Baylor College of Dentistry is a 100-year-old college that combines higher education with research and community service. The college has trained more than 8,000 dentists and hygienists and says it is "known internationally for producing excellent clinicians."
Baylor is in Dallas, though it's part of Texas A&M University, two hours north in College Station, just a few miles from Bryan. The college is adapting its curriculum to evidence-based dentistry, which emphasizes basing treatment decisions on the best available research. The school in 2002 opened its Dental Simulation Clinic, the first in Texas and one of only 22 such training clinics in North America. It gives students a nearly real-life experience through the use of mannequins, hand pieces and air and water syringes. The college also provides dental services in clinics throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Baylor College of Dentistry
3302 Gaston Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246
212-828-8100
bcd.tamhsc.edu
The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, two hours south of Bryan, is in a six-story, self-contained building on the university's Texas Medical Center campus. The dental complex features labs, classrooms, clinical treatment areas and a 25,000-volume library on medical and dental literature.
The Texas Medical Center, situated on 675 acres, is made up of 43 non-profit institutions. Students are admitted to the dental school after completing at least 90 semester hours from an accredited college, including required basic humanities courses. Eighty undergraduates are admitted to the School of Dentistry each year.
University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston
6516 M.D. Anderson Blvd.
Houston, TX 77030
713-500-4000
db.uth.tmc.edu
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans is the next-closest dental school to Bryan. The school's mission is to incorporate research and hands-on training into a program that trains dentists to care for Louisiana and to be a leader on a national level.
The university offers a doctorate of dental surgery and degrees in dental hygiene and dental laboratory technology. It also has programs in endodontics, general practice, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and prosthodontics.
LSU Health Sciences Center
1100 Florida Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70119
504-619-8700
lsusd.lsuhsc.edu