Issuu

FILLING THE GAP

IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOING TO REVOLUTIONIZE DENTISTRY?

School of Dental Medicine.

Dean Cataldo W. Leone

Assistant Dean, Development & Alumni Relations

Catie Dargue

Director, Alumni Relations & Annual Giving

Stacey McNamee

Assistant Dean, Finance & Administration

Charis Anderson McCarthy

Principal Designer

Kate Cunningham

Writers

Rachel Philipson

Junior Writer, Communications & Outreach

Rachel P. Farrell

Photography

Dan Bomba

Multimedia Content Creator, Communications & Outreach

Dave Green

Submitted Art

Cover

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Boston

School

85 East Newton Street, 10th floor

Boston, MA 02118

smcnamee@bu.edu

A Message from the Dean

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN COMPOSITE FILLINGS WERE CONSIDERED A DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY. (DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU GRADUATED, YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS WELL — OR YOU MAY FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE!) NOW, SOME 50 YEARS AFTER THEY WERE FIRST INTRODUCED, COMPOSITES HAVE BECOME THE STANDARD OF CARE IN MANY WAYS.

The profession of dentistry has seen a tremendous amount of change in recent decades, including the introduction of cone beam computed tomography, CAD/CAM milling, 3-D printing and other digital technologies, and now the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Just like composite fillings, many of these advancements were seen as disruptive when they first came onto the scene and are now viewed as commonplace in the profession.

As educators, we are tasked with evaluating emerging innovations with a critical lens to determine how it benefits both our patients and us. This is something that GSDM does well and we also equip our students with the skills and knowledge they’ll need to do the same once they’re out on their own. AI has the potential for broad application in dentistry, both clinically and administratively. Indeed, it is already being used widely in different ways. Yet, it is too soon to tell which applications will become accepted practice and which will fall by the wayside.

In this issue, we explore the promising possibilities presented by AI, both for the profession of dentistry and for dental schools themselves. There is a lot to be excited about and a lot we still don’t know.

We are honored to explore such new advancements along with you, our alumni. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Stacey McNamee, director of alumni relations & annual giving, to share how you’re incorporating the latest innovations, like AI, into your practice. We look forward to hearing from you!

I hope to see you at one of the alumni receptions we hold throughout the year! And if you find yourself in Boston, please come visit us.

Sincerely,

Cataldo W. Leone, DMD, DMedSc, FACD, FICD Dean and Spencer N. Frankl Professor in Dental Medicine

FILLING THE GAP

IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOING TO REVOLUTIONIZE DENTISTRY?

BY RACHEL PHILIPSON

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IS REIMAGINING

THE BOUNDARIES OF HUMAN THOUGHT. FROM DIGITAL VOICE ASSISTANTS TO PERSONALIZED

LEARNING PLATFORMS, AI IS ENTERING THE MAINSTREAM — AND THE DENTAL PROFESSION IS NO EXCEPTION. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW DENTISTRY IS ADAPTING TO THIS CUTTING-EDGE

TECHNOLOGY, WE SPOKE TO SEVEN INDUSTRY

LEADERS ABOUT AI’S CURRENT APPLICATIONS, ITS FUTURE POTENTIAL, AND THE IMPLICATIONS IT HOLDS FOR DENTAL SCHOOL CURRICULA.

What is AI? Why is it Increasing in Popularity and Why Now?

AI IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT. INDEED, IT DATES AS FAR BACK AS THE 1950S, WHEN BRITISH COMPUTER SCIENTIST ALAN TURING — FAMOUSLY PLAYED BY

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN THE 2014 FILM "THE IMITATION GAME" —

DEVELOPED A METHOD TO EVALUATE A MACHINE’S ABILITY TO EXHIBIT

INTELLIGENT BEHAVIOR EQUIVALENT TO, OR INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM, THAT DISPLAYED BY A HUMAN BEING. THIS METHOD, KNOWN AS THE TURING TEST, IS OFTEN CREDITED AS THE BIRTH OF AI.

