5 minute read
Maurice L. Edwards, D.M.D.
Maurice L. Edwards, D.M.D.
In search of company to join him at the top
For NYSDA’s vice president, dentistry was an easy and early choice. Now he is hopeful, he won’t be alone much longer.
It can be lonely at the top, especially if you are a Black male and your profession is dentistry. Maurice Edwards must have had an inkling of that back in 1991 when he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and discovered only one other Black man in the school.
Even today, an oral surgeon practicing in New York City and vice president of the New York State Dental Association, Dr. Edwards is an anomaly—the only Black officer and currently on track to become the first person of color to hold the top elected post.
“One doesn’t have to look far to see that there are still disparities in both the profession of dentistry and in patient care,” Dr. Edwards said. “For as long as I have been involved in organized dentistry, almost 25 years, I still search to find others that look like me. Yes, there has been significant improvement in numbers, especially for women, but the largest disparity is seen with the number of Black men in dentistry. In three of the four
years I spent at Penn Dental, I was one of only two Black men in the entire school. In my final year, there was one additional Black male in attendance at the school. During the four years I was involved with the ADA Diversity and Inclusion Committee, studies showed that the majority of dental schools didn’t have a single Black male in any of their four-year classes.”
In the Beginning
Maurice Luther Edwards, D.M.D., grew up in Freeport, Long Island. A University of Rochester graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology, he enrolled in an emergency medical technician training program. While becoming certified, he studied for and passed the Dental Admission Test, applied to dental school, and got accepted into just about every school he applied to.
But his decision to pursue dentistry had been made years before, when in high school and playing football, he broke his front tooth right before a scheduled family vacation.
“I was embarrassed,” he recalled, “and didn’t want to go. My mother took me to our family dentist, who in less than an hour, fixed my broken tooth and as far as I was concerned, saved both me and my family vacation. The pride he had in his work and the feeling of completeness he gave back to me by restoring my smile were probably the biggest draws into dentistry for me. His name was Dr. Shack and that one positive experience is what put the medical profession on my radar. “
Following dental school, Dr. Edwards completed a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Bellevue Hospital Center/NYU Medical Center. Today, in addition to running his private OMS practice, Dr. Edwards is associate clinical professor, New York University College of Dentistry, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; attending physician, Mount Sinai Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology/Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; and associate attending physician, Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai West/Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Department of Otolaryngology/Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. And last year, following a rigorous review process, he was appointed a police surgeon by the New York Police Department, placing him on call for emergency and nonemergency consultations for procedures for NYPD officers hurt in the line of duty and for their families.
Ask a Busy Person
You wouldn’t think Dr. Edwards could take on any more responsibility, but he has, as an active member of organized dentistry. The NYSDA Vice President has been a presence on the State Association Board of Trustees, as a delegate or alternate delegate to the ADA House of Delegates, as 2015 president of the New York County Dental Society, and as a member and then chair of the NYSDA Council on Communications and Membership.
He is a graduate of the ADA Institute for Diversity and Leadership, with a subsequent appointment to a four-year term on the ADA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He has participated in New York County Give Kids A Smile programs numerous times, NYCDS’s annual charity Golf Outing and has volunteered at NYSDA’s Mission of Mercy event in Troy, Capital Region Community Health Event at Hudson Valley Community College, as well as provided oral cancer screenings, COVID-19 testings, prostate cancer screenings and took part in blood drives. As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and alongside residents from Interfaith Medical Center, he was involved with efforts to feed and clothe residents of homeless shelters in Brooklyn.
