Fourth-year students from the UConn School of Dental Medicine gathered this week to celebrate their residency placements for the next year.
Known as “the Match,” the dental students joyfully shared where they will be continuing their training after they graduate from UConn.
“One hundred percent— every student in the Class of 2024 pursuing residency training—successfully matched into the program of their choosing,” Dr. Steven Lepowsky, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, announced.
“Although this exceptional outcome has become commonplace in our school, we should never take it for granted,” Lepowsky said. “The students in the Class of 2024 will be entering some of the most desirable and competitive residency programs anywhere in the nation, and that is because of all of their hard work and dedication in the classroom, in the clinic with patients, and through service and outreach.”
Out of the 49 students, 18 are staying in Connecticut. Over half of the class placed in general practice residency or advanced education in general dentistry programs, while the remaining placed in specialties including oral maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, and prosthodontics. Several students will head to private practice.
“It has been an honor and pleasure to watch the Class of 2024 grow into the professionals that they will be,” said Dr. Sarita Arteaga, associate dean for students.
The students will be traveling to Ohio, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Washington, California, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Florida, and New York for their residency programs.
Claire Bisch, heading to Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard, is the first student in recent years to pursue oral medicine as a specialty. Bisch was initially drawn to UConn for the combined medical and dental biomedical sciences curriculum—known as MDelta. Bisch discovered her passion for oral medicine—which is a specialty that focuses on the connections between oral health and overall health.
“Throughout my time in MDelta I realized the importance—both in education and in practice—of systemic oral integration,” Bisch said. “I decided I had this passion for both dentistry as well as the medical implications that dentistry and oral health can have, and how important that is.”
After residency, Bisch hopes go into academia to educate students about oral systemic health.
Out of the 18 students staying in Connecticut, seven will be continuing their education at UConn.
Julia Mainelli is set to be a “triple Husky,” as she attended UConn for undergrad and will be staying at UConn Health to pursue a residency in prosthodontics.
“I like the opportunity to take a patient’s complex treatment plan from start to finish and be able to treat people with more advanced needs,” Mainelli said about her desire to practice prosthodontics.
“I believe we have top-tier faculty, state-of-the-art technology, and it feels like a family,” Mainelli said about the School of Dental Medicine.
Maayan Schmidt will also be staying at UConn as an orthodontics resident, choosing orthodontics because she likes to witness patients’ transformations.
“I’m excited to be working with UConn faculty, being exposed to amazing technology, and be able to transform the lives of my patients,” she said.
