Trident — Fall 2022

EDITORS

COMMITTEE CHAIR’S REPORT

We feel a sense of relief as there is finally light at the end of the tunnel in dealing with the global pandemic. Although we are doing better in this country and the Bay Area, in particular, we must stay vigilant and be prepared for potential surges due to new variants.

Still, it now seems possible to resume in-person activities and we have begun gathering in person again.

Dr. Martin Palomo, the Director of the orthodontic residency program at Case Western Reserve, spoke on CBCT and OSA at the Frederick T. West Lectureship in March. It was the first time the school was able to have an in-person meeting in two years.

And our chapter is resuming social activity as well, holding an event on Friday, May 6 at Spark Social SF. About 30 alumni, residents, and faculty gathered at the food truck park, beer & sangria garden and event space located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood.

We also held an alumni reception during the annual AAO session on Saturday, May 21 at Lowe’s Miami Beach Hotel, outdoors and poolside, which also drew about 30 attendees.

As a side note: I will not point fingers and am not going to tell the AAO, “I told you so!” I will only say that 5 of the 6 first-year residents who attended contracted COVID, the AAO president and his wife contracted COVID and a colleague who attended commented that “it was like a breeding ground for COVID; no one was wearing masks.” As COVID is not going away and has become

Katherine

Jennifer

Jetson

Katherine

Jennifer

Kika

COMMITTEE CHAIR’S REPORT (CONT.)

endemic, I would ask the AAO to choose future meeting sites more carefully and stay away from states with leadership that does not care about masking, vaccines and science.

Our graduating class attended the Alumni Graduate Banquet on Friday, June 17 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and participated in the commencement ceremony at the Masonic Auditorium on Father’s Day. Technically, they will not actually graduate until Friday, September 30 at the 12th Annual Arthur A. Dugoni Graduation Symposium and Dinner. Dr. Larry Tadlock, head of the orthodontic department and program director at Texas A&M, will explore some of the more common orthodontic concepts taught that need to be reviewed in his talk “Orthodontic Myths…In Search of the Truth.”

We also welcomed the incoming Class of 2024, which started on July 18. They will be introduced in a separate column in this issue.

Looking ahead, the Western Orthodontic Conference (combined meeting of the PCSO & RMSO) will be held in San Diego October 27-30 at Manchester Grand Hyatt.

The Grand Hyatt

Our next Frederick T. West Lectureship will be held in conjunction with the school’s 124th An

nual Alumni Meeting. The theme of the entire meeting is “Celebrating Women in Dentistry,” and accordingly, all the speakers will be women. Dr. Audrey Yoon will be the Fred West speaker for orthodontics.

Plans for our 50th Anniversary Celebration are moving ahead, with less than a year before this momentous event on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

There will be continuing education on Invisalign and digital orthodontics in the morning and a dinner next door at the Hotel Intercontinental. We hope to see many of you there! I am very impressed and proud of our new editors, Drs. Jennifer Yau and Katherine Kieu, who put out a fantastic spring issue as well as the one you’re looking at right now. See you with the next issue! Best, Jet

DEPARTMENT CHAIR’S REPORT

Dear alumni and friends,

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer.

Although the COVID pandemic situation is still ongoing, we are excited to start another incredible and productive new academic year.

We want to welcome another talented group of young people, the Class of 2024. Please enjoy reading their short bios in this issue.

The summer quarter is always the busiest time for us, as we welcome the new residents and conduct many academic events for the graduating class. In addition, we have been working diligently to prepare for the upcoming CODA site visit this year. Every seven years, we complete a self-study and participate in accreditation site visits conducted by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. This cycle was delayed by one year due to COVID interruptions; our accreditation site visit is scheduled for October 25-27. In April, we had a mock site visit by Dr. Eladio DeLeon, the chair of the orthodontic program at Augusta University, who provided us with his valuable feedback. I believe this preparation process has enabled us to thoroughly and critically review and evaluate many aspects of our program.

As our orthodontic chapter committee chair Dr. Jetson Lee mentioned, our 50th-anniversary cel ebration event is now less than a year away. Please save the date, Saturday, May 6, 2023. Under Dr. Lee’s outstanding leadership, the planning committee has come up with a terrific combination of an academic symposium in the morning, alumni gatherings, school tours, and dinner festivities. Please visit the 50th-anniversary website and check out the program to see who will be attending at dental. pacific.edu/ortho50

I also want to share some great news. Since the scholarship fundraising letter was sent to alumni in April, many alumni have responded with their generous gifts. I want to express my sincere apprecia tion to those who supported our endowed scholarship fund. This year, each incoming resident will receive a $6,375 scholarship from the combined Arthur A. Dugoni and Robert Boyd Orthodontic Endowed Scholarships.

