The two programs, Pipeline and Profile for Success, will be held May 20 through June 28.

Pipeline

Launched in 1998, Pipeline is an on-campus program for college freshmen and sophomores designed to strengthen their academic skills, especially in the basic sciences. Students study biology, chemistry, and physics, explore careers in dentistry and medicine, and are mentored by dental and medical students. The program also features collaboration with other schools on the U-M campus including the Medical School and Department of Chemistry.

This year, the Pipeline program expands from 16 to 25 students who will participate in the six-week science enrichment program. Students are chosen based on their academic achievement and interest in the health care profession.

Profile for Success

The focus of the second program, Profile for Success, is different. Designed for college juniors and seniors from disadvantaged backgrounds, this program prepares college juniors and seniors who are interested in the dental profession to take the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) before applying to dental school. Students also spend time exploring careers and specialties in dentistry and are mentored by dental students.

Begun in 1994, the Profile for Success program enables students to obtain experience in laboratories that simulate activities in a clinical practice. These include cavity preparation on plastic teeth, taking impressions, exposing and processing radiographs, and waxing. Twenty-five students will also participate in this program.

Filling a Need

The ultimate goal of both School of Dentistry programs is to increase the competitiveness of students as applicants to dental and medical schools throughout the country. In the first report on oral health published two years ago, Oral Health in America, the U.S. Surgeon General identified a “silent epidemic” of dental and oral diseases that burden some population groups. The report called for a national effort to reduce oral health disparities and greater efforts to improve oral health among all Americans by finding ways to attract students from underrepresented groups to the dental profession.

A recent report from the American Dental Association, The Future of Dentistry, also emphasized the need to attract more minority students to the oral health care profession. The American Dental Education Association and the ADA have jointly focused their efforts to recruit more underrepresented students as well.

“These two programs, Pipeline and Profile for Success, complement both the University’s and the School’s mission to bring diversity to the university and the dental profession,” said Dr. Marilyn Woolfolk, assistant dean for student services at the School of Dentistry. The programs are supported by a grant from the Bureau of Health Professions to help improve access to care and education.

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care, and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the School to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists, and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia, and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide.

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