Many dentists in private practice own their own businesses. As such, knowing how to run a business is an important part of thriving in the dental profession. 

Eight years ago, the College of Pharmacy began a collaboration with Tippie College of Business, called the Health Care Leadership Program (HBL). In 2023,  Iowa Dentistry joined the collaborative, which allowed dental students to apply for the program. 

The HBL teaches students how to understand and make effective business decisions regarding leadership, teamwork, finance, conflict management, negotiations, entrepreneurship, human resources and hiring decisions, and how to leverage healthcare data to improve outcomes and decision-making. The program requires students to attend six Saturday modules over a 12-month period. Upon completion of the program, students receive academic credit (three semester hours).

A group of 25 students comprised the inaugural dental class, along with 25 pharmacy students. 

Interested dental students can join up so that they can become part of the second graduating class of dental students in the program.