Although this amount is but a small share of their education cost — over $120,000/year in tuition — it is the beginning steps to achieving our dream of providing our exceptional orthodontic residency program tuition-free. Our immediate goal is to build a large enough endowment so that we can reduce tuition to less than half of the current cost.

When contributing to one of our two endowed scholarship funds, the university’s Powell Match program will double the value of your gift, no matter the amount.

DEPARTMENT CHAIR’S REPORT

Every day our exceptional students, staff and faculty make an impact on the future of the orth odontic specialty and dental community. Your strong support and scholarship gift ensure that the orthodontic program at the Dugoni School of dentistry will become one of the best programs in the world.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions at hoh@pacific.edu Warmest regards, Dr. Heesoo Oh

Professor and Chair, Department of Orthodontics University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

CLINIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Dear Alumni and Friends,

We finished the 2021-2022 academic year with notable accomplish ments by our residents, alumni and faculty, which were highlighted at the 2022 American Association of Orthodontists’ Annual Session in Miami Beach, Florida. Dr. Ali Ghowsi (Class of 2021) was one of four recipients of the prestigious Thomas M. Graber Award and was invited to speak on his master’s thesis research “Automated Landmark Identification on Cone-beam computed tomography: Accuracy and Reliability.” Dr. Gabrielle Wainwright (Class of 2022) won second place in the basic science category for her research project “Searching for Association of GSK3β rs13314595, MSX1 rs3821949, TGFβ3 rs3917201, and BMP4 rs17563 with Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and Palate”

Class of 2021 graduates Dr. Laura Chew and Dr. Tae Keong (Cindy) Kim were also invited to present their research papers for the Oral Research Presentation at the AAO meeting (Dr. Heeyeon Suh, Class of 2022, presented on Dr. Chew’s behalf.) In addition to Dr. Steve Dugoni being co-chair of the scientific program, Drs. Heesoo Oh, Sandra Tai, Bella Shen Garnett, Audrey Yoon, Hyeon Shik Hwang, and Richard Roblee presented. I was proud to see our orthodontic residents, alumni, and faculty well represented at the AAO. It was also good to see many alumni in person at the annual session.

We have two faculty members who joined us this year: Dr. Christopher Oviedo (private practice, San Francisco) is teaching in the mixed dentition clinic on Wednesday mornings and Dr. Cory Costanzo (private practice, Fresno) will be teaching digital orthodontics and its application in clear aligner treatment.

In the clinic, we have made meaningful progress with digital technology and our dental sleep medi cine program. The dental school has upgraded the CBCT unit to the latest generation iCAT model (iCAT FLX). It allows us to prescribe the QuickScan+ mode which has substantial (87%) reduction in dose (18 µSv for 13x16cm full volume FOV) compared to the standard exposure protocols.

YOAT, a Korean company, has donated one of its Bender II robotic wire bending machines. The Bender II software allows us to semi-automatically design a lingual fixed retainer on a digital study model, and then the machine’s robotic arm accurately bends a .0175 multistranded wire. It is quick, easy to use, and useful for fabricating lingual fixed retainers on maxillary incisors with thick lingual marginal ridges.

Since starting the sleep clinic this year, we’ve helped numerous sleep patients with mandibular advancement devices (MAD). Dentists and physicians can refer potential sleep patients to our sleep clinic where our residents can perform a detailed exam and refer the patient to a sleep physician for definitive diagnosis. Dr. Audrey Yoon, the director of our Dental Sleep Medicine course and clinic, has lectured and trained residents and faculty on using MAD on sleep patients. We look forward to continued growth in the sleep clinic.

Dr. Jeff Kwong (‘07) and family at a recent Star Wars convention with actor Ewan McGregor (Obi Wan Kenobi)

The Medallion of Distinction Award — the Alumni Associa tion’s highest honor — was presented to Dr. Jetson Lee (‘84/‘86). The award honors those who have made significant contributions to the school, the Alumni Association, the profession of dentistry and/or to society in general.

Class of 2022 celebrated Dr. Roger Boero’s (‘64’/’75/’94) 82nd birthday after his lecture.

