ROOTSTOWN, Ohio – The opening of the Bitonte College of Dentistry at Northeast Ohio College Medical University marks the culmination of more than five years of work.
Dr. John T. Langell, NEOMED president, said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday at the new college that in his first few months on the job, three community leaders told him the university should start a dental college because oral health is Ohio’s No. 1 health need.
“NEOMED is a state institution who is solely focused on health and sciences education at the graduate level,” Langell said.
Opening a dental college was an outstanding fit.
“Our job is to create the health care workforce for Ohio and all of its communities, and starting a college of dentistry allows us to do just that,” he said. Many of you may know our mission. It’s easy to remember. It’s ‘to create transformational leaders and improve health.’”
Friday’s event drew leaders from the medical and education communities as well as state and community officials.
Of the $25 million cost, $10 million came from a donation from the Dr. Dominic A. and Helen M. Bitonte Family Foundation. Dominic Bitonte and his brother, Robert, were dentists who operated an office in downtown Youngstown for about 40 years.
Dr. Gary Bitonte and his brother, Dr. David Bitonte, both retired physicians, serve as foundation directors and both attended Friday’s ceremony.
“This is a beautiful, beautiful school that we have here now in northeastern Ohio, and it’s much needed by not only this area, but other areas too,” Gary Bitonte said. “And so we’re very, very happy.”
He said his late parents strongly believed in higher education, viewing it as a way to benefit society.
His parents would be pleased, Gary Bitonte said.
“They would be so proud of what we’re doing here today,” he said.
His brother, David, agreed.
“They would be so elated,’ he said. “It’s such a historic day. They’d be so excited. I don’t think there are words that really can be stated to demonstrate what their feelings would be. They would just be over the moon, because this is something that they dreamed of for years.”
When he and his brother learned of the possibility of having a dental college at NEOMED, they jumped at the opportunity to help, he said.
The Bitonte College of Dentistry at NEOMED is the third dental school in Ohio, the second in northeastern Ohio and the second public one. Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University also have dental schools. Case is a private institution.
Gary Bitonte also credited DeSalvo Construction Co. of Hubbard, the project contractor, for its craftsmanship, pointing out the project was completed on time and within budget.
Joe DeSalvo, company president, said he hopes the majority of the students who graduate from the new college remain in Ohio and serve the communities where they’re most needed.
“I think that’s just such a huge blessing and an asset to our Valley and the overall community of northeast Ohio,” he said.
Kyle Citino was DeSalvo Construction’s project supervisor for the dental college project.
The work involved an interior renovation and started in late summer 2024. It started with demolishing the space, followed by underground work.
One of the challenges was classes were in session while work was ongoing, so the company worked around exam days to not disturb students. Last winter’s freezing temperatures also posed some difficulties, Citino said.
But they made it work.
“We figured out ways to work around it, coordinating around the testing schedules,” Citino said. “And then even in the wintertime, we would do what we had to do, to make tents, to keep everything heated so we could continue working through the wintertime.”
In his address at the ceremony, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel said Gov. Mike DeWine places a priority on building up the state’s workforce.
“And as I’ve traveled around the state for the last six months, what’s really exciting is, I’m not sure there’s a state right now in the country that has more opportunity for all levels of that workforce,” he said.
Workers from technical employees to educators to social workers and health care workers are essential, Tressel said.
Then he addressed the 52 members of the Bitonte Dental College’s inaugural class.
“I only have one request,” the lieutenant governor said. “You stay in Ohio.”
Dr. Cliff Deveny, president and CEO of Summa Health, was one of the people who urged Langell to create a dental college at NEOMED. He called Friday’s event inspiring.
“The event is not just to inaugurate a building, but to celebrate a vision, a commitment and a promising future for the oral health of Ohio,” Deveny said. “The path to this day involved careful consideration and dedication to addressing a critical need.”
Pictured at top: Drs. David and Gary Bitonte.