20+ dental education updates to know from Q1

From a new dental college in the works to industry collaborations, here are 22 dental education and dental school updates to know from the first quarter of 2026, as reported by Becker’s.

Note: This list is not exhaustive.

1. UT Health San Antonio received a $6.5M gift to support future pediatric-focused professionals in dentistry, medicine and nursing.
2. Eugene. Ore.-based Lane Community College officials proposed closing one of their dental clinics to help balance its budget.
3. PDS Health Technologies partnered with the University of the Pacific on an Epic deployment that will enhance medical-dental integration.
4. The West Virginia University School of Dentistry received $5 million in state funding to make improvements to its main student clinic.
5. Milwaukee-based Marquette School of Dentistry received a $2 million gift to establish its first endowed directorship.
6. Big Rapids, Mich.-based Ferris State University appointed Deborah Brown, DMD, to lead the development and launch of a dental therapy program.
7. Yeshiva University College of Dental Medicine in New York City plans to accept its first class of students later this year as part of its effort to fill workforce gaps and increase accessibility.
8. The University of Minnesota Boynton Health Dental Clinic in Minneapolis closed suddenly after more than a century of operation.
9. The Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland opened the first virtual reality lab for dental hygiene students in the U.S.
10. Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota requested $100 million in funding from the state to upgrade and expand its dental school.
11. A coalition of dental organizations called on the Department of Education to modify implementation dates for upcoming student loan changes.
12. El Paso-based Texas Tech Hunt School of Dental Medicine is launching an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program.
13. Philadelphia-based Temple University was granted approval to open a dental clinic in Tamaqua, Pa.
14. Michael Puffe was appointed the interim COO of the Georgia School of Orthodontics.
15. Kirksville, Mo.-based A.T. Still University of Health Sciences named Kneka Smith dean of its School of Dentistry & Oral Health.
16. Dental schools in the U.S. received more than $263.4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2025.
17. Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine appointed Denver Jenkins, DDS, as director of its advanced education in general dentistry program.
18. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association urged the Department of Education to reconsider proposed student loan caps for healthcare fields.
19. Tom Arkle, DDS, gave a $1.4 million donation to the West Virginia University School of Dentistry in Morgantown.
20. The Georgia School of Orthodontics named Mohamed Masoud, BDS, its new director of research.
21. Devinn Geeson, DDS, acquired three continuing education brands in the dental industry.
22. The University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry added the department of population oral health, its first new department in more than 30 years.

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