Forging the Future of Dentistry

Touro College of Dental Medicine Dean Ronnie Myers, DDS, encouraged graduates to remember how far they had come.

“You were selected from thousands of applicants because we knew you were the best of the best and would be successful here,” said Dr. Myers. “Dentistry is hard, but the challenge made you grow significantly over the last four years. You have persevered.”

The graduating cohort achieved a 100 percent residency match rate—with graduates heading into specialties including general practice, pediatric dentistry, and oral surgery—and enters the profession at a moment of rapid technological change. The ceremony also marked the first decade of TCDM, which when it opened in 2016 was the first new dental school to open in New York in more than 50 years. 

“Who Could Be Afraid of These Dentists?”

In a speech that mixed humor with reflection, class president Emily Angelis recalled meeting her classmates for the first time.

“People may hate going to the dentist,” she said. “But who could be afraid of our hopeful faces?”

She urged her classmates to carry the same spirit they brought to dental school into their professional careers.

“Keep the compassion, the personality, keep that part of you that makes you excited and a little anxious, but ready to learn,” she said. “One day, a patient might walk into your clinic and say, ‘I hate the dentist.’ At that moment, it doesn’t matter what your GPA was or how many tests you took or what school you graduated from. What matters is how you decide to handle that moment.”

A Personal Understanding of Dental School Clinics

Commencement speaker Teresa A. Dolan, DDS, MPH, spoke about her own experience growing up as the daughter of immigrants and the first member of her family to attend college. She received dental care through the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, now part of Rutgers University, and said those experiences shaped her understanding of the role dental schools play in their communities.

“I experienced firsthand how important dental school clinics are,” she said. “It shaped my understanding of why institutions like Touro matter so much, not only for educating dentists but for people who need your talents and skills.”

Dr. Dolan also pointed to the role TCDM’s clinic plays for residents of Valhalla and the surrounding Hudson Valley.

Many graduates will spend the next year in residencies in specialties including general practice, pediatric dentistry and oral surgery. The class achieved a 100 percent residency match rate.

“Take heart,” Dr. Dolan told the graduates. “You are so well positioned for an incredible career, trained at an institution at the forefront of innovation. You are comfortable with the technology that will define the future, entering a profession that needs everything you have to offer.”

AI and the Future of Dentistry

Dr. Dolan also addressed the growing role of artificial intelligence in dentistry.

“You are the generation that will determine how to use it best,” she said. “Technology without humanistic values is just fancy math. What makes technology transformative is its use in the service of humanity and in the mission you’ve been trained for: expanding access, improving healthcare and serving patients with the greatest need.”

Touro President Alan Kadish, MD, spoke about the uncertainty graduates are entering as healthcare and society continue to change.

“You’re living in a time when there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Dr. Kadish said, citing the pandemic and shifting geopolitical realities. “You’ve persevered.”

He encouraged graduates to remember the lessons they learned during their time in Touro.

“Remain flexible and don’t be afraid,” he said. “Resist cynicism. Don’t allow world events or the interpretations of those events to sour your perspective. Avoid anger and tribalism. Universities like Touro exist because humanity needs dialogue. Ground your future lives in enduring values."