The state’s first dental school officially has its first class, nearly half of whom are from Arkansas.
The Lyon College School of Dental Medicine’s inaugural class of 80 includes students from 17 states — 43% from Arkansas and another 33% from border states — and more than 60% bring prior dental-clinic work experience, according to the college. The group includes 17 first-generation college students and three active-duty U.S. Army members; the average cumulative GPA is 3.5, with an average Dental Admission Test (DAT) score of 19, matching the national average.
“This is a historic moment for Lyon College and for the state,” said Dr. Burke Soffe, founding dean of the dental school. “We are excited to welcome our first cohort of students, who will help shape the future of oral health care in Arkansas and beyond, (and) we’ve intentionally built a dynamic class of student leaders who are passionate about improving oral health in their communities.”
The dental school, located in Riverfront Plaza in Little Rock’s Riverdale neighborhood, features contemporary facilities designed to provide both exceptional education and community care, as the seven-floor renovation project included classrooms, a simulation clinic, and a 100-chair patient care clinic, according to Carol Langston, Lyon’s director of communications. This clinic will provide comprehensive dental services to the public while offering students hands-on clinical experience.
Classes officially begin July 7, she added. Orientation — including a welcome with a bagpipe reception — starts Monday.
Lyon College, located in Batesville, is collaborating with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on the dental school, joining forces where practicable and identifying opportunities for joint teaching, research, graduate education, and professional development that benefit students and faculty, under a memorandum of understanding announced in 2022. The college is also partnering with the Arkansas Department of Health and Arkansas Oral Health Coalition to increase awareness of oral health in Arkansas.
Arkansas ranks last in the nation in overall oral health, a quarter of the state’s counties are designated as health professional shortage areas, and 60% of Arkansas children have experienced dental decay, according to Lyon. Arkansas has been the only state with more than 2.5 million people without a dental school.
The Lyon College Faculty Assembly and Board of Trustees approved proposals to develop dental and veterinary schools in March 2022; later that year, the Higher Learning Commission Institutional Actions Council approved the college’s requests to offer the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Doctor of Medical Dentistry professional degrees. Dr. Eleanor M. Green is the founding dean for Lyon’s planned veterinary school, which will be located in Cabot.
The School of Dental Medicine received initial accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation earlier this year — the program will serve 240 students at full enrollment — and its three-year curriculum will be over a continuous 36-month calendar, according to the college. It will blend didactic, case-based, preclinical simulation, and clinical education with early experiential clinic opportunities in the first year, followed by mostly onsite clinical experiences in the following years.
Arkansas ranks 50th in dentist-to-population ratio, with only 41.82 dentists per 100,000 residents, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Nearly 69 million U.S. adults did not have dental insurance or access to routine oral health care in 2023, according to the nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
link