The Baltimore College of Dental surgery was founded in 1840 by Drs. Horace Hayden and Chapin Harris as the world’s first dental college. Up until this point all dental instruction was provided through preceptorships in which a practicing dentist tutored one or more “students” in the science and art of dentistry.

The dental education model set up by the BCDS served as the model for other dental schools formed in the United States and around the world. The Maryland Dental College was formed in 1873 but merged with the BCDS in 1878. The University of Maryland Dental Department was formed in 1882 and in 1913absorbed the Baltimore Medical Dental Department, which had been formed in 1895. In 1923 the BCDS merged with the University of Maryland Dental Department to form the current school.

1840 – The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery is formed as the first dental school in the world.

1840s – The founding fathers, Dr. Horace Hayden and Dr. Chapin Harris, established the world’s first dental journal, the American Journal of Dental Science, and organized the first national dental organization, the American Society of Dental Surgeons.

WWI – Dr. Livius Lankford, a BCDS alumnus, set up the first American dental clinic in France.

1950 – The first telecast of an actual dental operation ever viewed by a dental society was transmitted from a BCDS operating room in November. Three operations were televised to more than 450 members of the Baltimore City Dental Society and dentists from other parts of Maryland.

1970 – BCDS established a baccalaureate program in dental hygiene, the first – and still the only one of its kind in the state.

1972 – BCDS established a special clinic for handicapped patients. It was described as the “first in the country to build special facilities for the education of undergraduate dental students in the treatment of these special patients.”

1970s – BCDS was one of the first dental schools to initiate the General Practice Program, using dentist managers and patient care coordinators. Over the years, many other U.S. dental schools adopted similar patient-centered programs.

1980 – BCDS became the first dental school in the U.S. to be awarded a training grant to support a program to study the problems of alcoholism and drug abuse among dental patients.

1982 – An Advanced General Dentistry Program (AGD) was initiated. The new one-year program was the first dental school-based program to be initiated in the United States.

1986 – BCDS created its first division of Dental Informatics as a reflection of the influx of computers into dentistry. The BCDS was the only school in the country with eighteen interactive videodisc systems using videodisc and computer technology to deliver interactive instruction to students.

1990s – BCDS became the recipient of the country’s first periodontal regeneration and implant research center located in a university setting.