LDA - Louisiana Dental Association

LDA
lsu school of dentistry
Dr. Henry A. Gremillion
Dean, LSU School of Dentistry
Terrific Turnout for Pre-Dental Conference
This year the LSU School of Dentistry received
over 800 applications for 65 positions in its
D.D.S. program. For the dental hygiene program, we
received 130 applicants for 38 positions. Choosing
the right applicant is a tremendous responsibility and
is central to our core philosophy of educating the
best possible dental professionals. As the only dental
school in Louisiana, who we select determines the
quality and future of dentistry in our state.
To create awareness of the intense application
process and the competition for acceptance into our
programs, a pre-dental conference was launched
in 2010. The goal is twofold: to educate interested
students about the qualifications required for
acceptance into our programs and secondly, to expose
them to the challenges they will face as students.
Dean Henry Gremillion, center, with five of the 35 dental student
volunteers, from left, Jeffrey Schott, Zachary Bulmanski, Katie Evans,
Russell Noles and Brent Benoit.
In the summer of 2010, student leaders of
the LSU Pre-Dental Society approached us about
doing a presentation for their members about
the admissions process at LSUSD. That led to a
brainstorming session which, in turn, led to the
decision to be pro-active and reach out to students
at all the colleges and universities throughout
Louisiana and beyond. Under the leadership of Dr.
John Ritchie, our admissions director, “Pre-Dental
Dr. John Ritchie (center), admissions director, with organizers of the
conference from the LSU Pre-Dental Society, from left, Leigh Griffin, Paige
Muse, Quyen Nguyen, Elise Wyatt. Second row, Luke Riley, Randy Roth,
Dr. Ritchie, Evan Riley and Colby Gray. Not pictured are Erika Montz,
Elise Mouras and Blake Legendre.
101: A Brush Up on Dentistry,” our first pre-dental
conference was created.
We thought about 25 students would come to
the first conference. We were delighted when 175
students from 14 universities came. We were clearly
serving an unmet need for knowledge.
I am even more delighted to report that the
second conference, held February 4, attracted 193
students from 15 universities, including two from
out-of-state, several who were exploring dentistry as
a second profession and two students who are still in
high school. Fifty-seven attendees were pre-hygiene
students. All were eager to learn.
As I made my opening remarks, I observed the
enthusiasm and curiosity of our guests and felt
tremendous validation for the respect that dentistry
enjoys in our society. I hope you do, too.
The conference was comprised of 17 hours of
instruction, including a special three-hour track
for pre-dental hygiene students. A major emphasis
was placed on interaction between current dental
students and the pre-dental students. First-year
14 LDA Journal