Seven decades later, AI research, experimentation, and implementation has skyrocketed to an all-time high. Dr. Melih Motro, GSDM clinical professor of orthodontics & dentofacial orthopedics, said this explosion in activity is driven by the transformation of AI from the theoretical to the empirical. In their infancy, AI technologies demonstrated machine learning (systems learning from historical data) but have evolved into deep learning (mimicking human brain functions) and now generative AI (creating original content).

“Now, AI is real,” Motro said. “Hardware technology developed so much that theoretically possible things were made possible. Computers can really run millions of operations in milliseconds. You can really use that speed and hardware strength for decision making. It wasn’t possible before.”

Today’s AI can be generalized as technology that enables computer software systems and machines to simulate human comprehension, problem solving, and autonomy, according to Myra Brennan ENG 93 DMD 98 AEGD 99 PROS 03, a greater Boston-based prosthodontist.

“AI is like giving machines a touch of human smarts,” Brennan said. “Imagine your computer or phone not just following commands, but actually understanding what you say, recognizing patterns, solving tricky problems, learning from its experiences, and even making decisions like a human. These AI systems are designed to perform tasks that typically require human cognitive functions.”

Virtual assistants including Apple’s Siri (2011), Amazon’s Alexa (2014), and Google’s Google Assistant (2016) were the first introduction many people had to AI technology. These platforms were “command-and-control” systems, meaning the technology could only understand a finite list of requests; if a user asked Siri something outside this list, she likely wouldn’t be able to respond.

On the contrary, the newer AI-powered chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which launched in 2022, use what’s known as a large language model, which means it can recognize and generate text based off of data that’s entered.

While virtual assistants and chatbots might be the way that most people have interacted with AI thus far, Dr. Robert A. Faiella, chief dental officer and co-founder of 32Health Inc., past president of the American Dental Association, and past president of the Massachusetts Dental Society among other affiliations, argued that AI offers so much more than just text-generating abilities. At 32 Health Inc., Faiella is working to develop and implement an AI-powered health

“AI is like giving machines a touch of human smarts.”

Dr. Myra Brennan

administrative platform, which he believes will reduce administrative workflow costs incurred by dental professionals, thus allowing those professionals to perform their jobs with higher levels of efficiency.

“AI has been doing very significant development over the past 10 years, but nobody paid attention until November 22, 2022, when ChatGPT came out from OpenAI, and then everybody wanted to talk about AI,” Faiella said. “I think [large language models] will be helpful as well [but,] that’s just one piece of a much broader, significant application that could be used not only in healthcare, but in a number of industries.”

How Is AI Currently Being Used in Dentistry?

AI IS ALREADY A PROMISING PRESENCE IN THE DENTAL FIELD AND IS BEING

USED TO DRIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT FALL IN FIVE MAIN CATEGORIES:

IMAGING/DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT PLANNING, TASK AUTOMATION, DATA

ANALYSIS/PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.

“[AI] is designed to enhance clinical care and our administrative efficiency,” said Marianne Jurasic DMD 95, director of GSDM’s Center for Clinical Research and clinical professor of general dentistry and health policy & health services research. “The software currently available on the market and primarily used in private practice assist in detecting dental caries, bone loss, and other pathologies. The platforms can integrate with a practice’s electronic dental record and can assist with practice management activities.”

Motro, an early experimenter with AI, began working with a team of non-GSDM colleagues in 2017 on an AI-based radiology software program called OrthoDX that would analyze patient X-rays and map out key dimensions of their face and head significantly faster than an orthodontist could do manually. According to Motro, OrthoDX is one example of how AI can reduce the amount of time oral healthcare

providers spend on analysis and diagnosis, leaving them more time to connecting with patients and developing treatment plans.

“There are many users of AI in dentistry,” Motro said. “Most of the current users are using computer vision to detect and define what they are by looking at [in] a picture, X-ray, or video. It can tell you if there’s a cavity, gum disease, bone loss around the tooth, and so on.”

