School of Dental Medicine

The UNLV School of Dental Medicine (SDM), which accepted its inaugural class in August of 2002, has been designed to serve our local community and the state of Nevada in oral health care, health services, research and scholarly activities. This program awards a Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.). The UNLV SDM education program is a four year academic program consisting of eleven (11) full semesters, and approximately 5,000 contact hours. In 2017, SDM began accepting students in the program for graduates of non-U.S. accredited dental schools with an award of Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree. degree is a two-year (6-semester) advanced standing program for dentists who graduated from non-U.S. accredited dental schools. It enables dentists who were trained in non-U.S. accredited institutions to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to practice in the United States. Education of dental students will be accomplished through a competency based curriculum with a special emphasis on biomedical sciences, professional studies and an innovative vertically integrated team approach for clinical instruction and delivery of patient care. The School of Dental Medicine is recruiting and employing a diverse and distinguished faculty to facilitate the program. The competency-based education program has at its core a student and patient centered environment designed to maximize learning and patient care delivery. Beginning dentists will be exposed to in-depth studies of biological and clinical sciences as well as biomedical and bio-ethical disciplines. Students will encounter a broad spectrum of clinical experiences to prepare them for entry into the profession. These experiences will begin in year one of the curriculum, and clinical responsibilities will expand in scope and depth throughout the four years. During year four, students will have the opportunity to select placement in a variety of clinically supervised community settings. They will also have extensive exposure to business and financial management designed to meet the challenges of dental practice. Furthermore, they will be introduced to principles of research, will have an opportunity to conduct independent research and will be encouraged to pursue scholarly activities with the possibility of creating a career in academic dentistry. Training will occur in state of the art facilities designed to achieve the goals of the dental academic program. Today’s dental professional needs a learning environment that offers interaction with other medical professionals and facilitates diagnosis and treatment to improve the patient’s overall health. The dental school is adopting this new reality and keeping it at the forefront as it designs the teaching facility at the UNLV Shadow Lane campus. The building is part of a regional campus that is expected to house the UNLV Academic Health Center, the UNLV School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and other UNLV Health Professions. Students will have access to the latest technology with other health care professionals in diagnosing disease and treating patients. By the time of graduation, students will be competent and confident to begin a rewarding career as a provider of comprehensive oral health care. 

Karen P. West, D.M.D., Dean, School of Dental Medicine
William D. Davenport, Jr., Ph.D., Executive Associate Dean
Christine C. Ancajas, D.D.S., Assistant Dean for Admission and Student Affairs
Christopher Kypuros, Ph.D., Director of Financial Aid & Scholarship and Academic Endeavors
Marcia M. Ditmyer,William D. Davenport, Jr., Ph.D., M.B.A., AssistantAssociate Dean for Academic Affairs, Assessment, and Instruction
Ronald R. Lemon, D.M.D., Associate Dean, Advanced Education
Jeffrey Ebersole, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research
Judith Skelton, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Outreach and Engagement
Rick B. Thiriot, D.D.S., Co-Associate Dean for Clinical Services
Robin Reinke, D.D.S. Assistant Dean for Clinical Services
James Mah, DMSc, Graduate Co-coordinator
Bryan Chrzan, Ph.D., Graduate Co-coordinator

School Information 

School of Dental Medicine Faculty  

School of Dental Medicine Courses  

School of Dental Medicine website

 Plans 

Master of Science - Oral Biology  

Master Public Health - Dental Fast Tracks  

Dual Degree: Master of Business Administration & Doctor of Dental Medicine  

Doctor of Dental Medicine (This program is accredited by: CODA. More information can be found at: unlv.edu/provost/vpaa/accreditation)

Doctor of Dental Surgery