By Maria Gabriela Rodriguez Mantilla and Milan Stokes
From the Fall 2022 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association
SNDA Executive Board with CU School of Dental Medicine faculty and staff.
The Student National Dental Association (SNDA) is a national organization that strives to support minority dental students and attract more minority dental students to the dental field. SNDA’s vision for diversity in dentistry is becoming ever present across American dental schools with new chapters getting chartered every year.
The History
The SNDA was established over 40 years ago in concert with the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), the National Medical Association (NMA), and the National Dental Association (NDA). At the time, minority dental students did not have an organization that recognized and supported their experiences in school. The creation of this national organization facilitated the creation of regions; thereby giving birth to local chapters across the country. Subsequently, the Undergraduate Student National Dental Association (USNDA) was formed and expanded the initial vision to include pre-dental students at undergraduate institutions across the country. To this day, NDA, SNDA, and USNDA collaborate to bring the best possible programming to their members and alumni.
SNDA’s mission statement is carried out year after year by over 25 chapters at U.S. dental schools. Each year, SNDA holds a national convention that includes networking, professional development workshops, and annual awards.
CU SNDA Chapter
The University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine’s SNDA chapter began as the Multicultural Student Dental Association. In 2019, it was officially chartered as an SNDA chapter. At a national level, chapters are recognized as small, medium and large based on member enrollment.
At the University of Colorado, our 53 members in 2021 qualified us as a large chapter. The School of Dental Medicine’s Dental Student (DS) and Advanced Standing International Student (ISP) programs provide a unique opportunity for authentic multicultural collaboration with a wide variety of cultures. The chapter is led by Co-Presidents Maria Gabriela Rodriguez Mantilla and Gilbert Fru, alongside 13 additional members of the executive board. At the most recent national convention in June 2022, the University of Colorado’s Chapter of SNDA was awarded Third Place for Best Large Chapter, a great honor for a chapter that is so young in its charter.
Cornerstones
To maintain status, each local chapter must arrange certain SNDA cornerstone events each year. These signature programs include service and outreach events such as an Oral Cancer Walk (most recently held in Larimer Square), “Lessons in a Lunchbox,” a holiday service project, and the hallmark Impressions Day. Impressions Day is an event for minority pre-dental students to come to campus and get a rare experience with CU faculty, current students, and administration to encourage their matriculation into the program. Additionally, in line with national collaboration between NDA, SNDA, and USNDA, our chapter strives to build and maintain relationships with local dental professionals and CU alumni to help guide the next generation of Colorado dentistry.
The Future
Our chapter is relatively young given the 40-year history of the national organization. This puts us in an exciting position because it allows us to create our own vision from the ground up in real time. We have added new positions to our executive board, such as a pre-dental liaison to help us better capture the vision of what SNDA is meant to be. We have chosen to emphasize building a relationship within ourselves and our community through community service, cultural events, and networking with local dental organizations. In the future, CU SNDA is looking to build upon its solid foundation while expanding further into our community to make our presence known beyond the Anschutz campus. In the hopes of accomplishing this goal, CU SNDA is delighted to pair up with the CDA in future events.
If you are interested in collaborating with SNDA, send us an email to coloradosnda.sdm@cuanschutz.edu.
Maria Gabriela “Gaby” Rodriguez Mantilla is a DS3 at the CU School of Dental Medicine and the Colorado SNDA president. Milan Stokes is a DS2 at the CU School of Dental Medicine and the Colorado SNDA vice president.