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Equal parts educational and festive, the UCLA School of Dentistry’s 60th Anniversary Celebration brought together a diverse cross-section of the Dental Bruin community on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Geffen Hall.

Following an informal lunch on the Revive Café patio, the focus moved inside for a four-part academic program centered on the School’s four pillars of excellence on which it was founded in 1964: Education, patient care public service, and research.

A team of UCLA School of Dentistry researchers led by Takahiro Ogawa, D.D.S., Ph.D., has culminated a decade of dental implant research with the development of a cutting-edge technology that ensures near-perfect osseointegration, faster healing times, and significantly reduced complications for patients.

David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., has spent most of his 21 years at the UCLA School of Dentistry conducting pioneering research on the use of saliva as a diagnostic medium for early detection and monitoring of systemic diseases. Now, two recently awarded grants will empower his team at the UCLA Center for Oral/Head and Neck Oncology Research to identify biomarkers for lung and oral cance

For 30 years, students and faculty from the UCLA School of Dentistry have made regular journeys across the Pacific to Meikai University, just outside Tokyo, and Asahi University, about 75 miles northeast of Kyoto, to share and absorb the latest in dental techniques and technology — and get a taste of the local culture — with their Japanese counterparts.

Business leader, dentist, and UCLA alumna Naomi Ellison, D.D.S., ’81, will deliver the UCLA School of Dentistry’s 2023 commencement address on Sunday, June 4, at 10 a.m. in Royce Hall.

Dr. Bruce Molen, Class of 1968, was born in Great Falls, Montana, and grew up in North Hollywood, California. He was selected from among hundreds of applicants to become part of UCLA’s first dental class of 27 students. Following his dental education, Dr. Molen served as a captain in the dental branch of the U.S. Air Force. During his service he treated servicemen and servicewomen at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota for two years. It was during that time that he made the decision to continue his education and specialize in orthodontics.

By Peggy McInerny, Director of Communications, UCLA International Institute

In honor of International Women’s Day 2022, the UCLA International Institute published a series of profiles of outstanding female Bruin students who will become tomorrow's leaders.

Dr. No-Hee Park, dean emeritus of the UCLA School of Dentistry and distinguished professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been given the Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring Award by the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research.

A $1 million grant from Delta Dental of California will endow a new scholarship at the UCLA School of Dentistry.

The Delta Dental Scholarship for Opportunity will be awarded annually to students in UCLA’s four-year D.D.S. program who have demonstrated strong academic achievement in the face of adversity, and who have demonstrated an interest in working in underserved communities. The first scholarships will be awarded during the current academic year.

The UCLA School of Dentistry is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sunil Kapila as Professor and Chair of Orthodontics, and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Operations starting January 1, 2022. Dr. Kapila brings an impressive list of accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, patient care, service, and academic leadership. He obtained his dental degree at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, an MS in orthodontics at the University of Oklahoma as a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar, and a PhD in Oral Biology from UCSF.