School of Dentistry Celebrates Launch of DDS-ASPIRE, Expanding Pathway to Dental Care for Underserved Californians

From Sacramento to San Francisco, the UCSF School of Dentistry’s Doctor of Dental Surgery Advocacy, Science, Public Interest, and Research (DDS-ASPIRE) program has begun its inaugural journey. On Monday, Sept. 21, the School of Dentistry celebrated the launch of a new initiative designed to prepare the next generation of dentists to serve communities across California where access to oral health care remains limited.

A special reception marking the inauguration of DDS-ASPIRE was held in the Lange Room on the fifth floor of the UCSF Kalmanovitz Library at the Parnassus campus. Members of the UCSF community and supporters of the new program gathered to recognize the first cohort and celebrate the launch of an initiative aimed at strengthening California’s dental workforce.

DDS-ASPIRE was conceived and championed by Dean Michael Reddy, DMD, DMSc, who advocated for the program in Sacramento. The initiative was inspired in part by UC Programs in Medical Education, or PRIME, which uses a cohort-based approach to prepare health professionals to serve communities with significant health care needs.

Dean Reddy saw an opportunity to bring a similar model to the School of Dentistry, with the goal of helping address persistent disparities in access to oral health care throughout California.

“As healthcare providers, it’s important we expand our reach so we can provide help to as many people as possible,” said Dean Reddy to those gathered at Monday night’s reception.

“Our vision is advancing health for all; we advance health through research, we advance health through patient care, we advance health through education, and we advance it through service. But the second part of that vision is equally or more important: for all. That concept of ‘all’ is really important.”

DDS-ASPIRE was established with support from a $1.8 million grant approved by California lawmakers. The program was designed to recruit and educate dental students committed to serving underserved communities while providing additional training in leadership, advocacy, public health, and research.

The program launched this academic year with 10 students from the Class of 2030. Rather than creating a separate dental curriculum, DDS-ASPIRE was integrated into the students’ existing four-year Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) education. Participants receive additional leadership and research training designed to complement their academic and clinical preparation.

“We get a lot of different budget requests, but I know when the program was brought into our office, Assemblymember Stefani was immediately taken by the mission of the work that the DDS-ASPIRE program was doing, and that’s why she was so excited to be able to help secure that $1.8 million grant in last year’s budget,” said Frankie Falzon, district director for California State Assemblymember Catherine Stefani.

“I also wanted to share that not only is this a very big milestone for this program, and a very big milestone to be part of the inaugural cohort here, but she’s a new member of the assembly and this is the first request that she ever successfully got included in the budget as an assemblymember.”

The crowd erupted into applause.

“So, this is a milestone for our office and for the assemblymember as well to be able to support the project in this way,” said Falzon. “I just want to congratulate the inaugural cohort. Thank you, Dean Reddy, and thank you all for inviting me here, I appreciate it.”

Monday’s gathering included distinguished guests such as UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Catherine Lucey, MD, MACP, Vice Chancellor for Community and Government Relations Dan Bernal, Senior Director of Local and State Government Relations Amiee Alden, Senior Director of Health Sciences and Workforce Innovation for the UC Office of the President-UC Health Dena Bullard, and Executive Vice President for the University of California Health David Rubin, MD, MSCE.

The evening represented an important step in the School of Dentistry's commitment to investing in future dentists and providing them with opportunities to combine clinical education with leadership, research, advocacy, and public service.

The program reflects a broader vision of dentistry, one in which oral health care is not only about treating individual patients, but also about addressing the barriers that determine who has access to care and who does not.

Through collaborative efforts between state lawmakers, UCSF leadership, and the School of Dentistry community, DDS-ASPIRE has moved from vision to action, launching a new chapter in California’s effort to improve oral health equity.

Story by Aziza Jackson