Serge Dibart DMD 89, chair and professor of periodontology at GSDM, agreed with Jurasic and Motro that AI has enormous potential to make researchers and dentists’ workflows more efficient. His department is working on generating data on dental histology slides as a base of pathology knowledge for AI. When AI can successfully and reliably identify

different cells, it will increase researchers' efficiency and accuracy ultimately leading to an earlier detection and prevention of oral diseases.

“It’s going to take forever for this person to do that properly,” Dibart said. “I can train that machine or software to identify those cells and give me the total account. It can do that in seconds and be more accurate than my technician who spends three or four weeks doing the same work.”

AI doesn’t just have the potential to make clinical workflows more efficient. The technology can also streamline administrative tasks and everyday practice obligations that dentists face.

At IcuSmile Specialty Clinic in Hingham and Cape Cod-Bourne, Massachusetts, Brennan and her team have incorporated AI into their administrative and clinical workflows. The clinic's communications software

uses AI to automate everything for tele-consultation visits from appointment scheduling to payment processing without any staff involvement. The clinic’s AI scribe software then translates the patient encounter into structured detailed clinical documentation. AI CADCAM technology is also integrated with their smile simulation software that uses a photograph and 3D intraoral scan to digitally customize and create a physical prototype of a new smile.

By reducing the time for administrative and clinical tasks, Brennan said there is more organizational capacity for direct patient communication.

“AI is a game-changer for our specialty clinic,” Brennan said. “It speeds up our workflows, empowers us to make smarter decisions, and enables us to offer exceptional dental care that’s more precise and personalized than ever before.”

Can We Predict the Future of AI?

MANY OF THE EXPERTS WE SPOKE WITH THINK THE FUTURE OF AI RESTS ON THE QUALITY OF DATA.

“Our diagnosis, our treatment planning, [and] our execution of treatment will be more accurate. Our results will be more successful, so patients will be happier. We will be happier, and we will be doing this without using too much of our own time in the clinic.”

Dr. Melih Motro

Motro believes the sky is the limit for AI technologies. He painted a vision of the future where AI-based software programs can diagnose accurately many common oral diseases or conditions like caries, gum disease, and enamel erosion based on analysis of X-rays or other inputs. This would allow oral healthcare professionals to shift their attention to more complex cases and more personalized patient interactions.

“Our diagnosis, our treatment planning, [and] our execution of treatment will be more accurate,” Motro said. “Our results will be more successful, so patients will be happier. We will be happier, and we will be doing this without using too much of our own time in the clinic.”

Dr. Michael Scialabba, chief clinical officer at 42 North Dental, said he has increasingly high expectations for AI. He believes that AI will bridge the dental-medical gap by supporting cross-analysis of data from patients’ dental and medical records, thus accelerating diagnosis and treatment and ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.

“I see AI being able to study data sets to tell patients who have [preexisting] medical conditions that they’re more [likely to] have dental issues that will exacerbate their medical condition,” Scialabba said. “Because of that, they should seek dental care.”

Over time, Jurasic thinks AI will be able to provide more complex data analyses and dramatically speed up diagnostic time. If both fast and reliable, these assessments will be incredibly helpful in busy clinical care settings— especially dental school patient treatment centers.

“It will be a phenomenal technology once it realizes its full potential,” Jurasic said. “I would love to see it integrating information about clinic flows, about our patients, about our students, processing all of that information together

and giving us predictions of, '[A] particular patient given their past history may require X, Y, and Z treatment.'”

However, before AI can truly become widespread in dentistry, Dibart said there needs to be an industry-wide standardization for image annotation and data collection. Technology is only as good as the data that it is given, he said, and given that it will always be a human task to input that data, there is always the potential for mistakes or errors of judgment.

“AI is evolving every day, every week,” Dibart said. “Computers became more and more powerful. There is data to be processed and analyzed. Who is inputting the data? That’s my first concern. You can’t let it go free rein. It has to be controlled by ethical people who know what they’re doing.”

Faiella agreed that it’s imperative that the dental profession adopt and implement widely accepted data standards that can guide —and constrain the developments in AI. Organizations such as the American Dental Association and the Food and Drug Administration, are currently working to develop AI ethics and standards.

