DDS/MPH
The DDS/MPH is a collaborative program offered by the Touro College of Dental Medicine in partnership with our sister school, the Earning both a DDS and MPH degree gives you greater flexibility within the job market, the ability to focus on community-based preventive care and health promotion and puts you on track to become board certified in the dental public health specialty.
With the significant impact of oral health on overall health, dental health is public health. All dentists contribute to the general public's health. With your MPH, you will become more familiar with public health principles—enhancing your impact and enabling you to take on leadership roles that contribute to better public health. Our combined DDS and MPH program provides the opportunity to practice dentistry while taking on roles that influence health policy, programs, and administration.
Throughout the MPH program, you will investigate public health issues related to oral health, from local community outreach to global health initiatives. The public health curriculum expands your understanding from the individual patients to the whole community. You will look at local populations and consider interventions to improve community health. You will learn research methods and leadership training not traditionally covered in dental school, which is especially beneficial for those who aspire to work in academic or administrative roles.
The knowledge gained from earning both the DDS and MPH degrees will enable you to advocate for policies that improve oral health on a larger scale throughout your career.
How is Oral Health Public Health
Beginning in childhood, oral health significantly impacts our overall physical health. Poor oral health management can lead to cavities and gum disease and may also contribute to more serious conditions such as diabetes. Studies find that poor oral health in children directly correlates to lower test scores.
Public health professionals specializing in oral health play a critical role in promoting and monitoring oral health. Their efforts include advocating for dental care for all, ensuring community water fluoridation, reducing tobacco and alcohol use, encouraging healthy eating habits, and conducting regular oral cancer screenings. These professionals also focus on educating and supporting young children, senior citizens, and individuals in underserved communities to maintain good oral hygiene and overall health.
Expanding Your Dental Impact
The DDS curriculum paired with the MPH allows you to impact oral health at scale. With the flexibility offered by the MPH program, you can tailor classes to your interests and enhance your specific skill set. Earning the MPH degree alongside your DDS degree opens doors to more specialized job opportunities. You will learn research methods and leadership training not covered in traditional dental school. Whether you specialize in a certain area of dentistry or pursue a conventional dental practice, this program broadens your career possibilities.
Specialty Training for Public Health Dentistry
Public health dentistry is a recognized specialty within the field of dentistry. Like other dental specialties, public health dentists must pass a board exam and periodically recertify to maintain their specialty status. This degree is a crucial part of the pathway to becoming a board-certified public health dentist. Like other dental specialties, completing a residency program is part of the training. Obtaining the MPH is the other critical component. This degree fulfills part of the qualification needed for board certification as a public health dentist.
MPH-Generalist Degree
The MPH offered through this collaborative program is an MPH-Generalist degree. This degree includes courses in health behavior and community health, public health program evaluation, grant writing, biostatistics, epidemiology, and more.
Through your studies, you will gain insights into how major health issues like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are influenced by social and behavioral factors. You will understand how public health policies and interventions can bring about change and learn to assess current health challenges from this perspective. This foundational knowledge will equip you to develop strategies that promote health and reduce illness in communities.
How The DDS/MPH Program Works
All MPH courses are offered online. You can complete the MPH coursework during your four years at TCDM, or when you finish your DDS degree.
Twelve DDS credits will count towards the MPH degree, either as transferred credits from the DDS curriculum or as DDS courses cross-listed with MPH courses. The additional 30 credits of required MPH coursework can be taken simultaneously with the DDS curriculum starting in the summer session of your third year (two-year accelerated track) or completed after finishing the DDS requirements.
Most students will start the program in the third year due to the demanding nature of the first two years of dental school. Approval by the TCDM Academic Dean is required for students to start the program, typically granted in the third or fourth year.
Each school—Touro College of Dental Medicine for the DDS and New York Medical College for the MPH—will grant their respective degrees upon the completion of the respective program.
Earn Both Degrees in Five+ Years
In the traditional track, you will first complete the DDS program and then begin the MPH program in the summer immediately following your June graduation. You can complete the MPH within three years of your DDS degree. The Department of Public Health will work with you on a schedule that suits you. If you are eligible for financial aid, you may receive that aid for all courses taken toward both degrees, provided all other financial aid eligibility requirements are maintained (such as satisfactory academic progress). Additionally, as a TCDM student or graduate, you are eligible for a 30% tuition discount for MPH courses taken while enrolled at NYMC.
Earn Both Degrees in Four Years
In the fast track, you can complete the DDS and MPH coursework simultaneously during your four years of dental school. MPH courses begin in the summer session of your third year in the DDS program. You will complete the additional 30 credits of required MPH coursework alongside your DDS studies. If you are unable to complete the requirements for both degrees within the four-year period, you must complete your DDS and can switch to the traditional track, completing your MPH after receiving your DDS degree. The DDS degree must be completed and awarded either simultaneously with or before the MPH degree, as the MPH degree will not be awarded before the DDS degree.
Financial aid regulations stipulate that aid may be applied to only one program of study at a time. For terms where you are simultaneously enrolled in both programs, financial aid, if you are eligible, would be applied to the DDS program, which means you will need to pay for most MPH courses without financial aid.
Cost and Admission
The cost is your DDS tuition + a discounted MPH tuition. For the MPH degree you only need, and therefore only pay, for 30 MPH credits (instead of 42). Those 30 credits are at a 30% discount.
If you are interested in the combined degree, let TCDM know after admission or within your first year.
Contact
Aaron Yancoskie, DDS
Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of Oral Medicine, Associate Professor of Dental Medicine
Touro College of Dental Medicine
aaron.yancoskie@touro.edu
Kenneth A. Knapp, PhD
Chair, Department of Public Health, Director, DrPH Program
School of Health Sciences and Practice at New York Medical College
kenneth_knapp@nymc.edu
