ODA LEADERS VISIT NEW OHIO DENTAL SCHOOL SET TO OPEN IN 2025
On Nov. 21, a group of Ohio Dental Association leaders met with the leadership of the new Bitonte College of Dentistry at NEOMED in Rootstown, Ohio.
On Nov. 21, a group of Ohio Dental Association leaders met with the leadership of the new Bitonte College of Dentistry at NEOMED in Rootstown, Ohio. The visit to the school started with a tour of existing facilities (classrooms, etc.) and areas that are under construction, including a simulation lab and a 30 dental chair clinic. Inaugural Dean Dr. Frank Beck led the tour and then met with the ODA leaders, providing a verbal update on the progress of the school and answering questions. The visit concluded with a lunch where the senior leadership from the Bitonte College of Dentistry, including Associate Dean for Dental Education and Academic Affairs Dr. Kristin Victoroff and others, joined in the discussion.
ODA Vice President Dr. Brett Pelok, a general dentist from Toledo, expressed appreciation to Beck and the senior leaders of the Bitonte College of Dentistry for hosting the ODA’s visit. Pelok said, “the facilities are very impressive, and we really appreciated seeing first-hand the progress that the Bitonte College of Dentistry is making and learning about their innovative educational model.”
Beck explained their educational model by noting that about half the clinical experience for the D3 and D4 students will be in the brand new, state-of-the-art dental clinic currently being built on the NEOMED campus and about half the clinical experience will be at community-based (off-campus) training sites. Beck said this approach will provide the dental students with a range of patient populations, patient treatment needs and clinical experiences.
Beck noted that NEOMED’s approach is different from the traditional approach to clinical dental education which largely takes place in on-campus dental clinics. He said that NEOMED’s innovative approach blends campus clinical instruction with off campus service to Ohioans in the greatest need of oral care. Beck believes that NEOMED students will learn more by serving patients in a variety of settings.
Beck explained that the vision of the Bitonte College of Dentistry is “to be the model of excellence in innovative education and impactful patient care, research, and service to create transformational oral health care leaders of tomorrow.”
Facts about the Bitonte College of Dentistry at NEOMED
What is NEOMED?
Northeast Ohio Medical University, or NEOMED, is a health professions university located in Rootstown in northeast Ohio.
NEOMED has had three colleges – medicine, pharmacy, and graduate studies – and offers Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degrees, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees and research opportunities in other medical and life science areas. The Bitonte College of Dentistry will be the fourth college at NEOMED.
When is the first class?
The Bitonte College of Dentistry, which will be the third dental school in Ohio (joining The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine), will welcome its first class in August of 2025. Each class will have 50 students. More than 1,600 applications have been received and candidate interviews for the class entering in 2025 are ongoing.
Is the Bitonte College of Dentistry accredited?
In 2024, the Bitonte College of Dentistry at NEOMED earned “initial accreditation” from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). This is the first step that every modern doctor of dentistry program has traveled. CODA accreditation is a sequential journey of accreditation application, accreditation review, initial accreditation, and ultimately, full accreditation. As with all new dental schools, CODA will grant full accreditation only after a class of students graduates because student success is one of the criteria it will examine.
