2025 Report
The Destination Dental School Class of 2025
Pathways to Dentistry
In 2021, UB SDM’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) launched Destination Dental School (DDS), a summer pathway program for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students. Since 2022, DDS has collaborated with the Native American Pre-Dental Student Gateway Program (Gateway). Together, we aim to increase the enrollment of underrepresented students in the field of dental medicine. In just five years, our programs have graduated 140 fellows representing 36 states, territories and Canada and 84 colleges and universities.
In 2025 our program supported 25 fellows representing 8 states and Canada and 25 universities and colleges. Sixty percent of fellows were New York State residents with 16% attending UB. Participants ages ranged from 18 to 30. Race/ethnicity of fellows included: 20% Asian, 4% American Indian/Alaska Native, 32% Black/African American, 24% Hispanic/Latinx, and 12% Middle Eastern/North African. All 25 participants self-identified as disadvantaged according to the NIH definition[1]. Eighty percent of participants identified as female. Seventy-two percent of fellows were undergraduate students, 8% received their bachelor’s degree, and 20% were in graduate/professional degree programs.
2025 Program Goals and Curriculum
Program Goals
- Goal 1: Understand day to day life as a dentist and as a dental student.
Participants get insight into the different disciplines of dental medicine through presentations and panel discussions, and participate in hands-on-activities that increase hand skill development. - Goal 2: Strengthen future dental school applications.
Participants learn about the DAT and recommended study habits, participate in intensive tutoring sessions, and take practice DAT exams. Participants prepare for the dental school admissions process by learning about admissions policies and procedures from students, faculty and staff, participating in mock interviews, and working on dental school application materials. - Goal 3: Learn how to propose and develop a research topic.
Participants’ capstone projects center around a research topic in oral health. Teams learn best practices in conducting research and present their findings during in-person capstone research presentations.
Curriculum
2025 program fellows met for seven weeks during the months of April, May and June. During the first six weeks, held virtually every Saturday from 10am-12:30pm (ET), UB SDM faculty and students as well as guest lecturers introduced the disciplines/specialties of dentistry, the DAT, the admissions process, and academics in dental school.
The seventh week of programming featured a one-week in-person, intensive training program at the UB SDM. Over 70 UB SDM students, residents, faculty and staff supported the event. With guidance and leadership from UB SDM students and residents, participants rotated through pre-doc and post-doc clinics. With support from current dental students in UB SDM’s state of the art simulation lab, they completed hands on activities including resin placement, suturing, alginate impressions, bleaching trays and virtual reality root canal activities, wire bending, and stainless steel crown prep. Members of the admissions team led mock interviews and current students conducted a resume clinic to help prepare fellows for dental school applications. Programming also included final presentations of capstone research projects as well as guest presentations and lectures. Finally, a local excursion to Niagara Falls provided opportunities to visit a world-renowned attraction and appreciate the beauty of the Western New York region.
Outcomes and Impacts
An Award-Winning Pathway Program
In 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 DDS was a recipient of the INSIGHT into Diversity Magazine’s Inspiring Programs in STEM Award, a national recognition for colleges and universities that encourage and support students from underrepresented groups to enter careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through mentoring, teaching and research. Our pathway programs also contributed to UB SDM receiving Insight Into Diversity’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Our Contributors
The DDS and Gateway program were organized by the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. Our 2025 leadership team included Dr. Simone Duarte, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UB SDM; Dr. Arian Johnson, Founder and Program Director of DDS and UB SDM alum (’21); Dr. Joe Salamon, Gateway Program Director; and Ms. Jessica Scates, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Operations at UB SDM.
This program would not be possible without the support of our generous donors and sponsors.
2025 Donors for DDS included the Philip and Catherine Galeota Family Fund, Delta Dental Foundation, UB School of Dental Medicine Alumni Association, Eighth District Dental Foundation, KaVo Dental Technologies, Kerr Dental, and Ivoclar.
In Their Words...
In response to whether Destination Dental School met their expectations, participants stated:
I think destination dental school is an amazing program and all my expectations regarding the dental school application, DAT, different fields in dentistry, shadowing, hands on learning was all met and I learned so much.
Yes it met beyond my expectations as I was able to make meaningful connections with the dental school faculty and was given the opportunity to be more in involved and hands on in the dental field. The mock interviews especially were helpful and gain more confidence for when the real one comes.
Yes of course. All I’m going to say that this experience was the highlight of my summer and it is a PERFECT program for all pre dental students.
This program exceeded my expectations! From the welcoming staff and students, to the hands-on opportunities, to the application preparation, I definitely believe that being a part of this program has been a transformative opportunity, that I’m very grateful for.
In response to whether participation in the program increased their interest in the dental field, participants responded:
It has made my interest stronger than ever. This program made me love dentistry even more because of all the hands on learning, welcoming environment and all the helpful information presented to us.
Yes, it has increased my interest in the dental field while also wanting to advocate more for transparency on the predental journey. This experience has highly increased my interest in applying to UBSDM
Yes, it has shown me how important it is to be a part of this field. It has also taught me so many way to improve as a person to become a better provider in the future.
Yes, this program made me feel like I belonged here and the in dental field
I 100% believe that this program has made me a better dental applicant because the information it provided and the hands on experiences.
Being surrounded by passionate faculty and dental students, learning hands-on procedures, and hearing about the different paths people took to get into dentistry made the field feel more real and exciting. It helped me see that dentistry is not only about clinical skills but also about making an impact on people’s lives. The experience gave me even more motivation and confidence to pursue this path.
Perceived Barriers to Dental School
When asked what barriers impact their ability to attend dental school, the top four barriers reported included, in order of frequency:
- Financial aid
- DAT
- GPA
- Network
Perceived Resources Needed
When asked what resources would help participants to successfully complete dental school, the top four resources reported included, in order of frequency:
- Mentor
- Financial aid
- Application supports
- Network