New York State Senator Terrence Murphy, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, New York State Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti, and American Dental Association President Carol Gomez Summerhays joined Touro faculty and administration to cut the ribbon on the new school, which welcomed its inaugural class of 111 students in July.

Located on Touro’s New York Medical College (NYMC) campus in Westchester County, New York, the school, known as Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College (TCDM), received $3.575 million in state funding through educational capital and local assistance grants earlier this year.

“As America’s newest dental school and New York State’s first new dental school in nearly half a century, the Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC will fill a void in dental education and improve access to oral health care, particularly in underserved rural and urban communities throughout the region,” said Alan Kadish, M.D., president of Touro College and University System. “Our remarkable inaugural class of students who have already started their training will create a critical pipeline of dental professionals. We are delighted to be able to officially inaugurate the school today and to further strengthen the regional health care system for generations to come.”

“We are proud to be introducing the newest dental school in the country and New York State’s first in nearly half a century, and we look forward to educating and mentoring the next generation of dental healthcare professionals,” said Jay P. Goldsmith, D.M.D., founding dean of TCDM. “The school’s location on an esteemed medical campus as well as its state-of-the-art facilities in the newly completed Skyline Drive building will serve to create a vibrant ecosystem of young dental professionals.”

“The opening of the Touro College of Dental Medicine here at New York Medical College introduces another institution that benefits from and contributes to the collaborative and synergistic community of students on the campus,” said Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., NYMC chancellor and CEO and Touro College and University System provost for Biomedical Affairs.

“Touro College of Dental Medicine has the advantage of being built in tandem with the recent digitization of dentistry,” said Dr. Edward Farkas, the Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at TCDM. “The school offers students all available cutting-edge dental technologies, including Cone Beam CT x-ray imaging systems, digital intraoral scanners, and advanced implant systems.”

In addition to the innovative equipment, the school, which encompasses 100,000 square feet within the newly renovated Skyline Drive Building, boasts state-of-art facilities and student amenities. These include a 112-seat simulation lab, 132-chair clinic facility divided into eight clinical practice units, a pediatric dentistry clinic, an oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic, multiple student workrooms, two 120-seat auditoriums, a library, an exercise facility, and a 2,000 square foot student lounge.

The school is expected to improve the oral health care delivery network in New York State, where the population has grown by 4.5 million people since 1968 when the last school of dentistry opened, and seeks to address New York State’s projected shortage of dentists, as well as expand the network of dentists practicing in underserved areas.

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Increases in supply will not meet the increases in demand for dentists, which will exacerbate the existing shortage.” The report indicates that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are projected to experience a shortage of dentists and those states projected to experience the greatest shortfalls in the number of dentists in 2025 are California (with 1,234 fewer dentists than needed), Florida (with 1,152 fewer dentists than needed), and New York (with 1,024 fewer dentists than needed).”

With five New York-based health care-focused institutions of higher education, which collectively graduate more than 2,000 students every year, Touro is one of the leading educators of health care professionals in the state. In addition to NYMC and TouroCDM@NYMC, the Touro College and University System also includes the Touro College School of Health Sciences, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (with campuses in Harlem and Middletown), and Touro College of Pharmacy.

“Oral healthcare is critical to good health, but we must have highly skilled dentists to deliver that care and colleges to provide their training,” said Dr. Howard Zucker, Commissioner of Health for New York State. “The opening of the Touro College of Dental Medicine gives future dentists another opportunity to train in New York and residents of the lower Hudson Valley a pipeline to dental care. I’d like to congratulate Touro for opening the first dental school in New York in nearly 50 years and being the fifth dental school in the state.”

New York State Senator Terrence Murphy said, “The opening of the Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College signifies a new and exciting chapter for New York State. Knowing the next generation of dentists are coming from right here in the 40^th Senate District, is incredible and should act as a reminder that the Hudson Valley is truly an inspiration for innovation, collaboration and quality education.”

“The Touro College of Dental Medicine is a great addition to Westchester’s list of medical education institutions,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “Not only will this be extremely beneficial to the county and our dental professional community, but it continues to put Westchester on the map as a leading destination for the medical and biotech industry.”

“I welcome the staff and students at Touro to our community,” said New York State Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti. “The Touro School of Dentistry will improve the dental health of our community by producing more good doctors, dental research and partnerships with community organizations.”

“I’m pleased to attend the grand opening of the nation’s 66^th dental school, Touro College of Dental Medicine, and to welcome its inaugural class of dental students,” said Dr. Carol Gomez Summerhays, president of the American Dental Association. “We wish the College well in its inaugural year.”

‌ ^{L-R: Dr. Carol Gomez Summerhays, President, American Dental Association;
Dr. Jay P. Goldsmith, Founding Dean, TouroCDM@NYMC; and Hon. Terrence Murphy, New York State Senator,
surrounded by the first class of TouroCDM@NYMC students at school’s inauguration ceremony.}

About the Touro College and University System

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 30 campuses and locations in New York, California, Nevada, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill. are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/

New York Medical College

Founded in 1860, New York Medical College (NYMC) is one of the oldest and largest health sciences colleges in the country with more than 1,400 students, 1,300 residents and clinical fellows, nearly 3,000 faculty members, and 16,000 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers advanced degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, and the School of Health Sciences and Practice. The College manages more than $32.6 million in research and other sponsored programs, notably in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, kidney disease, the neurosciences, disaster medicine, and vaccine development. With a network of affiliated hospitals that includes large urban medical centers, small suburban clinics and high-tech regional tertiary care facilities, NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities throughout the tristate region for medical students, residents, and other health providers. For more information, visit www.nymc.edu.