School of Dentistry clinics moving to a new home

This summer, the School of Dentistry will be making a historic move out of the Dentistry Pharmacy Centre.

29 June 2012

This summer, the School of Dentistry will be making a historic move out of the Dentistry Pharmacy Centre, a stately building in the heart of the University of Alberta campus that has been its 'home' for more than 90 years.

The U of A dentistry program began in 1917, when dental education was first instituted as a department of dentistry under the aegis of the Faculty of Medicine. The first full degree program was offered in 1923 and the first class graduated in 1927. When the dental school's first dean, Dr. H.E. Bulyea, came here from Harvard University in 1917, he patterned the curriculum after that of Harvard.

In 1961, a new dental auxiliary program was initiated and the year after, the program became the School of Dental Hygiene and a graduate studies program was added. It is now one of the top dental hygiene programs in Canada.

The University of Alberta had the only dental school in Western Canada until the founding of the dental school at the University of Manitoba in 1957.
The move to the modern, new Edmonton Clinic is another milestone in the long history of the School of Dentistry. These facilities will include new clinical, academic and research space, which will provide an enhanced learning environment for our students and better-equipped clinics for improved patient care.