LLU

Loma Linda University School of Dentistry -- From Dream to Reality

Charles J. Goodacre, DDS, MSD

Copyright 2002 Journal of the California Dental Association.

Author
Charles J. Goodacre, DDS, MSD, is dean of the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry.

In 1953, the Seventh-day Adventist Church established Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in response to a need. Seventh-day Adventist dentists from across the country, who had attended many prestigious universities, dreamed of establishing a dental school that scheduled no classes or academic requirements on Friday night or Saturday, our day of worship. The founders also envisioned a curriculum openly incorporating spiritual values into the educational program. Over the years, students and faculty of many faiths have found the mission of Loma Linda University to be compatible with their beliefs and lifestyles. Currently, 27 nationalities and 28 religious faiths are represented in the student body. Approximately 50 percent of the faculty are Seventh-day Adventists and 50 percent come from other faiths. This diversity enhances our programs and strengthens our values.

The educational process at Loma Linda’s dental school has always included a special focus on spiritual values, religion, and the behavioral sciences. Therefore, when highlighting the characteristics of the School of Dentistry, these components of the curriculum serve as an appropriate beginning.

Spiritual Values, Religion, Behavioral Sciences

Courses in this aspect of the curriculum include the heritage of the Adventist church and its focus upon health, personal development, ethics, personal and family wholeness, the art of integrative care, interpersonal relationships, and community leadership. The personal development course includes developing communication skills, managing stress, marriage and family relationships, financial management, and substance abuse prevention and management. A foundational ethics course in the first year explores the central values that undergird the practice of dentistry, and a Web-based ethics course is in the process of being developed for predoctoral students in their clinical years. The University’s Faculty of Religion and Center for Bioethics provide strong curricular support and develop practical applications of ethical principles. Formal coursework is supplemented by multiple opportunities whereby students can apply their coursework through experiential activities.

In addition, an objective structured clinical examination has been developed that utilizes standardized patients to evaluate students during phone conversations and personal interactions. The standardized patients evaluate communication skills, the student’s preparation for the clinical appointment, and interactions occurring during the measurement of vital signs and completion of the medical history.

Service Learning

Local Community Service

In 1955, two years after the School of Dentistry opened, a program of off-campus community service was initiated in the community of Mecca, Calif., near Indio, using mobile dental equipment. In 1998, a permanent clinical facility opened in the Saul Martinez Elementary School in Mecca; and over the past four years, School of Dentistry students at this clinic have provided approximately 2,500 children with dental care.

In 1966, the school established its first permanent facility at Monument Valley, Utah. This clinic served the needs of Native Americans for the ensuing 30 years. More than 43,000 patients received dental care that otherwise would not have been available.

In addition to the elementary school in Mecca, the School of Dentistry currently provides dental care at two other local elementary schools as well as in two volunteer clinics. Local service activity will be expanded this year through the addition of a new mobile dental clinic.

International Service at LLU

International service has also been a long-standing tradition of the School of Dentistry. In 1961, an alumnus from the dental class of 1957 went to Seoul, Korea, as the first missionary from the dental school. In 1964, a new graduate became the second missionary by traveling to Blantyre, Malawi, and establishing a dental clinic. These alumni engaged in long-term mission service. The School of Dentistry in conjunction with the Seventh-day Adventist Church currently operates and manages more than 70 mission dental clinics throughout the world. Many Loma Linda students have the opportunity to work in some of these clinics. More than 260 graduates of the School of Dentistry have served in one or more of the overseas mission clinics.

In 1958, the school started a summer student outreach program in Chiapas, Mexico, and it has grown to encompass many parts of the world. In 2000, 11 summer experiences were provided to 11 countries -- Armenia, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Belize, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Korea, and Thailand/Burma. Students and faculty participated in service trips. In 2001, there were 12 international service learning trips to Africa, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belize, Costa Rica, Fiji, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Peru, and the Ukraine involving 70 students and 17 faculty.

Faculty Development

The initial faculty for the School of Dentistry were recruited using a relatively unique model. Drs. M. Webster Prince (first dean of the School of Dentistry), Claudis Ray, Al Burns, and others traveled throughout the United States in search of successful, experienced Seventh-day Adventist practitioners who were willing to make a commitment to a career in dental education. The School of Dentistry provided advanced education for these practitioners at multiple dental schools where special expertise was available in the various dental disciplines. After completing graduate training, these recruits became the original faculty of the School of Dentistry.

This tradition of developing faculty through educational and professional growth opportunities has been sustained. During the 50 years of Loma Linda’s existence, the School of Dentistry has educated 106 faculty. Sixty-one of these recruits received their advanced training at other universities and 45 at Loma Linda University. Twenty-nine of our current full-time faculty were educated through this system, 15 of them within the past 10 years.

The Alumni Association provides the school with substantial financial support for the specific purpose of reducing or eliminating the indebtedness of young faculty who are making a commitment to a career in academic dentistry. Young faculty are provided with up to $20,000 per year for five years to help pay off educational loans.

Clinical Education and Patient Care

Since the original faculty were experienced practitioners who then made a commitment to dental education, substantial clinical patient treatment experience has always been one of the means by which student competence is achieved.

