UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry hosts Mahidol University

UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry hosted 14 representatives of Mahidol University in late October as part of their collaborative agreement through the dental school’s International Scholarship Training Program (more commonly referred to as ITSP).

“We at UTHealth Houston are excited to welcome delegates from our sister institution, Mahidol University — ranked the number one University in Thailand — to visit and learn how we teach and practice dentistry in the US. We hope visiting students would be impressed and possibly interested in joining our residency program as ISTP residents in the future,” said Professor Sudarat Kiat-amnuay, DDS, director of the International Scholarship Training Program.

Representatives of Mahidol University included two faculty members, Ratchapin Srisatjaluk, PhD, associate professor, and Pichapha Pukpuek, PhD, lecturer, and 12 senior dental students.

The group spent two weeks in Houston, meeting members of the School of Dentistry and UTHealth Houston leadership, touring the dental school and Texas Medical Center at large, and rotating through the advanced education in general dentistry, advanced periodontics, advanced prosthodontics, and the oral and maxillofacial surgery residency clinics. They arrived on Oct. 20 and departed on Nov. 1.

As part of their learning opportunities, the group sat in on several clinical and treatment planning seminars and individual case presentations for the dental specialties. They also received a digital dentistry lecture and a hands-on opportunity in the simulation lab.

Additionally, Mahidol representatives attended the 14th Annual Student Research Showcase, where dental and postgraduate students presented their findings from the 2024 Summer Research Program.

In December 2023, the two universities signed a memorandum of understanding to promote teaching and research activities and deepen the knowledge of the respective institutions’ economic, cultural, and social issues.

The International Scholarship Training Program aims to train international dentists to the U.S. standard of dental practice and education. Participants return to their home countries once they complete their training to serve their patient populations, train future generations of dentists, and become future dental leaders in their respective countries.