Dr. Brian Grey (‘91,center) recently retired. Dr. Jetson Lee (‘84/‘86, left), Dr. Janice Tam (‘92), Dr. Immi Song, and 3M rep John Iverson (right) attended his retirement party.

in the news (cont.)

Class of 2022 with Dr. Ron Redmond (UOP ’66/USC ’70) at the annual Dugoni School Alumni Meeting.

Class of 2018 (Drs. Adrienne Joy, Bradley Albertson, Jared Little, Shadiya Hasen and Linda Phi) attended the wedding of their co-resident Silke Cummings. Congratulations, Dr. Silke!

The Annual Faculty Meeting took place in April 2022 with a simultaneous birthday celebration for Dr. Mirek Tolar.

keeping in touch

Dr. Bert Rouleau (Class of 1982)

I’ve been busy still teaching at the school in the Wednesday after noon clinic, working two days a week with my son, Aaron, and getting in lots of skiing and golfing. My wife Mary and I have seven grandkids: four from our son Sean and three from our son Aaron. They all live nearby, so we have lots of Papa and Grammie time.

Our youngest son, Nic, was married on Father’s Day in Hudson, NY on a farm. Most of the pictures I’m sharing are from the trip to NYC (pizza with the whole Rouleau family) and Hudson. All of Mary’s Dugoni siblings and spouses were in attendance. So awesome! Nic still performs on Broadway, as does his husband, Corey.

Our youngest is our daughter, Lizzie, who lives in SF just two blocks from the old school. She is busy in sales in the tech world.

I plan to continue to work for two or three more years, though likely decreasing to two half days.

We have done lots of traveling through the years, though less recently due to Covid. We did just return from Europe with Mary’s sister and husband and Steve and Russ Dugoni. Family is so important to all of us, as is the Dugoni School family.

Class of 1982, from left to right: Keith Vodzak, Hernan Padilla, Michael Baron, Bert Rouleau, and Michel van Bergen

class of 2022: Post-Graduation plans

Kyle Cuenin: Will join his father in private practice in the East Bay.

Bianca Lau: Associateships at private practices in the Bay Area.

Eric Le: Associ ateship in the Bay Area.

Kyra Lee: Private practice in the Bay Area.

Mojan Mirnia: Associateship in Orange County.

Heeyon Suh: Private practice.

Robert Voorhees: Joining a private practice in Austin, Texas. Gabrielle Wainwright: Associateship in a private practice.

Second Year Residents’ Report

By Dr. Kika Masunaga and Dr. Parisa Moravedje Torbaty (Residents of Class of 2023)

The Class of 2023 cannot believe that our first year flew by so quickly! Transitioning into our second year, we took time to reflect and realized how much we have experienced and accomplished thus far.

During the second half of our first year, we grew more comfortable in our roles as orthodontic residents, both in the classroom and in the clinic. We continued expanding our education in biomechanics, facial growth and clinical orthodontics. We were able to apply this to treatment planning for the remainder of our new case starts, as well as to our ongoing cases. It has been exciting to move into later stages of treatment in our cases, repositioning brackets, bending wires, delivering case refinements and even debonding some of our limited treatment cases.

In addition to our educational experiences in San Francisco, we were also given the opportunity to travel together to Miami Beach for the AAO Annual Session. We had a wonderful, enriching experi ence hearing from renowned speakers from around the world, including our very own Drs. Oh, Park (for Ghowsi), Roblee, Shen-Garnett, Yoon, Kim and Suh. We could not have been prouder of our Dugoni family and are excited to continue seeing our representation at these conferences!

Second Year Residents’ Report (Cont.)

After a restful summer break we were ready to return as second years, to be joined by the new firstyear resident class! We have been working closely with our “little sibs,” helping them treatment plan, transition into the clinic, and get acclimated to residency.

Lastly, we would like to give a huge congratulations to the Class of 2022. To Bianca, Dan, Eric, Gabe, Heeyeon, Kyle, Kyra, and Mojan: You have all played a pivotal role in our residency experiences. We will miss you dearly, but know that you will all thrive in your orthodontic careers!

MEET THE CLASS OF 2024

Seung ah Jung was born and raised in South Korea. While growing up, she dreamed of pursuing her education in the United States, and at age 16, she enrolled in high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After finishing high school, she completed her undergraduate studies in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Michigan and earned her DDS degree from the UCLA School of Dentistry in 2022. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, going to the movies, and visiting theme parks.

