Sarah Raskin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Urban and Regional Studies and Planning program, and three pre-dental student researchers have received the Best Poster award from the International Association of Dental Research’s Education Research Group at the 2026 IADR annual conference in San Diego. Their project, “Diversity in U.S. Dental Textbooks: An Historical Survey,” starts with a deceptively simple question: In dental education, who is treated as the default patient and provider?

Analyzing photographs, illustrations and text in widely used U.S. dental textbooks from the mid-1900s to today, the team found that images and descriptions still overwhelmingly center white patients and providers. Representation of women providers has grown over time, but the picture remains far from matching the diversity of the communities dentists serve.

Raskin designed the project as a paid research opportunity for pre-dental students Victoria Vidal, Eman Mahjoub and Hannah Clark, giving them hands-on experience and support as they prepare for the Dental Admission Test. The takeaway is blunt: If the profession is serious about oral health equity, dental textbooks must do more to reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of both patients and providers in the U.S. health care system.