One of Faiella’s concerns is that any standards that are adopted should specify that data sets feeding into AI software or tools need to be as diverse as possible, along dimensions such as ethnic and racial background, socioeconomic status, geographic location etc. For example, current large language AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, use data that is publicly available on the internet, obtained from third parties, and provided by users and researchers. (ChatGPT has stated that it has limited knowledge of the world after 2021.) Therefore, these large language models are limited by the constraints of its human-generated data which could inadvertently produce biased content.

“You want to have some trust in that the algorithms are actually built in a way that excludes bias as much as possible and gives you the information that you’re really looking for,” Faiella said. “[You want] a diversified database... [Is] there any specific underserved population that’s being excluded from that database? There are ways to mitigate all of that.”

One challenge is the need to ensure that all patient data is protected, according to the industry leaders with whom we spoke. Scialabba added that AI databases need to be up to date with data anonymization and be continuously monitored for any potential patient privacy and compliance issues with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations.

“Cybersecurity is constantly something we worry about and it’s constantly changing,” Scialabba said.

What Does the Rise of AI Potentially Mean for Dental Schools?

DENTAL SCHOOLS FACE A DAUNTING — AND IN SOME WAYS, NEVER-ENDINGTASK: ENSURING THAT THEIR DIDACTIC AND CLINICAL CURRICULUMS

REFLECT THE LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN THE FIELD, WHILE ALSO ENSURING THAT THEY’RE NOT MOVING TOO QUICKLY AND INTRODUCING TECHNOLOGIES THAT AREN’T GROUNDED IN EVIDENCE. THIS ISN’T A NEW BALANCING ACT FOR DENTAL SCHOOLS. AI MIGHT BE THE LATEST BUZZ-WORTHY INNOVATION, BUT IT’S NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT A NEW TECHNIQUE OR TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTIONIZED THE FIELD.

“We really want to be teaching our students to the technology that’s here now,” said Dr. Gail McCausland, GSDM associate dean for academic affairs and clinical professor of periodontology. “With technologies such as digital implant planning, robotically assisted implant placement, and many others, we have experience implementing technology into our curriculum. Knowing that dentistry is a technologically advanced field, the next step is going to be embracing AI.”

Today’s dental students are “digital natives” a term for individuals who grew up in the information age. But just because they’ve had a lot of exposure to technology doesn’t mean they’re technologically literate, said Motro. Motro said dental curricula should include data science modules to help students develop their statistical analysis skills to understand the conclusions AI is producing.

“In [the] clinic, there is so much data,” Motro said. “This is all about data science. [AI] is all about learning to manage the data, analyzing it, and interpreting how to move forward in their clinic. Their patient care will be much better [and] standardized [if they] understand the kind of data they deal with and how they use this data.”

Jurasic echoed Motro, adding that dental curriculum should include instruction in basic digital competence to give students insight on how the technology works.

“We need to ensure that our students have some basic knowledge surrounding the technology so that we don’t just blindly go in and use it without truly understanding the basics,” Jurasic said. “[They need to] understand how the algorithms are created, developed, and validated, [plus] the limitations of the software.”

Dibart said dental school curriculum has to have a healthy balance between educating dental students on traditional skills or systems and new AI platforms.

“AI cannot just be the sole dictator of treatment,” Dibart said. “Students have to understand, to know and be able to use it, but not be subservient to it. You still have the physical contact and the interaction with the patient at this time. No software or no machine can have that with the patient.”

Faiella noted that it’s not just students who need to be supported in developing the expertise to use AI to its full capacity: The faculty who are teaching it need support as well.

“It’s up to us and the students that we [educate] to be able to apply AI,” Faiella said. “There are concerns that the students are going to come in with more knowledge than we have. Faculty training, resources, workshops, and collaborative opportunities are ways to enhance faculty expertise. Integrating digital literacy into dental education is not just an option, but a necessity.”

“Integrating digital literacy into dental education is not just an option, but a necessity.”

Dr.

Robert Faiella

What are AI’s Next Steps?

