History of Dental Schools in Louisiana

N.O. Dental College | N.O. College of Dentistry | Tulane | Loyola | LSUSD | Bibliography

Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, 1966--

LSU School of Dentistry was established in 1966 and accepted the first class of thirty students in 1968.  The school opened in barracks on a 22-acre tract that originally served as World War II housing for the U.S. Navy.  The site, purchased from the federal government in 1965, was renamed William Pitcher Plaza after a well-known Louisiana educator and former chairman of the Board of Supervisors. 

Dr. Edmund E. Jeansonne, dean of the Loyola School of Dentistry, was appointed first dean of LSUSD.

Construction of the permanent building began in 1969 and extended through 1971, at a cost of $15.75 million. The building opened in January 1972 and was dedicated on February 18.  Dr. Victor E. Babin became the first alumnus of the LSU School of Dentistry when the class of 27 dentists graduated on June 3, 1972.

Deans:  Dr. Edmund E. Jeansonne, 1966-1974
            Dr. Allen A. Copping, 1974
            Dr. Edmund E. Jeansonne, 1974-1976
            Dr. Jack Rayson, 1976-1993
            Dr. Eric Hovland, 1993-2008
            Dr. Henry Gremillion, 2008--

First site of the LSU School of Dentistry	Dean's office in the barracks
First LSUSD dental class	First class composite
Drs. Luebke, Jeansonne, and Romano welcome the first class	LSUSD buildings under construction, 1969-1971

Postgraduate Programs:
According to the LSUSD annual report for 1972/1973, the American Dental Association Council on Dental Education approved applications for new programs in the clinical specialties of dentistry and general dentistry in May 1972. The new programs were General Dentistry, Oral Pathology, Orthodontics, Pedodontics, Periodontics, and Prosthodontics. However, students were only accepted that year in Orthodontics, Oral Pathology, and Oral Surgery. The Oral Surgery program, based at Charity Hospital, had been established in the late 1920's and was transferred from Loyola to LSU in 1968.

Students were selected for training in Pedodontics and General Dentistry beginning in July 1973. The first postgraduate certificate in Oral Pathology was presented on June 30, 1974. On August 30, 1974, three students were awarded postgraduate certificates in Orthodontics. In June 1975, students in Pedodontics, General Dentistry, and Oral Surgery received the first postgraduate certificates in those departments.

The flood on May 3, 1978 devastated sections of the city, flooded the basement of the school, and inundated many cars on campus.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005, the basement and first floor of both LSUSD buildings were flooded. The school did not reopen until August 2007.

Two weeks after the storm, dental school administrators relocated to Baton Rouge and with the assistance of the LSU Systems Office, began planning for a temporary dental school there. The 60 fourth-year dental students were placed in preceptorships in private dental offices across Louisiana. In October, temporary classrooms for other dental  students were located at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and by December, students in the first-, second-, and third-year dental classes, dental hygiene, and dental laboratory technology returned to lectures, clinic, and laboratories at the LSU South Campus. Because of limited space at the new campus, the postgraduate programs were forced to locate clinic and seminar space in other facilities and cities. LSUSD remained on South Campus until August 2007, when the New Orleans building reopened and all programs returned.

These photos show South Campus before the buildings were renovated for the dental school and then afterwards, with the school in full operation.

Faculty tour of future lecture hall in Building 3110	LSUSD administration building 3110
Preclinical building with library and bookstore
Timeline of conditions that impacted recovery after Katrina

 This page is maintained by Elizabeth Strother.  Last updated October 2015
For further information on the history of dental schools in Louisiana contact Julie Schiavo, School of Dentistry Library
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