The 49 students in the UConn School of Dental Medicine Class of 2020 celebrated the traditional White Coat Ceremony last Friday.  The annual event is a symbolic induction into the profession of dental medicine but the ceremony isn’t as “ancient” as you might think.

Dean of the dental school, Dr. R. Lamont (Monty) MacNeil, told the students and their loved ones attending the event that Columbia University first started it 23 years ago.  UConn only adopted the ceremony about 10 years ago.

No matter when it started, the ceremony marks a milestone for students and is also “a symbol of commitment to your patients – your patients while in dental school and your patients after you graduate,” explained MacNeil.

MacNeil also urged the students to think of themselves as health professionals who happen to be dentist, not dentists who happen to be health professionals.

There are 25 female and 24 male students.  Thirty-two are Connecticut residents while 19 completed their undergraduate degrees at UConn.

Dean MacNeil warned them that some students might find that their coats don’t fit them too well. “But it’s not how the coat fits you, it’s how you fit the white coat.”

He also pointed out that the white coats are lab coats – working coats – and they won’t stay white for very long as the students spend more time in the labs.

The formal presentation of coats was performed by Dr. Michael Goupil, emeritus associate professor, Dr. Donna Paolella, associate dean for admissions, and Dr. Sarita Arteaga, associate clinical professor.

“The white coat has become health care’s symbol of compassionate and scientific patient care,” said Goupil. “The White Coat Ceremony represents the faith and trust the faculty has for the entering students to carry out their responsibilities for the welfare of their patients.”

After the students had donned their white coats, Dr. Steven Lepowsky, senior associate dean for education and patient care, led the recital of The Dentist’s Pledge.