EVERYONE WE SPOKE WITH AGREED ON THIS POINT: AI IS HERE TO STAY. GIVEN THAT, THEY UNIVERSALLY RECOMMENDED THAT DENTAL PROFESSIONALS BEGIN TO FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH THIS EMERGING TECHNOLOGY WHILE REMAINING WARY OF POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE OUTCOMES.

BU AND AI: HOW ARE WE ADAPTING?

In September 2023, Dr. Kenneth Lutchen, then the University’s provost ad interim, launched a University-wide research and teaching task force focused on developing best practices and shared approaches around the use of generative AI (GenAI).

Dr. Gail McCausland, GSDM associate dean for academic affairs and clinical professor of periodontology, was GSDM’s representative on the task force.

The task force published its full report on GenAI in education and research in April 2024, recommending that the University “critically embrace” the technology, instead of prohibiting or restricting it, while supporting literacy among faculty and students.

“The key point that the task force was trying to say is, ‘Don't be afraid.’ We've been here before with other technology,” McCausland said. “We will embrace it, and we will work with it.”

Scialabba admitted that he has an optimistic viewpoint of the technology, and believes that AI will improve patient care. While he agreed that AI shouldn’t be the sole factor in any treatment decision, Scialabba said that he thinks AI technologies can, ultimately, empower patients, allowing them to take ownership of their diagnosis and improving the dialogue between provider and patient.

“No dentistry ever gets done if the patient doesn't have trust in the provider, whether or not AI is being utilized,” Scialabba said. “Patients want to have a relationship with their dentist and for that dentist to be there when they need something or have a problem to address. Utilizing AI today, or in the future, is still going to be an aid for that dentist to provide care."

Brennan stressed that AI is not a threat to professional autonomy, but rather a supportive tool that oral healthcare professionals can use to enhance their patient care and clinical operations.

“Rather than replacing human expertise, AI serves as a valuable tool that enhances clinical decision-making and

ensures accountability in patient care,” Brennan said. “By working alongside AI, dental schools can empower future professionals to deliver even better care, leveraging technology to reinforce, not undermine, human judgment.”

That said, AI technology can pose some ethical dilemmas, Dibart argued, and he would like to see the profession adopt some standards and guidelines for how it can be best used in the dental profession.

“If it’s done properly, it’s a good thing, but there are so many ways to deviate from that,” Dibart said. “I am both excited and nervous. Excited because there are a lot of possibilities. Nervous, because if it’s misguided it can be a catastrophe.”

AI may be here to stay, but it’s still a relatively new technology in the dental industry, according to McCausland, who said AI’s ability to deliver long-term value in dentistry will hinge on how effectively the profession can harness the new technology.

“Dentistry has never been afraid of technology,” McCausland said. “I think [AI] is just the next thing for dentistry.”

Following the task force’s report, the University created an AI group with ambassadors from each school and college, and also charged them with putting together their own AI Oversight Committee, which GSDM formed in May 2024. These various groups are tasked with finding the best usages of AI and tracking of local and University policies to ensure consistency. McCausland is a member of both the University’s AI group and the school’s AI committee.

As of October 2024, GSDM Academic and Clinical Affairs were participating in a pilot program with BUMC IT Education Technology and Noodle Factory, an AI teaching assistant platform that aims to personalize instruction, according to McCausland. One of the pilot’s projects is to create an internal AI-drive search engine into which GSDM course directors could load content from syllabi, PowerPoints, textbooks, external articles, and more. Student could use this search engine to look up answers to questions and to generate practice quizzes.

McCausland said the dental information available online, through a standard Google search, for example, may not be aligned with GSDM curriculum. If students rely on Google or other public search engines to find answers to questions, they might be exposed to information that is not fully aligned with the curriculum content in their courses. With this new search engine, course directors can help make sure that students are relying on approved course content for examinations.

“Now if a student says ‘Hey, Noodle Factory, can you summarize chapter eight of the book for me,’ they're not getting anything beyond what the course director put in,” McCausland said. “That's fascinating. We are really excited about this because we think it's really going to be able to help our students who have already been learning and using a similar type of technology.”

