The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) establishes Canada’s first successful dental school in Toronto. The two-room facility at 46 Church St. teaches 11 students (compared to the 125 students in each DDS year currently). James Branston Willmott — often referred to as the Father of Dental Education in Ontario — is the school’s first dean.

The school becomes affiliated with the University of Toronto, which agrees to confer the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery upon students completing the prescribed course of study. 

C.L. Josephine Wells graduates from the college with her LDS, becoming the first formally trained female dentist in Ontario. She obtains her DDS from U of T in 1899.

John C.G. Adams, considered the father of dental public health in Canada for his advocacy around prevention and repair of children’s teeth rather than extraction, presents his plan to have dental inspections in schools to the Ontario Dental Society. He also speaks to the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the secretary for the Provincial Board of Health. The Board endorses his idea, but transfers the responsibilities and funding to municipalities, which stalls implementation for 10 years.

RCDSO builds a new school at 240 College St. (It is later renumbered 230 College St. and fondly referred to as “tooth hurty” College St.) 

Ashley Lindsay, class of 1907, becomes the founding dean of what is now the West China School/Hospital of Stomatology, Chengdu, China, which is considered the birthplace of modern dentistry in China.

In 1919, the Faculty established the first Dental Nursing program. In 1952, the Diploma of Dental Nursing was discontinued and replaced by a certificate in Dental Nursing. In 1960, the one-year Dental Nursing course was discontinued.

Harold Keith Box, class of 1914, called the father of dental research in Canada for his investigations into periodontal disease, becomes Canada’s first dentist to earn a PhD. He is a professor at the University of Toronto and is the first dental professor in Canada to hold an appointment that includes access to research facilities.

The Royal College of Dental Surgeons is renamed the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, and becomes fully affiliated with the University. Curriculum, course exams and the DDS degree are now administered and awarded by the University. The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario continues to administer the licenses to practice in Ontario. The Dental Nursing curriculum is also taken over by the University; the diploma continues to be awarded by the RCDSO until 1936.

Frederick J. Conboy, class of 1904, served as Mayor of Toronto from 1941 to 1944.

Frank Lott, class of 1923, Harvey Reid, class of 1917, and former dean Roy Gilmore Ellis, chairman of the Canadian Dental Association research committee, travel to Ottawa to establish an Associate Committee in Dentistry of the National Research Council of Canada. This is key to obtaining dental research funds at the national level.

The Faculty expands to begin offering specialty programs, beginning with Dental Public Health and eventually offers all 10 of the specialties recognized by the RCDSO. Inaugural dates for the other nine are:

• Orthodontics, 1945
• Oral and maxillofacial surgery, 1945
• Periodontics, 1945
• Pediatric dentistry, 1949
• Dental anaesthesia, 1960
• Prosthodontics, 1981
• Oral pathology and oral medicine, 1982
• Oral and maxillofacial radiology, 1984
• Endodontics, 1993

A two-year certificate was established in 1951 with admissions for women only until 1969. The diploma was discontinued in 1977 when colleges took over the dental hygiene certification. However, in 1977, the Faculty of Dentistry offered a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene for those who wanted a career in academics or administration. The BSc in DH continued until 2001.

Dean Roy Gilmore Ellis, class of 1929, BSc 1930, MSc 1942, who served as dean of U of T Dentistry from 1947–1969, helps establish the Division of Dental Research and later establishes other funds for dental research.

Arlington Franklin Dungy, class of 1956, diploma in pediatrics 1970, becomes one of Ontario’s first Black dental school graduates. In 1969, he becomes chief of pediatric dentistry at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

Fall opening of the building at 124 Edward St., relocating from 230 College St. This location remains the current home of the Faculty.

John B. MacDonald, class of 1942, becomes the only dentist in Canada to served as a president of a university; he serves as head of the University of British Columbia from 1962 to 1967.

In May, the Faculty of Dentistry submits a brief to the Government of Canada, outlining recommendations for dental education support, including additional educational facilities (via dental schools), support for faculty clinics, need for student aid, expansion of dental research, need for more dental hygienists, and closer association between dental schools and teaching hospitals. This is part of the Royal Commission on Health Services, chaired by Emmet Hall, and known as the Hall Commission, and deeply influences healthcare policy.

Wesley Dunn, class of 1947, becomes the founding dean of the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Dentistry, Ontario’s second ever dental school. For more than 17 years, Dunn led to the growth and success of the school.

Dean Ten Cate announces to the RCDSO that the Ontario Ministry of Health has funded $11,652,500 for a renovation of the Faculty of Dentistry. These funds are used to build an addition, renovate laboratories and clinics and purchase technology.

Dennis C. Smith, a chemist from the U.K. who joins the Faculty in 1969, establishes the Department of Biomaterials in Dentistry, which later joins with other departments to become what is known today as the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME). During his U of T Dentistry tenure, Smith co-develops acrylic cement used in hip-replacement surgery, and invents polycarbonate cements that change the course of medical and dental practice.