The School of Dentistry maintains an active program of patient care in which an average of 750 patients is seen each day. However, numbers of patients and numbers of experiences do not represent a complete education. In addition to multiple clinical competency examinations, patient perceptions regarding the care they receive is important. A patient survey taken in 2001 indicates that more than 70 percent of the patients "strongly agreed" with statements indicating their student dentist or hygienist was caring, honest, polite, cheerful, and sought to produce excellent dental work. Another 20 percent "agreed" with these statements. A total of 94 percent of patients "strongly agreed" or "agreed" with the following statement: "I would trust my student dentist or hygienist to treat another member of my family."

Treating the whole person is the most important aspect of dental care, and the School of Dentistry sees this data as evidence that students have captured this vision.

Implant Dentistry

Loma Linda University became the first School of Dentistry to offer advanced education in the discipline of implant dentistry. Dr. Robert James started this program in 1976. The first students observed and assisted Dr. James as he placed implants.

Subsequently, the program transitioned to a three-year master’s degree program in which students learn both the prosthodontic and surgical aspects of care, including advanced surgical procedures. Up to three students are accepted into this program each year. During the past 10 years, faculty and students from this program have contributed substantially to the profession through research, publications, presentations, and the development of new clinical procedures that have enhanced the quality of life for patients.

Dental Anesthesiology

In 1976, the Schools of Dentistry and Medicine at Loma Linda University jointly sponsored Health Manpower Pilot Project #110. This legislation provided for the training of dentists in anesthesiology and their subsequent employment in academic medical institutions. In 1978, two School of Dentistry faculty members (Drs. David Anderson and Russell Scheult) completed a 24-month residency training program in medical anesthesiology. Their training, along with the subsequent training of Dr. John Leyman, led to the establishment of a Department of Dental Anesthesiology and the development of a graduate program in Dental Anesthesiology, which opened in 1984. Forty-four dentists have been trained thus far, and eight are currently enrolled. It is the largest program in the country training dentist anesthesiologists.

Information Technology

In 1985, the School of Dentistry developed and implemented a computer program to more effectively monitor student clinical progress, clinical experience, and patient finances. In 1999, a commercially produced program replaced the initial program developed by the school.

The first "on-line" continuing education program was offered in 1998. In addition, for the past two years, the third-year course in implant dentistry has been based upon a CD-ROM program developed at the School of Dentistry. This year, the CD-ROM will be made available to all dental students, advanced education students, and full-time faculty throughout North America at no charge through an educational grant from Nobel Biocare. Additional CD-ROM programs have also been developed -- The Principles of Tooth Preparation and a four-part financial management series. Other programs are in the developmental stages. Online courses are currently used in biochemistry, nutrition, caries management, and orthodontics.

The Department of Orthodontics began the process of transitioning to a paperless, digital clinic in 1998. The modules of clinic management and diagnostic records were completed in 2001. This year, the final phase of patient charting will be completed. In 2001, the first NewTom 9000 unit to be installed in a dental school was placed in the Department of Orthodontics for the purpose of volumetric imaging. With this unit, it is possible to obtain more dimensional information about the orofacial complex with lower doses of radiation than is currently available through other technologies.

The school is committed to an ongoing program of developing and analyzing a variety of electronic tools for providing education. The goal is to develop an electronic core curriculum that will make available curriculum time less focused on information dissemination and more focused on subject mastery.

Motto, Vision, and Mission

The School of Dentistry’s motto, vision, and mission statements guide our educational focus and direct our plans for the future.

Motto

"Service is our calling."

Vision

A vision statement is about the best that an organization can imagine becoming at some point in the future. Although it is about the future, the most powerful visions are written in the present tense as though we are standing at that point in the future describing what we have become. It is in this sense that the School of Dentistry developed its Vision 2005.

* LLUSD is a pre-eminent health care organization seeking to represent God in all we do. We are enthusiastically committed to excellent, innovative, comprehensive education of students and whole-person care of our patients.

* Our students, staff, and faculty are empowered through an enabling environment that honors the dignity, diversity, and worth of everyone.

* Our graduates are exemplary professionals and progressive clinicians of integrity.

* Our Lord’s example inspires us to enrich our local and global communities through service. This is our calling.

Mission

A mission statement serves as the pathway to the vision describing what the organization intends to become, whom it is here to serve, and how it intends to serve.

LLUSD seeks to further the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ wherein:

* Students learn to provide high quality oral health care, based on sound biologic principles.

* Patients receive competent care, which is preventive in purpose and comprehensive in scope, provided with compassion and respect.

* Faculty, students and staff value the patient relationship, respect diversity and share responsibility by working together toward academic, professional, spiritual, and personal growth.

* Scholarly activity and research provide a foundation for evidence-based learning and enhance whole-person care.

* The workplace environment attracts and retains a superior and diverse faculty and staff who motivate, educate, and serve.

* Our communities -- local, global, and professional -- benefit from our service, stewardship, and commitment to lifelong learning.

As Loma Linda University School of Dentistry charts its course for the future, we will endeavor to have our aspirations and accomplishments exceed our limitations.