School History
Dental education was instituted at the University of Alberta in 1917 in the School of Dentistry under the Faculty of Medicine. The first full degree program was offered in 1923 and the first class graduated in 1927. When the school’s first dean, Dr. H.E. Bulyea, came here from Harvard University in 1917, he patterned this school’s curriculum after that of Harvard.
The school became the Faculty of Dentistry in 1944, and until 1958, this was the only dental school in Western Canada. The U of A dental faculty trained practitioners for all the western provinces to promote dental health in the community and schools. They conducted research into the prevention of dental diseases, which led to the fluoridation of water in Edmonton.
In the 1960s, the dental hygiene diploma program was created through agreements and multi-province collaboration between dental hygiene associations, community leaders and the government. Ms. Margaret Berry MacLean was the program's first director. The bachelor of science in dental hygiene program began in 2000.
In 1996, the faculty of dentistry merged with the faculty of medicine to become the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, which has achieved national and international prominence for the high quality of its teaching, research and clinical programs.
The newest undergraduate program at the school came in 2024 - the dental assisting program.
100 Years of Dentistry
In 2017, the school celebrated its 100 anniversary.