Alumni Association Letter

DEAR FELLOW ALUMNI,

Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems like it’s everywhere right now. It’s an incredibly exciting moment for our profession and it’s also a time for careful reflection. AI offers tremendous promise for both clinical and administrative functions, but as Dean Leone noted in his letter to you, there’s still so many unknowns about the future of this technology.

In this issue’s cover story, we spoke to some of the profession’s leading thinkers on AI , including some of our own faculty and alumni. I found their insights fascinating, and they’ve prompted me to take a closer look at ways I can continue to incorporate AI into my own practice — and they also surfaced some questions that I plan to ask myself before doing so. I hope that you’ll have a similar experience after reading it.

AI is one of the most recent technological innovations to disrupt our profession, but it certainly won’t be the last. We should be proud of the way that GSDM equips its students and residents with the critical thinking skills they’ll need to evaluate the new technologies that inevitably will emerge over the course of their careers. We’d love to hear more about how you approach incorporating new technology into your practice; contact Stacey McNamee at smcnamee@bu.edu to share your thoughts.

In closing, thank you again for allowing me to serve as your Alumni Association president. I look forward to working on behalf of you all over the next year. And please come visit us in Boston soon!

Sincerely,

Hongsheng Liu DMD 10 ENDO 12

Alumni Association President

ALUMNI BOARD LISTING

Hongsheng Liu DMD 10 ENDO 12

President

Frank Schiano CAS 01 DMD 06

AEGD 07 ORTHO 19

President-Elect

Dennis Jodoin DMD 95 PERIO 98

Secretary

Maryam Shomali CAS 87 ENDO 93

Immediate Past President

Ashish Agarwal DMD 17

Stephanie Brooks DMD 18

Debbie Eisen CAS 84 DMD 88

Hesham Farag DMD 21

Zhiqiang Huang DMD 08

Ana Keohane DMD 16

Mira Khouzam DMD 16

Sandip Ladani DMD 16

James Lee CAS 09 CAMED 10 DMD 14

Nikita Naumowicz DMD 21

Gary Nord DMD 10

Sepideh Novid DMD 04 AEGD 05

Khamir Patel DMD 14

Snehal Pingle DMD 15

Kady Rawal AEGD 10 DPH 18

Cameron Shahbazian DMD 14 Questrom 24

Tadeu Szpoganicz DMD 11

NEW ALUMNI BOARD MEMBER: DEBBIE EISEN CAS 84 DMD 88

Debbie Eisen CAS 84 DMD 88 is a double Terrier, holding both a BA and a DMD from Boston University. Dr. Eisen served on the faculty at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine from 1989 to 2012; she was promoted to assistant clinical professor in 1995 and again to associate clinical professor in 2000. In addition to her academic appointment, she held various administrative appointments, including assistant director of preclinical operative dentistry. Dr. Eisen also has extensive experience in private practice, and has been the owner and senior dentist at Oceanside Dental Associates in Swampscott, Massachusetts, since 2008. Dr. Eisen is excited to join the Alumni Board as it will allow her to give back, support current students, and collaborate with fellow alumni to enhance the school’s reputation and impact.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

CAPTIONS LIST INDIVIDUALS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

1. Mary Nell Cella PEDO 24, Natalia Velasquez PEDO 24, Jasmin Koleini PEDO 24, Ance Kadri CAMED 18

DMD 22 PEDO 24 and Breno Reboucas Oral Bio 07 PEDO 12 Questrom 23

2. Ance Kadri CAMED 18 DMD 22 PEDO 24, Hemal Patel, Jasmin Koleini PEDO 24, Mary Nell Cella PEDO 24, Natalia Velasques PEDO 24, Noor

Al Shatoni PEDO 24 and Quentin Shabani DMD 16 PEDO 24

3. Belle Archer, Kristin Chino, Wesley Archer PEDO 18 and Alison Brienza PEDO 17

Jasmin Koleini PEDO 24, Andrew Calbick, Shinechimeg Dima PEDO 22, Natalia Velasquez PEDO 24, Joshua Hurlburt PEDO 22, Christine Chiao CAS 13 CAMED 15 SPH 15 DMD 19 PEDO 22, Safaa Ahmed PEDO 21

attendees

5. Pediatric Dentistry Alumni Reception

6. Mary Nell Cella PEDO 24, Jamie Lebi PEDO 25, Nasteran Chokhachi Zadeh Moghadam PEDO 22, Imani Fuller PEDO 25, Hemal Patel PEDO 24 and Noor Al Shatoni PEDO 24

