Dental museum, UM School of Dentistry get $1.28M grant to innovate dental education

The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry (NMD) and the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) Department of Dental Public Health received a five year, $1.28 million Science Education Partnership Award grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to design innovative online tools that will redefine how young learners are taught about oral health across the country.

Established in 1996, the National Museum of Dentistry is a Smithsonian Affiliate and has been designated by Congress as the “official museum of dentistry in the United States.”

The project, entitled “A Mouthful of History” will provide accessible and easily disseminated online educational modules that combine the health sciences, science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM), and the humanities to create a learning experience that starts with Pre-K learners and continues with them until 12th grade.

In many states, formal oral health education stops at first or second grade, and in some cases isn’t taught at all. By integrating oral health and dental career topics within lessons designed to satisfy existing educational standards, “A Mouthful of History” will enable educators to establish high levels of oral health literacy without straining existing academic schedules or school staffing budgets. “A Mouthful of History” aims to be the spark that makes young learners interested in oral health and aspire to join the dental profession.

The award is the first National Institutes of Health grant received by the NMD and a multi-PI project led by Manski and Patrick Cutter, MBA, MA, assistant director, NMD, research assistant professor, DPH. The project will unify the missions of NMD, DPH, UMSOD, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), while bolstering community engagement and endeavoring to reduce inequities surrounding oral health, and, subsequently, overall health.

The project will also complement existing programs at UMB including the UMB CURE Scholars Program and UMSOD’s Dental Research Experience (D-REX) which introduce learners to the myriad of career opportunities in the field of oral health.