Kristen Lo was born in Santa Barbara, CA and raised in Saratoga, CA. She graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2018 with a bachelor of science in cell biology and a minor in managerial economics. She earned her DDS at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in 2022. She is ecstatic to be staying at the Dugoni School for her orthodontic residency. In her free time, she enjoys dressmaking, practicing archery, going to the beach, and spending time with friends and family.

Esha Patel was born and raised in Silicon Valley. She completed her undergraduate education in biological sciences at the University of the Pacific as part of the acceler ated pre-dental program. Esha continued her dental school education at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry where she was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon honor society. Outside of school, she enjoys traveling, staying active at the gym and oil painting. Esha is excited to return to the University for a third time to complete a residency in orthodontics.

MEET THE CLASS OF 2024 (cont.)

Jeff Roseth was born and raised in Fresno, California. He went on to attend and play collegiate golf at the University of California, San Diego where he earned a B.S degree in biology. Upon completion of his studies at UCSD, he obtained his DMD from the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH) and graduated in 2022, becoming the first dentist in his family. He is excited to be back in California and honored to be able to pursue his dream of becoming an orthodontist at the Dugoni School. In his free time, Jeff enjoys spending time outdoors golfing, hiking, exercising and exploring his new home in the Bay Area.

Yash Sharma was raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He completed his B.S. in Biopsy chology, Cognition, and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan and his M.S. at Wayne State University. He then went on to Boston to complete his D.M.D at Tufts School of Dental Medicine. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, playing tennis, and exploring new restaurants around the city. As a first-time West Coaster, he is excited

First Year Residents’ Report (Cont.)

Andre Tran was born and raised in Santa Clara, California. He earned his under graduate studies in biochemistry at UC Davis before completing his DDS degree at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. After graduation, he spent one year working as a general dentist before returning to the Dugoni School for orthodontic residency. In his free time, he enjoys playing and coaching competitive volleyball, eating at new restaurants and watching the Warriors.

Ava Vakili grew up in Half Moon Bay, California. She studied biological anthropology at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!). It is here where she first became interested in craniofacial studies. She went on to get her Masters at Rutgers University in Biomedical Sciences and worked in biotechnology before matriculating at the UCSF School of Dentistry. At UCSF, she was involved in the American Association of Women Dentists and various outreach groups. In her free time, Ava enjoys traveling, crafting, cooking and participating in group exercise classes. She’s thrilled to be staying in the Bay Area and is excited for her future as an orthodontic resident at the Dugoni School.

Remembering Dr. Harry Hatasaka (1929-2022)

By Katherine Kieu and Jennifer Yau

Passed away at the age of 93, Dr. Harry Hatasaka lived a full life and will be celebrated by the many people whose lives he touched personally and professionally. As one of our original orthodontic faculty members and the founding director of our typodont course, he helped shape the educational foun dation for numerous generations of orthodontic graduates. Dr. Harry Hatasaka is commemorated for being a generous donor to our orthodontic department and dental school and will continue to be honored each time someone passes by the Orthodontics Laboratory or the Hatasaka Conference Room and Library.

His Pacific family will miss him dearly. We thank him for his countless contributions to the orthodon tic profession. In remembering Dr. Harry Hatasaka, many of his friends and colleagues have shared tributes/memories that paint a vibrant picture of a selfless mentor who lived an exemplary life.

We have lost a legend…. And the most amazing friend and role model. Harry will forever live strong in our hearts and minds. —Paul Kasrovi

Harry was a great man, a very good orthodontist. I learned a lot from him during my residency almost 40 years ago. He was an excellent teacher and also as a human being an idol. Thank you for everything. —Dieter Lutz, Class of ’83

One of Harry’s memorable sayings was, “Just because it’s white doesn’t mean it needs something silver on it.” —Bert Rouleau

Sometimes it is really strange — we were recently on a family holiday in south of Spain and had a conversation remembering when we last met Harry and Cyd in 2015, how we had dinner together and how Harry and my youngest son Julian bonded, even though Julian didn’t speak English at the time. When I look back, I am so thankful that I took his wire bending course in Würzburg, Germany in 1997 when I met Harry and Dr. Rutter. He invited me to come to California, and when I did one year later, I will never forget how nice, supportive and generous he was, how he drove us around to find a safe and affordable place to stay in San Francisco (we finally ended up in the YMCA in Chinatown, which was a funny experience).

I learned so much from Harry and he had a tremendous influence on my professional life. I still use the TMD splint, that he taught me, on a daily basis and call it the “Hatasaka-splint“ in my office. I have transferred his design in the digital area and now do 3D printing of the splints. So sad that I can’t show him this. Since I give lectures about the digital workflow in orthodontics in Germany and Europe, not least inspired by Harry, I will pass on his legacy (I wished I had more notes of his great presentations…).

