The Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies Division of the University of Puerto Rico, School of Dental Medicine, has as its mission to maintain and upgrade the knowledge, skills and values of the oral health professionals, promoting the value of lifelong learning, self-assessment and critical thinking as an integral part of professional behavior. The program, responding to the oral health care needs of our population and the needs of the oral health professionals strives to be in the forefront of the provision of continuing education services using the latest instructional methodologies and technology. The Division of Continuing Education contributes to complement the Dental School Mission of teaching, research, and service.

The School of Dental Medicine of the Medical Sciences Campus, as an integral part of the University of Puerto Rico, shares its commitment to social responsibility with the people of Puerto Rico, as well as with the rest of the world. In fulfilling its mission, the School of Dental Medicine recognizes and accepts three main responsibilities: teaching, research, and service to the community.

1. Teaching: The fundamental mission of the School of Dental Medicine is to prepare dentists who respond to the present and future oral health needs of the Puerto Rican population. To fulfill this commitment, the institution is organized into three major programs: an undergraduate dental program, an advanced education program, and a continuing education program.
 
2. Research: Promoting research and progressive academic refinement among faculty and students is an obligation of the School. Research efforts should strengthen and complement teaching responsibilities in the search for new knowledge. The School also recognizes its responsibility to increase and keep scientific knowledge updated.
 
3. Service: The School of Dental Medicine encourages the involvement of its staff, resources, and programs to the extent possible to collaborate with community agencies. In this particular, the School promotes civic spirit, pride and leadership in the faculty and in the student body. Dental services to the community are provided mostly by students who operate as dentists in the clinic under the direct supervision of the faculty. Such services are offered in tune with the student's academic needs and respond to the educational philosophy of the School.

The Continuing Education Division of the School of Dental Medicine was started on July 7, 1959, primarily to attend to the professional improvement needs of dentists and dental assistants in Puerto Rico. These needs, although they have been well met since 1959, have become more important in recent years, given the development of knowledge and new techniques in our profession. Dental education only begins at graduation and should be a continuous process of study throughout life.

1. Promote in our profession the importance of continuing education to keep up to date with new knowledge of professional technology.

2. Present frequent educational opportunities that include the new knowledge and technology of the dental profession.

3. Provide experiences that develop the intellect and culture of the professional, so that it is a more harmonic and useful professional to our society. The professional must have cultural knowledge that supplements their technical and professional knowledge.

4. Provide educational experiences in the field of dentistry for our faculty, and thus develop it to the maximum as educators and as human beings.

5. Provide educational experiences to dentists of Iberoamerica.