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/Institutions/University-of-Maryland-School-of-Dentistry/json/2022-2023/Catalog.json

History

Formal curricula aimed at preparing students for the practice of dentistry originated 181 years ago with the establishment of this institution, originally called the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (BCDS). Chartered on February 1, 1840, by the General Assembly of Maryland, the school represented the culmination of the efforts and vision of Dr. Horace H. Hayden and Dr. Chapin A. Harris. The pioneering physicians recognized the need for systematic, formal education as the foundation for a scientific and serviceable dental profession. Together, the two men played a major role in establishing and promoting formal dental education and in the development of dentistry as a profession.

The BCDS soon became a model for other schools throughout America. This was due in no small part to BCDS’s emphasis on sound knowledge of general medicine and the development of the skills needed in dentistry. The present dental school evolved through a series of consolidations involving the BCDS, founded in 1840; the Maryland Dental College, founded in 1873; the Dental Department of the University of Maryland, founded in 1882; and the Dental Department of the Baltimore Medical College, founded in 1895. The final consolidation took place formally in 1924, when the state legislature approved the combination of the BCDS and the Dental Department of the University of Maryland as a distinct college of the university under state supervision and control.

As part of the University of Maryland, the School of Dentistry was incorporated into the University System of Maryland (USM), formed by Maryland’s General Assembly in 1988. Hayden-Harris Hall, the school building erected in 1970 and renovated in 1990, was replaced by an entirely new facility that opened 2006. In 2015, the school proudly celebrated its 175th anniversary.