Kim Benton

Kim Benton received her D.D.S. from Meharry Medical College, School of Dentistry, and her M.P.H. from Capella University. Dr. Benton is the Director of the Pacific Health Care Collaborative (PHCC) and Sacramento Programs at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni, School of Dentistry. Her current responsibilities include oversight of educational activities, and the clinical model of the first-of-its-kind integrated clinical facility in an academic health setting. The students involved in these activities are from the expansion and second cohort of the International Dental Studies Program, which was initially started in San Francisco in 1987.

Dr Benton received her D.D.S. from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry and her M.P.H. from Capella University. She was inducted into the International College of Dentist in September 2024,completed the Leadership in Health Education Certificate Program from the Eberhardt School of Business, at the University of the Pacific in May of 2022, and she is a current Fellow in the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Leadership Institute, class of 2025.  Previously, Dr. Benton served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences. She facilitated case-based discussions with first- and second-year students as they integrated information from Dental Sciences and Biomedical sciences. She has co-authored several academic papers to include, “A Virtual Community Health Field Project During the COVID-19 Pandemic", (J Dent Educ, 2020) “Academic Dentistry: You Might Be Surprised” (Journal of the California Dental Association, 2024), and “The Design and Impact of Interactive Online Modules for Dental Faculty Calibration” (Education Sciences. 2024).

Dr. Benton is passionate about spreading the message of how oral health impacts total health and well-being and hopes to continue to inspire the next generation of oral health care providers to carry out this mission.