SOUTHBOROUGH, MA—February 2, 2026—On Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Yankee Dental Congress, five American Student Dental Association (ASDA) District 1 dental schools, plus one pre-dental team, faced off in the 17th Annual Student Debate. In the end, teammates Matt Foshay and Mya Leonardo from the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU Dental) came out on top. The BU Dental team took home the coveted trophy and title of Student Debate Champion.
The debate ran for three rounds, culminating in a final round to determine the winner. Debate judges, American Dental Association (ADA) President Dr. Richard Rosato, Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) President Dr. Steven Spitz, and MDS Region 5 Trustee Dr. Dylan Weber evaluated the teams on a set of pre-determined criteria. The six debate teams tackled the topics:
- Should a one-year residency be mandatory for all dentists in the country across every state?
- Should dental therapists be licensed nationwide to address the shortage of dental care in rural areas?
- To what extent should artificial intelligence be integrated into dentistry for patient triage and preliminary diagnosis using dental X-rays and patient records?
Teams knew the topics of the preliminary rounds but did not know if they would present an affirmative or opposing perspective on each topic. They came prepared to argue both viewpoints. Judges and an audience of hundreds of colleagues and students heard arguments in all three rounds. The judges then conferred and decided who earned the top two spots.
Those teams, the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, moved on to the final round with a topic they had not previously received. Once informed of the topic, “Should dental licensure rely on school-based clinical competency assessments rather than manikin-based exams?”, they had ten minutes to prepare their arguments. Although both teams offered strong talking points, the judges ultimately determined that the BU Dental team had a stronger argument.
This hard-fought battle included the student teams of Foshay and Leonardo from Boston University; Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Amy Rodrigues Gonzalez and Suriyen Subramaniam; Tufts University School of Dental Medicine’s Nelson Morales and Jacob Parker; University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine’s Adhvika Arunkumar and Eniyah Garner; University of New England College of Dental Medicine’s Constance Newell, Lakshmi Parayath, and Sabrina Ferhani (alternate); and the pre-dental team of Alisha Braich and Julie Mizin. Congratulations to all who participated, and a special shout-out to the winners, the BU team of Foshay and Leonardo.
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