News from NYSADC

State Budget FY26 Budget: Critical Investment Addresses Oral Healthcare Disparities for New Yorkers with I/DD

The New York State Academic Dental Centers extends its deepest gratitude to the New York State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul for their investment of $750,000 in the Fellowship to Address Oral Healthcare Disparities in the FY26 State Budget. This crucial funding ensures that New York remains a leader in expanding equitable healthcare access for all residents, particularly those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

The Fellowship to Address Oral Healthcare Disparities is a one-year intensive program providing dental residency graduates with specialized training to compassionately treat patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), addressing a critical nationwide shortage of qualified dental professionals in this field. Fellows commit to practicing in New York at a location with a significant I/DD population for at least a year following completion of the program.

Currently, there are thousands of New Yorkers with I/DD who face long waiting periods and multi-hour commutes, leading to less frequent dental evaluations and significant health disparities. This investment helps improve immediate access to vital dental services and care.

We thank our state leaders for their commitment to addressing healthcare disparities and look forward to continued collaboration in advancing equitable oral healthcare across New York State.

Highlights

Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine Unveils New Prosthodontics Resident Laboratory

Together with staff from across the Stony Brook University campus, as well as corporate partners, the School of Dental Medicine officially opened its new prosthodontics residency laboratory with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 26. Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments, the lab will enable residents to learn, experiment and master how to best use the newest innovations in prosthodontics. Read more.

Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College: 185 Students Don White Coats as They Head to Touro Dental Health Clinics in NY and NM

Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) marked the next stage of their dental education for 185 students with a jubilant White Coat Ceremony held at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College on April 3. For the Class of 2027, this year’s investiture carried even deeper significance: 100 students will be the first cohort to spend their final two years at Touro’s newly opened state-of-the-art clinical campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico, located at the Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute. Read more.

Dental Education

Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine: Sachem Dental Group’s Donation Helps to Establish New Endodontics Scholarship Fund

Sachem Dental Group, together with the Stony Brook Foundation, has agreed to establish the Sachem Dental Group Endodontics Scholarship Fund at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine. The fund will provide financial assistance for select high-achieving residents enrolled in the school’s Advanced Dental Education Program in Endodontics. Read more.

Oral Health Care Access

University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine’s Dental Students Deliver Over $50,000 in Care to Underserved Patients in Tennessee

Twenty-eight third-year dental students and faculty members from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine traveled to Cookeville, TN, to deliver critical dental care to underserved patients during a Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic held March 22-23, 2025. Led by Joseph DeLuca, DDS, clinical associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry, with assistance from Alex Sikora, DDS, clinical assistant professor, Department of Restorative Dentistry, and Robert Cronyn, DDS, JD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the dental school team joined other health professionals to serve more than 450 patients. Read more.

NYU College of Dentistry’s Global Outreach: 2025

NYU Dentistry’s exemplary global outreach model provides participants with a unique service-learning experience, opportunities to conduct critically-needed research, and an increased awareness of access-to-care issues, while fostering a passion for volunteerism and social responsibility.

The Global Outreach team at NYU Dentistry has had a productive start to 2025, with a January outreach to the Bahamas & Dominican Republic, partnering with the Glo Good Foundation to provide dental care to residents on the island of Elutherera, Bahamas, and joining World of Smiles to provide care at two schools in La Romana, Dominican Republic. In February, the team returned to The Center for Discovery in Hudson Valley, NY to provide care to students at this very special place. In March, the team traveled to Guatemala and partnered with the dental school of Universidad Francisco Marroquin (UFM) to provide comprehensive dental care to the community of Santa Catarina Pinula. In April, the team returned to Machias, Maine, to provide comprehensive care to over 600 children and adults. Read more.

University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine: Dental School Provides Free Care to Adolescents at West Side’s Belle Center

The UB School of Dental Medicine provided free preventative dental care to West Side adolescents and their families on March 29 during UB Dental Day at The Belle Center on Buffalo’s West Side. Families who attended the event received fluoride treatments, oral screenings, oral hygiene kits and referrals for ongoing care from dental school faculty and students. Read more.

Student News

Columbia University College of Dental Medicine: CDM Student is Accepted into Research Program

David Pellei, a D2 at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, has been accepted in the National Institutes of Health’s prestigious and competitive Medical Research Scholars program. The program, a year-long research immersion program for future clinician-scientists that advances health by inspiring careers in biomedical research, engages students in basic, clinical, or translational research investigations. Read more.

NYU College of Dentistry’s Annual Research Day: Celebrating Student/Mentor Research and Discovery

NYU Dentistry’s 2025 Annual Research Day was held on Thursday, April 3rd, and showcased the work of 167 pre- and postdoctoral dental students, dental hygiene students, advanced clinical fellows, master’s degree students, and research scholars. Awards were presented for Best Clinical Case/Clinical Research, Best Basic Science, Best Literature Review, Best Behavioral, Epidemiology & Educational Research, the Dentsply Sirona Student Research Award, and top presentations for each academic program. Read more.

Research

Eastman Institute For Oral Health, University of Rochester: Innovative Procedure Paves Way for Safer Orthodontics in Patients With Receding Gums

A groundbreaking case at the University of Rochester’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health (EIOH) is helping rewrite the rules for how patients with receding gums can safely undergo orthodontic treatment. For patients with gum recession, moving the teeth can bring extra risks. Read more.

More News

NYU College of Dentistry PROHmotion Blog: “We Can Make Dentistry More Environmentally Sustainable. Are We Ready to Commit?”

The latest NYU Dentistry PROHmotion blog post addresses what the dental community can do to combat unnecessary waste and incorporate innovative, sustainable policies into its practices. Read more.