Every year, the Midwest Dental Conference strengthens professions, renews friendships and    \adds to its legacy.

When I arrived 10 years ago, I quickly learned that the lasting bonds of friendship forged among classmates are one of the most revered features of our school. These amazing bonds form early, often out of common interests but sometimes out of necessity, and continue to evolve through our personal and professional development. Our more senior alumni for decades have understood the importance and value of these relationships and work to keep them strong through early and sustained outreach to our students and recent alumni. Dental education creates the opportunity, but the relationships are cemented through remarkable annual events such as the Midwest Dental Conference.

This issue of the Explorer recaps the 2019 Midwest Dental Conference and takes a deeper look at the conference’s nearly 100-year history and enduring value for alumni and the dental professions. Each of my 10 years, I have seen these lasting friendships fostered at the conference and have enjoyed visiting with our alumni reunion classes. The stories I hear are quite tall and get taller as the evening progresses, but their underlying truths are remarkable perseverance and camaraderie.

Besides the conference, other activities such as our Pouring From the Heart Gala and Benefit and Alumni Scholarship Golf Tournament help ground us in the values we hold close as a school. The late Dr. John Haynes was the champion of children who needed care in our community. Having been a patient of the school as a child, he understood first-hand the value of giving back, providing care to the underserved and creating bonds to the families in the region. Another article in this issue of Explorer tells how we continue to care for the oral health needs of Kansas City’s children every day through our Lowry Pediatric Clinic, a legacy project sustained by Dr. Brenda Bohaty.

Finally, the school year culminates with the celebration of graduation of our dental, dental hygiene, advanced education and master’s/PhD students, and their joy can be seen in this Explorer’s photographs of graduates, family and friends.

I hope you enjoy viewing those important events and accomplishments. More importantly, I hope you will join us in the next academic year as we continue to build our relationships with new students, recent graduates, alumni and friends so that the common bond we share has persistence into the future. Your seat is reserved!

With gratitude,

Marsha A. Pyle, DDS, MEd

Dean, UMKC School of Dentistry