Oral Health in Medical Studies are few and far between... But not at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine!

  Did you know that The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is one of the few medical schools that incorporates oral health into its instruction? Thanks in large part to a $1 million endowment made possible by a gift from the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation and a vision of Dr. Charles (Bud) Conklin- Director Emeritus of Carilion Clinic Hospital Dentistry- a comprehensive oral health curriculum is a major component of the education received by students at the VTC School of Medicine.

Dr. Conklin, (2015 winner of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Manuel M. Album Award for the individual that has made the greatest contribution to the oral health of children with special needs) started one of the first community-based hospital dental programs in the country in 1980 at Carilion in Roanoke, VA.  Working daily with his fellow colleague physicians in Heme-Onc and Cardiology, it was only natural for him to start thinking about the need for more oral health education in medical school curriculum.  When Virginia Tech Carilion was slated to accept their first class, he and other forward thinkers were already planning and making an oral health curriculum happen.  This curriculum encompasses all four years of the students’ education.  They are exposed to real cases and also receive didactic instruction. 

I am proud to say I am now part of this education process with our much beloved leader here at Carilion/VTCSOM- Dr. Conklin.  We will be teaching the M1 students on April 8 as this will be their start to the oral health curriculum.  We will be joined by our GPR residents, our attending Prosthodontist, Dr. Natalie Powell as well as Hospital Dentistry Attending, Dr. Brandon White.  We will even get a glimpse of our own Pediatric Anesthesiologist (and my good friend) Dr. Emily Knipper and her little girl as the students learn what the primary dention normally looks like.  We are very excited about teaching our future colleagues about what we do in Dentistry and know it will pave a future for easier and more meaningful collaborations.