The Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation has awarded $1 million to the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute to create an endowment for a comprehensive oral health curriculum.
It is one of the first such programs at a U.S. medical school, according to the university.
The award, payable over four years, will allow the School of Medicine to incorporate oral health training throughout its curriculum. The funds will also be used to support clinical rotations, service learning projects, research scholarships, and the development and implementation of standardized patient cases.
The program represents a significant expansion of the school's pilot oral health curriculum, which an earlier Delta Dental gift had enabled. The curriculum includes clinical training and lectures on general oral health, oral cancer, common pathologies, and oral manifestations of systemic disease. The earlier gift also established an annual public lectureship to highlight integral links between oral health and overall health.
