Our History

More Than a Century of Innovative Leadership in Dental Education and Care

Our roots stretch back to the 1881 when the Kansas City Dental College was founded as a department within the Kansas City Medical College. Eventually, the Kansas City Dental College merged with Western Dental College to form the Kansas City-Western Dental College, which, In 1941, affiliated with the privately supported University of Kansas City and became that institution’s School of Dentistry. Twenty years later the University of Kansas City joined the four-campus state University of Missouri system. Since then, the dental school has been known as the UMKC School of Dentistry.

Our facilities include modern classrooms, research laboratories, practice clinics and library services. We offer a comprehensive range of oral healthcare programs, including eight programs fully accredited by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation, and our nationally recognized faculty includes scholars, scientists and specialists.