[1] In January 1955 Dr. Harold W. Brown, Ex-Dean of the School of Public Health of Columbia University, submitted his study on the needs of Physicians and Dentists in Puerto Rico (1).
Moreover, it is envisioned that for various reasons would be more difficult for Puerto Rican students could gain access to American schools in the immediate future.
The lawyer Jaime Benitez, then Rector of the University of Puerto Rico, submitted a request to the Council for Higher Education, with Dr. Peterson's paper as a reference, to create the School of Dentistry.
On 8 March 1956 the doctor Ubaldino Ramirez de Arellano, a dentist by profession and a congressman, introduced House Joint Resolution 3122 which allocated the funds during the 1956-57 fiscal year to cover the costs for planning and buying equipment to establish the School of Dentistry (2).
The lawyer appointed Dr. Raymond Baralt Jr. as the first dean of the newly created School of Dentistry, University of Puerto Rico effective July 1, 1956 as soon learned of the signing of the bill by the Governor.
The faculty and school administration made great efforts to develop academic programs, establish rules and procedures, design and build appropriate facilities (clinics and laboratories), while the teaching work was done.
Subsequently, the agency told the Rector Jaime Benitez the status of "Full Approval" Under-graduate Program of Dentistry, University of Puerto Rico, in a communication dated 13 March 1961.
In the years following its establishment were created graduate programs Histopathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry and Prosthodontics.
Among the highlights are early clinical experiences, use of simulators in pre-clinical laboratories, treatment patient-centered comprehensive, competency-based assessment, innovative educational methods as standardized patients, scientific evidence-based learning among others.
Graduate programs have received professional Central and South America and Spain for training in various specialized areas of dentistry.
The School of Dentistry has maintained steady progress throughout its history, and the celebration of the 50th anniversary of its foundation confirms its institutional maturity.