I am really sad that he is gone now (and with him that brilliant mind that he was), but I am most grateful that I had the chance to meet and get to know him! He will always live on in our memories.

—Stephan Peylo

Harry was a wonderful friend, great teacher and kind leader to all who knew him. His intellect, gifted skills, encouraging words, great humor, warm smile and thoughtful counsel were a true inspiration. He lived an incredibly full life and many of us are in awe of how he was able to balance work, teaching, family and recreation – to my knowledge, mainly skiing, fishing & cheering on his sports teams. His enthusiasm and love of life was infectious and he will be dearly missed. It was a great privilege to have him in our lives. —Ron Champion

Dr. Hatasaka taught for over 40 years and was an inspiration for the residents and his colleagues. He was a legend in orthodontics and dedicated teacher. I was so fortunate to learn from him during my residency. We will miss him greatly. —Hee Soo Oh

Leslie and I looked forward to spending time with Cyd & Harry at our away meetings and will miss him greatly. I still remember what a great skier he was and an even better orthodontist, and loved talking to him about both! —Brian Payne

Harry was a wonderful friend of my family. He was very special to our study club and one of the main reasons I wanted to be a member of PORG. I learned so much from Harry during the past 40 years. Harry helped me to become a better orthodontist and a better person. I will miss him. —Steve Dugoni

Tae and I are saddened to hear about the passing of our dear friend Harry. In life, he had a hard begin ning but, with spirited hard work, he pushed onto becoming the president of PCSO and I look up to him for his courage and tenacity. When we were together, as a senior, he was very open to giving me life lessons and on being a professional. Like him, I too have a man cave. As Sadako-san (Cyd), who was brave in her own way, will remember, we always had good times as we traveled to South America and Asia giving lectures and sightseeing places together. We will miss him, but will never forget his kindness and warm heart; he was a very special giant of a man. —Ken Kai

Our hearts are broken to hear of Harry’s passing, but the countless wonderful memories that we have of him will live on in our hearts forever. Truly a very special person who brought inspiration in so many different ways to everyone who knew him. —Lili Horton

I met Harry Hatasaka in August of 1985 and he has always been such a strong influence in my life.

Harry and Dennis Teruya were the first instructors that I met as I started my ortho residency program at UOP. They taught our Typodont course and both were wonderful clinicians who had the enviable combination of a great personality, amazing technical skills, and a dedication to excellence. If I ever did something that wasn’t quite perfect, I could hear Harry’s voice saying “Do Over”, and I did. Harry eventually asked me to help teach the course when I graduated and I protested saying that I didn’t know anything yet. “You know more than they do!” was his answer. Who could turn Harry down!

Harry was so generous, he gave me my first job. He really didn’t need me at the time since Bert Rouleau was already his associate, but he and Bob Tacy arranged to have me work in both of their offices right out of school. What an immense opportunity to be able to work for such amazing orthodontists! I don’t think that Harry said anything when I put the first few sets of lower anterior single wing brackets upside down!

One of the passions that Harry introduced me to (other than orthodontics) was fly fishing. He was the ringleader of many trips to places that I didn’t even know had fish! I was fortunate to be invited to places like Kodiak Island, Alaska and Long Island, Bahamas. I’ve had amazing fishing trips throughout the world, and I can thank Harry for all of these adventures. I think of him every time I’m on the water. What an amazing man. Humble, gentle, sharing, precise. He’s had such a positive influence on me and everyone who has had the pleasure of spending time with him. Thank you Harry!

—Ken Shimizu, forever your student

You already know that infection control regulations require use of a Sterilizer Monitoring Service. But did you know that the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry Sterilizer Monitoring Service uses its profits to provide scholarships for dental students? Since 2003, this service has generated $402,150 in student scholarships. With additional subscribers (like you) we could do so much more!

Our Sterilizer Monitoring Service provides high quality biological monitoring for all types of office sterilizers. The cost is $199.00 annually for each sterilizer. Instructions for using the test strips are included. Reports of test results are provided to document your compliance.

EVERY DENTIST MUST TEST THEIR STERILIZERS WEEKLY The Dugoni School Sterilizer Monitoring Service provides quality monitoring services and supports dental education.

Scholarship recipients (clockwise from top) Estevan Tinoco, ‘16, Steven Speaker, and Alexandra Wenzel, ’15