GSDM Students Compete in First Annual District 1 Debate
GSDM dental debaters Mohamad Kamel DMD 13, Sameet Gill DMD 14, Marc Horton DMD 14, Darshit Shah DMD 13, Dhiren Agrawal DMD 13 and Julian Camastra DMD 15 faced off against dental students from Tufts University and Harvard University at the First Annual District 1 Debate, held at Tufts University on February 25. GSDM and Tufts have held debates against one another for the last few years, but this was the first debate with all three Boston-area dental schools.
Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Daniel Moran served as a judge from GSDM. Debate topics included:
- Mid-Level Providers: Do mid-level providers serve to increase accessibility to dental care in neglected communities or do they compromise the overall quality of care administered?
- National vs. Regional/State Licensure: Would a national license recognize that the standard of care should not be determined by state lines, or might it hinder the distribution of dentists nationwide?
- Mandatory PGY-1: Are states such as New York justified in requiring the completion of a one-year post-graduate program for dental licensure in lieu of an examination?
- Patient-Based Exam vs. Portfolio Review: In granting dental licensure, is a portfolio review a sufficient replacement for the patient-based exam which carries many widely-recognized unethical aspects?
- Dental Schools at Osteopathic/Naturopathic Colleges: Are students at dental schools associated with institutions of non-allopathic medicine receiving the same quality of education as those students at schools with a curriculum based on traditional medicine?
- Esthetic Dentistry as an ADA-Recognized Specialty: Should Esthetics be recognized as a dental specialty by the ADA or is it merely a field within the scope of general dentistry?
Tufts was the winner, defeating Harvard in the final round of the debate. Harvard defeated GSDM in the round 1 of the debate.
GSDM debate team organizer and alternate James Lee DMD 14 said, “This year’s debate was a great experience for everyone involved. Although we didn’t win, we accomplished our goal of raising awareness and furthering discussion about important issues facing dentistry today.”