Innovation is a crucial mindset for dental students to cultivate and apply. The dental curriculum is often highly structured, creating barriers to innovative thinking. But dental students must develop skills to identify problems and gaps, while brainstorming potential solutions and be confident in presenting their ideas. These skills are nurtured at the OHSU School of Dentistry through activities like “hackathons,” giving students the chance to work together in a fast-paced, fun setting outside of the classroom.

In addition to hackathons, this third edition of the School of Dentistry Anthology highlights student-driven programs such as Voices in Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity, or VIBE, and the Bridges Collaborative Care Clinic.

VIBE offers multicultural learning opportunities and activities, often centered around food, and welcomes participants from the school and community.

Bridges Dental was founded about three years ago when our students recognized a critical gap in oral health services for the homeless population in Portland, Oregon. Bridges Dental is governed and managed by students, with support from faculty, staff and industry partners and is a part of the Bridges Collaborative Care Clinic.

The programs described in this issue result from innovative thinking by students who identified needs, brainstormed potential solutions, tested pilots or prototypes, and refined them to create sustainable solutions.

Finally, the article on innovation and creativity is based on a course taught within the OHSU-Portland State University Healthcare MBA program. There are observations, innovative mindsets and tools that can be applied to dental and other healthcare areas.