Bridging New Programs From Concept to Rapid Development and Implementation

Through the ADEA Council of Deans Fellowship Capstone project, a new International Dentist Educational Program (IDEP) emerges as a unique program to provide educational pathways for international dentists. IDEPs expand the US dental workforce by integrating internationally trained dentists into Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited DDS/DMD programs. While most institutions require several years to establish such programs, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTSD) developed and launched its IDEP in just 14 months. This perspective article describes how agile leadership, system-wide collaboration, and parallel planning accelerated school, university, and CODA approval and implementation. Drawing on comparisons with other US IDEPs, the article highlights how UTSD's rapid approach-maintained compliance while leveraging institutional readiness, patient pool sufficiency, and faculty support. The resulting program includes a pre-entry 10-week bridge calibration curriculum followed by full integration into the D3 cohort. UTSD's experience demonstrates that IDEPs and perhaps similar programs can be launched efficiently without diminishing rigor and offers a replicable model for other institutions addressing workforce shortages and access-to-care challenges.