David Locker, professor and associate dean, wins funding from the Ontario government to find the well-known and paradigm-shifting Community Dental Health Research Unit. He authors more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, presentations and books on the sociology of illness, the understanding of disability, and social sciences and dentistry.

Jack Gerrow, class of 1979, developed competency testing in dental education and practice. Today, this model is used around the world, not only in dentistry, but also in other professions. Gerrow is also a member of the Order of Canada along with Faculty members:
• John B. MacDonald (Officer)
• Dennis Smith (Officer)
• Tom Harle (Member)
• Norman Levine (Member)
• Bryan E. Walls (Member)
• Donald Woodside (Member)
• George Zarb (Member)
• Daniel Haas (Member)

Elizabeth MacSween, class of 1980, becomes the first female president of the Ontario Dental Association, vice-president of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and director of the CDSPI, which provides insurance and financial services to dentists.

In partnership with the Faculties of Medicine and Applied Science and Engineering, the Faculty of Dentistry forms the multidisciplinary and collaborative graduate research unit, the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME). Since its inception, IBME has achieved remarkable breakthroughs including pioneering 3D tissue and organ printing, making breakthroughs in stem-cell research and development rehabilitation and neurological therapies. In 2014, it was awarded $130 million, the largest charitable gift in Canadian history, to establish the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.

The Faculty introduces the International Dentist Advanced Placement Program (IDAPP), a six-month preparatory program for graduates of non-accredited dental programs. This program is the largest of  its kind in Canada and gains students entry to the third year of the Faculty’s four year DDS program.

Professor George Zarb is made a member of the Order of Canada for his advances in implantology. His adaptation of the Branemark osseointegration technique for dental implants in Canada has led to a worldwide revolution in fixed tooth replacement. Zarb taught in the department of prosthodontics from 1966 to his retirement in 2004. He was instrumental in the establishment of the prosthodontics speciality at U of T Dentistry and served as head of the Prosthodontics Department from 1971 to 2004.

The Faculty of Dentistry joins the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC), helping to build capacity for oral health care in Ethiopia with collaborative teaching opportunities.

Professor Paul Santerre is awarded the Governor General’s Innovation Award for his creation of Endexo technology, a unique compound of surface-modifying macro molecules that are added to plastics during the manufacturing process of medical devices. The coating helps reduce blood clotting, reducing the risk of adverse reactions and potentially deadly complications and is used in commercialized products in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Santerre was the associate dean of research at the Faculty of Dentistry from 2003 to 2008, and director of the University of Toronto’s IBME from 2008 to 2013.

The Faculty becomes the first dental school to create a link between research in fibrosis in the periodontium and in the kidney, lung, heart and skin. Our influential fibrosis research attracts nearly $10 million funding in one year solely to support this work.

Professor Daniel Haas, who served as dean from 2012 to 2022, is the first Canadian to be awarded the prestigious Horace Wells Award from the International Federation of Dental Anaesthesiology Societies (IFDAS). Haas is the first Canadian to receive this recognition, which honours international accomplishment in the field of anaesthesiology in dentistry.

On May 25, the Faculty of Dentistry holds a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by U of T president Meric Gertler, senior administrators from the university and the and government of Canada, to celebrate the $20-million revitalized lab and research space on the fourth and fifth floors of 124 Edward St. The project took two years to complete and was part of the University of Toronto’s LIFT Project (Lab Innovation for Toronto).

The Faculty of Dentistry opens the Collaborative Advanced Microscopy Laboratories of Dentistry (CAMiLoD), an imaging facility available to researchers in the Toronto area. CAMiLoD offers atomic force microscopy, light and hard electron microscopy, confocal, sliding electron microscopy, epifluorescence microscopes and wide field microscopy.

Barry Sessle is the first and only Faculty of Dentistry professor to receive the International Association of Dental Research (IADR)’s Gold Medal. This annual award is bestowed upon an individual who has previously been recognized with the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award, and who has continued to build upon their significant body of scientific knowledge. Sessle began teaching at the Faculty in 1971 and served as dean from 1990 to 2001.

The Faculty of Dentistry wins the prestigious Gies Award from the American Dental Education Association. The Gies Awards recognizes individuals and organizations that epitomize the highest standards in oral health and dental education, research and leadership.

U of T Dentistry opens the Faculty’s satellite clinic at 777 Bay St., featuring 41 fully enclosed operatories. The clinic was built off campus in 10 months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the Faculty’s open air teaching clinics. This space allowed for continuity of training and patient care and is enabling the future renovation of Clinic 2.

Lynn Tomkins, class of 1981, becomes the first woman to have served as both President of the Ontario Dental Association (2010-2011) and the Canadian Dental Association (2022-2023).

Professor Laura Tam 8T5, is the first woman to be appointed to as dean of the Faculty of Dentistry.

A $10M donation from the Rossy Foundation cements plans to proceed with the renovation of Clinic 2. Plans are already underway to reimagine the Faculty’s largest clinical space and the 101 Elm Street patient reception area. Opening is slated for 2028.