Jon Ryder discusses oral health care on ‘Love Maine Radio’
Jon Ryder, D.D.S., M.S., dean of the College of Dental Medicine, was a featured guest on the Love Maine Radio show, produced by Maine Magazine.
Ryder began by discussing how his interest in dentistry stemmed from a passion for helping others. Prior to coming to ɫƵ, he spent time in Cambodia, assisting dental schools with curriculum development and addressing access to care issues.
“When I was in Cambodia and working with the dental schools, we were actually looking at the new dental schools developing in the United States to see what their missions were and how we might apply some of their ideas,” he said. “That’s how I was alerted about the new school opening in Maine, at the University of New England.”
Ryder also addressed the ways that the College of Dental Medicine provides unique training for students, saying, “having the fourth year students going out into community-based educational sites to start immediately addressing access to care issues [is] somewhat of a departure from a traditional training program or educational program.”
Educating students to not only be skilled dentists, but knowledgeable public health practitioners is of great importance to Ryder. He notes that the College of Dental Medicine has more public health coursework than most programs, so that students graduate with leadership skills in dental public health.
“We want them to be able to speak intelligently about public health issues, comfortably be able to deal with legislatures, address public health policies and so on,” he said. "They’re going to be the leaders of the future. We need to educate them in that way.”
To learn more about the College of Dental Medicine, visit www.une.edu/dentalmedicine
To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions