New Cohort of Dental Students Receive White Coats in Ceremony

The Class of 2026 and the internationally educated dentists in Classes of 2024 and 2025, representing 26 countries from around the world, wore their white coats for the first time in a ceremony held on May 2 at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM).

RSDM’s White Coat Ceremony began in 2001, making it one of the first dental schools to hold such a symbolic event. It is an occasion for dental students to recognize the ethical and professional responsibilities of becoming a future health care provider. 

In her speech, Dean Cecile A. Feldman reminded the students that they are now Scarlet Knights­–knights waging war against caries, periodontal disease, oral cancer, and other oral disorders. She emphasized that besides being technically competent in diagnosing and treating oral diseases, students also need to be compassionate caregivers, taking the emotional and psychological well-being of their patients into account.

She also reflected on her experience receiving her white coat and feeling both honored and humbled. “What struck me was that I was joining the ranks of the privileged few; I was entrusted with learning the essence of the human body. A fellow human being felt providing me the opportunity to learn was so important that they entrusted their most sacred gift to me, that, of course, was themselves,” she said. “I also hope that you remember this day as the beginning of a never-ending journey to acquire knowledge and that you commit yourself to a lifelong career of helping others.”

Raymond A. Cohlmia, executive director of the American Dental Association, was the keynote speaker of the event. He told the audience his white coat stories. A patient of his, Tina, came in for her front tooth to be fixed. She wanted to start a new chapter in her life with a new smile, which she hoped would renew her confidence and bring her a new job. Later, Cohlmia received a handwritten message without a signature but a distinct message: I got the job. Another patient, Agnes, came in for a denture adjustment and kept returning every month for four and a half years to mostly talk about her son, whom she lost during Navy service.

“Agnes and Tina saw me in my white coat. They felt seen, heard, and cared for,” Cohlmia said. “On those days, the name on my white coat wasn’t important. It was who I was as a dentist and what I represented in my white coat: the power to heal. Moreover, I represented a safe place. … As you go in your white coats today, you make one of the biggest statements of your life. Remember that you're also donning a capacity for understanding, empathy, compassion, and love no matter what comes your way.”

Two RSDM students already showing these qualities, Jasmine Renee Lopez, president of the Class of 2023, and Khrystyna Hrebeshchenko, vice president of the Class of 2023, received the Professionalism Award. In his announcement, Andrew Sullivan, chair of the Honor Council and the chair of the Periodontics Department, said both students “have shown a strong sense of integrity, responsibility, passion, and commitment in all areas of academia, leadership, and service,” including helping their class during the pandemic and the new Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) exams, where the class reached an exceptional 100 percent pass rate.  

The event ended with 90 DMD candidates and 84 doctors with international degrees receiving their white coats and RSDM pins as well as reciting the dental oath.