Reports
Flexner Report
This report, funded by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was written by Abraham Flexner in 1910, and focused on the future of medical education (4). This report focused on relationship-building between the universities and the medical schools and steering away from privatization of medical schools (4). In addition, it called for higher standards for admissions, support for better qualified, full-time faculty, and support for scientific research and thinking (4). Dentists in Canada saw this report but reacted slowly due to the much smaller population and resources in Canada. A major contribution to the advancement of dental education in Canada was the affiliation of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons with the University of Toronto in 1925, under the leadership of Dean Wallace Seccombe. This would provide support to hire more qualified and full-time faculty members.
Gies Report
William Gies, Ph.D. was a professor of biochemistry at Colombia University. In 1926, he wrote the tenth report on dental research (4). The more than 400-page report included lengthy descriptions, evaluations of existing dental schools, and recommendations for the future of dental research (2, 4). This report armed administrators to advocate for support for dental research and change in the way dentistry was viewed. Gies refers to dentistry as the oral specialty of medicine, not a trade school or profit centre (2). The Gies report called for predental education requirements that are still in place today; in addition, his recommendation to include hospital internships and graduate specialty programs was put in place (4). In 1927, the Faculty of Dentistry at U of T started to offer diplomas in some of the specialties and focused on recruiting and supporting academics to form each specialty department.
American Association of Dental Schools (A.A.D.S.)
Both the American Dental Association and the A.A.D.S. later released follow up reports on accreditation, standardization and research support to bring American dental schools up to par with the recommendations set out in the Gies Report (4).
Hall Report
In 1961, the Government of Canada established a Royal Commission on Health Services, chaired by Emmet Hall (known as the Hall Commission), which would shape Canadian Medicare for years to come. The Faculty of Dentistry submitted a brief in May 1962, outlining recommendations for dental education support, including additional educational facilities (dental schools), support for faculty clinics, need for student aid, expansion of dental research, need for more dental hygienists, and closer association between dental schools and teaching hospitals (5).
