The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Dental Branch

STRATEGIC PLAN
1997 - 2000

INTRODUCTION

In the same year that the School was founded, 1905, Houston could boast that it had eighty cars within its city limits. Today Houston has 4 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area. The population base includes a wide variety of racial and ethnic groups that give Houston a rich and cosmopolitan diversity. As Houston has changed since 1905, so have the environments that impact dental education. How about the future?
 
As the twentieth century comes to a close, the Dental Branch is faced with significant external and internal forces that must be considered when developing a realistic strategic plan.

ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL
TO THE UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER at HOUSTON AND
THE DENTAL BRANCH

Forces Affecting Dental Eduation
 
While the numbers of practicing dentists increased in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the profession is witnessing a reversal of that trend that will continue well into the 21st century. In 1990 there were 60 dentists:100,000 population in the U.S. That ratio is declining nationally and by 2020 is expected to decrease to 47:100,000 population. Of more importance are the data for Texas and Harris County. Using 1991 statistics, there were 44 dentists:100,000 in the State. Also in 1991, in Harris County that ratio was 55:100,000. Both the State and County ratios were significantly lower than the nation’s average at the beginning of the decade.
 
Since 1990-91, the number of first year students enrolled in the three Texas dental schools has declined 14%; since 1985 the number has declined 26%. Offsetting these trends have been vast improvements in technology and instrumentation resulting in more efficient patient care. However, it is the responsibility of dental educators to assess the needs of the public relative to dental manpower supply.
 
Dental schools, unlike medical schools, must educate a practitioner upon graduation. This pressure has caused the dental curriculum to be intense and crowded with technique courses. The dental practitioners of the future will face a very different environment from their predecessors in terms of patient demographics and oral health care needs of the public. Scientific discoveries, demographic shifts, and the choice of a variety of delivery modalities will challenge dental education to balance the need for technical expertise with the need for other competencies that will shape a successful 21st century dental practitioner.
 
Demographics
 
The population of Texas, particularly Houston, is expected to continue to grow throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century. The demographics of the local population will change in the future in two significant ways: (1) like the rest of the country, Houston will experience the continual "graying of America" as the baby boomers become senior citizens over the next decade, and (2) the percent of the population represented by ethnic minorities and immigrant groups will increase. Both of these demographic shifts will affect the Dental Branch. Future practitioners in Texas will need more education in treating patient populations that will include an ever-growing number of geriatric, special patient, and ethnically diverse individuals.
 
Financial Considerations
 
State funding will, at best, remain flat for the near future. Since the UTHSC-Houston Health Science Center controls the allocation of state support to each of its schools, the Dental Branch will be challenged to assure that it remains a priority with the Health Science Center.

ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL
TO THE UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER at HOUSTON AND
TO THE DENTAL BRANCH

The Dental Branch, located in a major metropolitan city, is an integral member of the UT Health Science Center at Houston, and is part of the Texas Medical Center—providing it with one of the most advantageous geographical locations of any dental school in the U.S.
The Dental Branch is located in the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States. The metroplex of Houston provides special strengths to its only school of dentistry. One important strength is that Houston is the location of one of the largest clusters of world-class health science schools and treatment facilities anywhere on the globe. The Dental Branch has unique possibilities for engaging in high-quality interdisciplinary research, teaching, and patient care.
 
The Dental Branch is a member of a public university health science center focused on excellence in teaching, research, interdisciplinary education and scholarship endeavors.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has concentrated considerable effort on developing, implementing, and evaluating a mission and strategic plan for the entire center. The administration of the UTHSC-Houston Health Science Center has worked with all of its schools in this process, and it is evident that the administration views its mission and plan as operational cornerstones that will guide their activities. As a member of the UTHSC-Houston health science team, the Dental Branch will be called upon to demonstrate that it is a good citizen of its parent university by contributing to each of the goals of its parent university.
 
The Dental Branch has many internal strengths upon which to build.
The Dental Branch…..
1. enjoys a long and proud tradition of providing the region, State, and country with quality dental health professionals.
2. boasts a long history of valued service to its patients through its teaching clinics---some current patients are the third generation of Houstonians who have depended upon the Dental Branch as their primary dental care provider.
3. maintains a successful continuing education program that is highly respected by theprofessional community.
4. provides needed care to a variety of patient populations through its many outreach programs and off-site clinics.
5. currently trains a significant number of GSBS Master’s and PhD students, mentors postdoctoral fellows, and attracts a substantial number of visiting scientists each year.
6. is the only dental school in the Houston area thereby providing the Dental Branch with a prime urban environment unique to the Texas schools of dentistry.
7. is a member of the UT Health Science Center at Houston and the Texas Medical Center—providing an environment that is unique in the quality and variety of interdisciplinary opportunities.
8. is continuing to experience a growing applicant pool that has allowed the selection of highly qualified entering students.
9. now offers advanced dental education programs in all of the recognized dental specialties, as well as AEGD and GPR programs.
10. has a core of faculty who have been successful in securing extramural funding for research and training programs.
11. is the home base for two multi-institutional/interdisciplinary research centers of the Health Science Center—the Houston Biomaterials Research Center and the Houston Center for Bone Research.
12. has a substantial representation in space biomedical research.
13. has one of the strongest dental student research programs in the country.
14. enjoys a 25-year collaboration in teaching and research with its close neighbor, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, a world-class cancer treatment center.
15. has appointed a new Dean who is committed to improving the stature of the Dental Branch.
   
The Dental Branch will be challenged to:
 1. increase its profile within the national educational and research community, the State and the UT Health Science Center at Houston.
 2. increase its scholarly activities, particularly in the area of the scholarship of discovery.
3. halt, and if possible reverse the loss of quality faculty, particularly those engaged in funded research.
4. enhance research in the clinical sciences which directly applies to patient care, including the development of a fully-functional clinical research facility—thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the School for funding from private industry.
5. develop a center of excellence with high-quality clinicians providing diagnostic, evaluative and treatment expertise to assist the dental practitioners in the community with complex cases.
6. increase enrollment in its existing formal combined degree programs, and develop additional programs with the other schools in the UT Health Science Center at Houston and with other professional schools, both within the medical complex and nationally.
7. increase the number of highly visible, interdisciplinary courses and research programs with the other schools in the UT Health Science Center at Houston, UT-MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as other institutes within Houston, and selected international institutions.
8. participate in the UTHSC-wide plan to develop a systematic annual evaluation procedure of faculty, staff and administrators that includes input from the individual and peers--and where applicable, from the students, the department chair and the Dean.
9. establish closer ties to organized dentistry.