VCU School of Dentistry

The VCU School of Dentistry, located at 520 N 12th St, Richmond, VA 23298, is the sole dental school in Virginia and a cornerstone of oral healthcare, education, and research in the Commonwealth. Founded in 1893, it operates under the accreditation standards of the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, ensuring high-quality programs. As a comprehensive academic health sciences center, VCU School of Dentistry provides a wide array of dental services through various clinics: Student Clinic: Offers preventative and restorative dental care performed by third and fourth-year dental and dental hygiene students, supervised by experienced faculty. This provides affordable care while aligning with the educational objectives of the students. Specialty Clinics: Caters to advanced or specialized needs, staffed by dentists undergoing specialized training and their faculty mentors. This provides a full scope of specialized care under one roof, including but not limited to orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, pediatric dentistry, and oral and maxillofacial surgery. Faculty Practice: Staffed by full-time faculty members, offering all types of care from pediatric dentistry to oral and facial surgery in a recently renovated setting. The School of Dentistry is committed to excellence in patient care, offering over 100,000 patient visits annually to more than 32,000 patients. Services encompass general dentistry (cleanings, fillings, dentures, implants, crowns, bridges, veneers, teeth whitening), oral and facial surgery (extractions, wisdom tooth removal, implants, orthognathic surgery, facial trauma, tumor treatment, laser surgery, cosmetic surgery), and specialized care. They also provide urgent care for emergency situations. Beyond patient care, VCU School of Dentistry is a prominent institution for dental education, offering: Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) program: A four-year post-college program emphasizing basic, clinical, and social sciences. Dental Hygiene program: One of only two B.S. in Dental Hygiene programs in Virginia, and the only one that trains students alongside D.D.S. counterparts. Advanced Education Programs: Including Master of Science in Dentistry (M.S.D.) and certificates in various specialties like Prosthodontics, Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, and Periodontics. International Dentist Program (IDP): An accelerated program for foreign-trained dentists to earn a D.D.S. degree in the U.S. Graduate Research Programs: For students pursuing research in oral health or biomedical sciences, including Ph.D. and M.S. programs. Pre-dental programs: Pipeline and outreach initiatives for students interested in dental careers. The school is a powerhouse of oral health research, with most research conducted at the Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, focusing on cancer, infectious diseases, and tissue regeneration. It consistently ranks among public dental schools in National Institutes of Health research funding. Community involvement is a core value, with students and faculty participating in various outreach initiatives, including Missions of Mercy projects with the Virginia Dental Association, providing free dental care to underserved populations, and offering oral health education in the Greater Richmond area. VCU School of Dentistry prides itself on a "Culture of Care," emphasizing compassion, accessibility, respect, and excellence in all its endeavors.