The connection between oral health and overall health is a topic that we dental professionals frequently bring up in our efforts to educate patients and improve their well-being. A healthy mouth contributes to a healthy life, and that’s one message we all should reinforce.
This issue of Contact Point touches on the concept of health in several ways. Our Current Issue section highlights a new lecture series on the link between oral health and systemic health being presented by Dugoni School faculty members at Stanford University School of Medicine. This unique lecture series is bringing together medical and dental professionals to better inform physicians about oral health topics. We’re proud to be part of this collaborative project.
We are also emphasizing overall health around our school community through some new campus activities. Our Health and Wellness Committee takes the lead on many events, including organizing weekly after-school walks around San Francisco’s hills, Boot Camp workouts, guest speakers on health topics, partnerships with fitness centers and our annual Active for Life team fitness program held each fall in partnership with the American Cancer Society. Two years ago the school also launched a weekly farmers’ market on our first-floor plaza to offer healthy produce to students, faculty, staff, patients and the neighborhood. These activities demonstrate that wellness is a focus at the Dugoni School of Dentistry.
This issue also covers University of the Pacific’s purchase of a building to house our future new San Francisco campus—a landmark decision that will benefit future generations of students. The seven-story structure in the City’s South of Market district will provide a vibrant, flexible presence for our dental school and future University programs. Details about the exciting purchase and upcoming renovations are covered in the pages that follow, including thoughts from alumni, students and faculty members.
In planning for the future in terms of how we communicate, we are excited to launch Contact Point Online. Our magazine’s new digital version is a dynamic home for expanded content, exclusive web features, photo galleries and more. We hope you check it out and stay in touch with us online and offline alike.
In a variety of ways, we are contributing to the health of our great institution — our people, programs and the physical structures in which we learn, teach, work and socialize.
In the spirit of supporting wellness in all its forms, we wish you the best in your own health as well.
Dr. Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr.
Dean
