This hundred-year history shares the turbulent story of dentistry, a medical field in the making. It recounts the institutional battles and research controversies that set the terms for the development and practice of dentistry. The assimilation of the dental school into the university system was not smooth. Rivalries played out in public and in private; traditionalists fought the inclusion of a young and evolving medical approach. Once the school found its footing, the College of Dental Medicine developed rapidly, and by the end of the twentieth century, had successfully launched a series of global outreach programs that immeasurably helped impoverished and underserved communities worldwide. The school's work now includes transitioning the field into the digital age and effecting even greater change in the lives of those without access to high-quality dental care. Featuring fascinating biographical details of the school's major teachers, administrators, and graduates, this book secures the reputation of Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine as a global leader in advancing the public good.

Author Information

Allan J. Formicola DDS, MS is dean emeritus of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. Subsequent to his appointment as dean, he established the Center for Community Health Partnership at Columbia University, which merged with the Center for Family Medicine. He is the coauthor, with Lourdes Hernandez-Cordero, of Mobilizing the Community for Better Health: What the Rest of America Can Learn from Northern Manhattan (Columbia, 2010).