Baltimore College of Dental Surgery

Overview


The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, founded February 1 1840, is the birthplace of the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree (D.D.S.), and is known as the first dental college in the world.

History
The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (BCDS),was chartered by an act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1840. Its co-founders, Drs. Horace H. Hayden and Chapin A. Harris have been both inducted in the Pierre Fauchard Academy Hall of Fame. Dr. Harris was the school first dean and a professor of practical dentistry. Following the death of Dr. Hayden, on January 25th, 1844, he became the school second president. The College is still in existence today and is part of the University of Maryland.

The establishment of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery is seen as one of the three crucial steps in the foundation of the dental profession in the United States. " A true profession is built upon a tripod: a formal organization, formal professional education, and a formal scientific literature. The United States was the leader in all three. In 1839-40, the American Society of Dental Surgeons was organized, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery was established, and the first dental journal in the world, the American Journal of Dental Science, was founded. At that time there were only about three hundred trained and scientific dentists in the entire country; the rest were relatively untrained operators, outright quacks, or charlatans. In 1898, a list of the first subscribers to the first journal was discovered and published by G.V. Black. These initial subscribers may be considered the core group of truly professional American dentists. They became the leaders of the newly born profession of dentistry. "

Today, BCDS enjoys the most advanced dental education facility in the world. The new 12 story building in downtown Baltimore was completed in October of 2006. The total cost for the establishment amount to near $150 million, the highest spent on an academic building by the State of Maryland.