UCLA School of Dentistry

This week marks the start of a one, two, three – or in the case of future oral surgeons, six – year journey of postgraduate training for our new residency cohorts. Welcome, and we're excited to see you thrive in your chosen oral health specialty!

Explore UCLA's nine unique specialty programs at 🔗 https://dentistry.ucla.edu/academics-admissions/residency-training-program

Now more than a year into the five-year National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded project, principal investigator Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila and data engineer Abasalt Bahrami provide an update.

Inside UCLA's Human Virome Characterization Center | UCLA School of Dentistry Interviews with UCLA's Human Virome Characterization Center (VCC) Principal Investigatorand Post-doctoral Data Scientist.

"Bridging Border Smiles" – in partnership with Universidad Autónoma de Baja California's Facultad De Odontología Tijuana Uabc and with funding through the University of California's Alianza MX – focuses on community workers and tele-oral health.

Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez Leads Binational Oral Health Equity Initiative Along California-Mexico Border | UCLA School of Dentistry Project will will support a two-year collaboration through March 2028 focused on improving oral health outcomes in underserved communities along the California-

Congrats on finishing the 2025-26 academic year with a flourish! Enjoy the fresh summer air 🏞️ – and some soccer ⚽ – over the next three weeks, and we'll see the D2, D3, and D4 classes back on campus next month.

All good things must come to an end, including our 2026 series taking you inside the School's specialty care clinics! We close with a 2-for-1: The UCLA Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine Faculty Practice (🔗 ucla.in/43qPCaR), and Graduate Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic (🔗 ucla.in/442L76n), both under the direction of Dr. Sherwin Arman.

Dive deep into these clinics helping patients relieve their temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), neuropathic pain conditions, obstructive sleep apnea, and primary headaches.

With the close of the academic year comes the end of “Inside Our Labs,” ... highlighting the groundbreaking research happening across School. 🧪🦷

Led by Dr. David Wong, the WLab is pioneering saliva-based diagnostic technologies that use molecular biomarkers and liquid biopsy approaches to detect and monitor cancer and other systemic diseases through a simple, noninvasive sample.

Dive deep into the WLab's innovative work at 🔗 bit.ly/Wong_Wlab , from which you can explore all UCLA School of Dentistry laboratories.
With the close of the academic year comes the end of “Inside Our Labs,” ... highlighting the groundbreaking research happening across the School. 🧪🦷

A banner spring for the Section of Orthodontics concluded with an alumni gathering and celebration for eight graduating residents, on the heels of Chair Dr. Sunil Kapila earning the American Association of Orthodontists' inaugural Inclusion & Engagement Award.

UCLA Orthodontics Shines at National Conference, Celebrates Graduating Residents | UCLA School of Dentistry The Section was prominently represented at the 2026 American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Session in Orlando.

| Continuing one of the School's grandest traditions: During Sunday's commencement ceremony, six members of the 2026 class were presented their doctoral hoods by alumni/faculty family members. Scroll ↔ share in these special moments.

While the past week has been all about celebrating our grads, current Dental Bruins are making waves as well ... Jenna Makarem, D.D.S. '28, will represent UCLA on the American Dental Education Association's 2026-27 Council of Students, Residents, and Fellows!

Today, she travels to Washington, D.C. for two days of training alongside her cohort.

Jenna says 💬: "I'm excited to serve on the ADEA Council of Students, Residents, and Fellows and broaden my involvement in and exploration of academic dentistry. I hope to gain meaningful experiences through working with other dental students and educators on initiatives that positively impact dental education and student experiences."

Snapshots 📸 from the UCLA School of Dentistry’s 59th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 31. Tag your favorite grads from the Class of 2026 and congratulate 👏 them!

Watch the ceremony in its entirety at dentistry.ucla.edu/articles/celebrating-the-class-of-2026