Master of Public Health-DDS

Public health dentistry is focused on controlling dental diseases and promoting dental health through organized community efforts, locally and globally. It is a dental practice that serves the community as a patient, rather than the individual.

Public health dentists have a broad knowledge of and skills in:

• Public health administration
• Research methodology
• Prevention and control of oral diseases
• Delivery and financing of oral health care

Training in both dentistry and public health provides professionals with unique knowledge and skills, which provide a broad, culturally sensitive, community-based perspective on issues related to health and social well-being.

This program will prepare students with both a theoretical and a systems approach to solving complex health issues affecting populations of diverse communities.

Students will earn both the MPH and DDS in four years. Students in the dual degree program will complete a total of 199 credit hours (163 credit hours in dentistry and 36 credit hours in public health).

MPH-DDS students will pursue the dental curriculum only in years one and two and begin their public health curriculum starting the summer of their third year. Courses in the public health curriculum are offered in the evening with an online degree option, which allows students to pursue both the MPH and DDS programs simultaneously without course conflicts.

MPH-DDS students will continue with the prescribed dental curriculum and incorporate a maximum of six hours of public health coursework in each of the remaining summer, fall, and spring semesters of years three and four.

The 45-credit hour public health curriculum includes six public health core courses, two practical experience courses (internship and capstone) for 24 credit hours, and 9 credit hours shared from designated courses in the DDS curriculum.