Multimillion dollar education grant pledged to dental schools

PLANO, Texas--The National Dental Network, a Dallas-based distance learning company serving the dental and medical communities, has announced that it is pledging a multi-million dollar grant to 56 dental schools nationwide.

The grant will enable dental faculty and students to receive accredited instruction via DVD directly from many of the world's leading clinicians.

"While the mission of NDN over the last 15 years has been to bring quality training and instruction from the world leaders directly to the dental professionals, in the most convenient and timely means possible, the goal of this Education Grant is to now do the same on a nationwide basis for all dental school students" said William Mays, CEO of National Dental Network.

"We are dedicated to partnering with every dental school in the country by providing the latest, live-patient content on the market today," explained Mays.

"We have worked with National Dental Network in developing multi-media educational content for several years," shared Chris Sager, Executive Director of The Pankey Institute. "We are excited to join them in this precedent setting endeavor".

The concept of learning from a distance is not a new one, but the National Dental Network has earned a reputation for taking it to a whole new level. "What has been available to dentists until now has mostly been videos and DVDs filmed at professional meetings, with limited production value and very limited live-patient surgical demonstration," explained Mays.

"NDN's strength is our more than 15 years of dental and medical live-patient clinical filming and production experience, plus the technology to bring it all together in a larger-than-life format. And that is what tomorrow's dentists demand in order to truly see and understand a technique as it is being performed."

Another unique feature of NDN programming and curricula is its multi-specialty approach. NDN has assembled a world-class faculty that provides training and education in many areas including restorative dentistry, esthetic dentistry, implant dentistry, occlusion, and full-mouth reconstruction. It also offers benchmark programming in practice management and team development.

Each of the participating dental schools will receive a complete library of programs and every student will be registered in the NDN CE Online Learning Management System.

The programming lineup grows each year and now includes the following:

*Excellence in Cosmetic Dentistry, a 12-part, live-patient educational series featuring cutting-edge information on the newest products and materials in esthetic, restorative and multidisciplinary dentistry.

*Excellence in Implant Dentistry, a 6-part educational series that looks over-the-shoulders of three world leaders as they rehabilitate several implant patients.

*Excellence in Full-Mouth Reconstruction, a 6-part educational series that profiles a complete full-mouth reconstruction case from initial treatment planning to clinical procedures to final results.

*Excellence in Occlusion, a 3-part educational series that features the science behind the industry's 2 most popular occlusal treatments.

*Excellence in Team Development, a 12-part educational series co-developed with The Pankey Institute, focuses on the most strategic challenges facing today's dental teams.

*Excellence in Dental Assisting, a 12-part educational series that informs and educates dental students and assistants on new procedures, techniques, products and materials.

Each of the DVD programs also comes with its own online Learning Guide. Students can use the Guide to get a quick overview of what the DVD program includes. Additionally, the NDN website (www.nationaldentalnetwork.com) lets students quickly and easily measure their recall and retention by taking a CE exam online.

With the touch of a button, students can send their completed exam to NDN and receive immediate notification of whether they have passed or need to resubmit. The website also offers collateral educational materials including before-and-after digital case photographs to further expand each student's knowledge of the topics covered in each of the programs. Additionally each student will be able access special 'NDN Student Perks' online.

"Dental schools are doing an incredible job preparing students; however, the resources required to capture and showcase live-patient clinical training over a variety of disciplines and topics are limited," said Mays. "It is our desire to help enhance education and optimize learning through resource sharing and collaboration in the form of this educational grant."

The sum value of the grant, with full participation from each of the 56 dental schools, would total $203,362,500--one of the largest endowments ever from a private company.

Dental schools wishing to receive more information on the grant can contact
Michael Taylor, Director of Program Affairs for National Dental Network, at (866)465-4164 or [email protected].