, she received various dental treatments. By the time she got to university, one could hardly tell that she was born with a cleft lip and palate. Her self-esteem went through the roof. I was always impressed that dentistry was able to make such a profound impact on her life,” he said.

This May, when Gordon...

Laura Lin, DMD21, first became curious about dentistry when she overheard a classmate at Cornell University talk about how dentistry is the perfect combination of art and science. Intrigued by the concept, Lin embarked on her dental career with an open mind about where it would take her. She pursued shadowing opportunities at local dentist offices, establishing relationships with mentors who would guide her in the years to come. As she prepares to graduate from Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) in May, her...

In November of 2019, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) established its first Green Team and Sustainability Committee, bringing together students, faculty, and staff who were committed to exploring ways to make impactful changes to the School’s environmental footprint. The committee came together as a result of a Harvard Worldwide Week presentation by Dr. Donna Hackley, instructor in Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, which focused on the bi-directional relationship between environmental health and oral health through the lens of health equity. The committee focused on evaluating...

A Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) community outreach group recently received the Harvard Medical School (HMS) Dean’s Community Service Award for their work to provide better access to oral and systemic health care to the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (WTGH), as well as other underserved communities on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The Wampanoag Outreach Group Portable Clinic Project, spearheaded by HSDM students and faculty members Camille Herzog, DMD22, Natalie Wen, DMD22, Susanna Yeh, DMD23, Kristie Kaczmarek, DMD23, and Brian Swann, assistant professor of Oral Health Policy...

Smiles on the faces of patients and providers were still discernible even through layers of masks and PPE at Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s recent Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) event. The annual event, held each February during Children’s Dental Health Month, offers an opportunity for kids ages one to 17 to receive free dental care.

Stephanie, a mother who brought in four-year-old Ellie for her first appointment, watched as her daughter received care from dental students. “She was scared at first but now she’s all chatty. This is awesome!”... Read more about Give Kids a Smile Delivers Care at a Critical Time

In early December, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) welcomed United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral (VADM) Dr. Jerome M. Adams for a special virtual Oral Health Seminar Series event. VADM Adams was joined by Jane Barrow, associate dean of the Office of Global and Community Health, and executive director of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine, and HSDM Dean, William Giannobile.... Read more about U.S. Surgeon General Addresses the Importance of Oral Health and the Prominence of Social Determinants During a Recent HSDM Webinar