7. Imran Khan DMD 96 and Rassa Abdoll DMD 96 PEDO 98

American Association of Endodontists

CAPTIONS LIST INDIVIDUALS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

1. Mark Desrosiers ENDO 06, Garrett Wingrove DMD 17 ENDO 25, Li -Chieh Lin ENDO 24, Cynthia Zebouni ENDO 26 , Sami Chogle (chair), Shimona Malik ENDO 23, Swapnil Gupta DMD 14 Questrom 22 ENDO 24

2. Kanwal Maheshwari ENDO 23, Almira Isufi, Eda Kerthi, Sami Chogle (chair), Sowjanya Tadakapalli DMD 10 ENDO 19, Jennifer Kim AEGD 07 ENDO 14 Questrom 25 and Balasudha Baladhandayutham ENDO 22

3. Tzyy-Jou (George) Huang ENDO 88 ORAL BIO 92

4. Drs. Sami Chogle (chair), Neda Rajablou ENDO 16 and Tun-Yi (Ed) Hsu ENDO 04 (program director)

5. Arash Aftabi DMD 98 PERIO 01, Zahra Falsafi DMD 94 AEGD 95 PERIO 98, Mehran Fotovatjah ENDO 95 and Farnaz Fadavi DMD 99 ENDO 02

6. Endo alumni at reception

Boston

1. Katherine Winebrake DMD 25, Jared Jacobson DMD 25, Joseph Calabrese DMD 91 AEGD 92, Gina Terenzi CAS 86 DMD 91 and Tony Groves

2. Kady Rawal AEGD 10 DPH 18, Meredith Bailey Questrom 23, Andre Hashem PROS 90 DMD 92, Konstantinos Michalakis, Ali Abdalla PROS 21, Dean Leone, Hideo Yamamoto DMD 90 PROS 92 and Snehal Pingle DMD 15

3. Iman Labib DMD 96 ENDO 01, Maryam Shomali CAS 87 ENDO 93, Niloufar Khoobehi DMD 00 ENDO 03 and Hongsheng Liu DMD 10 ENDO 12

4. Amir Shahbazian DMD 88, Shahrzad Shahbazian DMD 96, Cameron Shahbazian DMD 14 Questrom 24, Misha Zahedi, Tina Valades DMD 84 and Ralph Tullberg

5. Andre Hashem PROS 90 DMD 92, Niloufar Khoobehi DMD 00 ENDO 03, Amar Baloul PEDO 04, Arghavan Shahidi Batal DMD 01, Janet Peters, Amerlie Yi DMD 10 and Louay Abrass DMD 98

Boston University Alumni Weekend

6. DMD Class of 2014 Reunion attendees

7. Back row, left to right : Srinivas Mudumba, Hitesh Vij DMD 20, Vamsi Inkollu

Front row, left to right: Ritika Bahri

DMD 20, Dr Ruchieka Vij DMD 20, Divya Mudumba DMD 20, Rasmi Paturu DMD 14

8. DMD Class of 1984 reunion dinner at Davio’s

Gina Terenzi CAS 86 DMD 91 and Dr. Michelle Henshaw SPH 96 DPH 07 Receive 2024 GSDM Distinguished Alumni Awards

Gina Terenzi CAS 86 DMD 91 and Dr. Michelle Henshaw SPH 96 DPH 07, GSDM associate dean for global and population health, were presented with the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to the Community at the GSDM Alumni Weekend reception in September. The Distinguished Alumni Awards are the highest award GSDM presents to alums for their outstanding service to the university, dental profession, and/or community.

GINA TERENZI CAS 86 DMD 91:

Once a Terrier, Always a Terrier

The Boston University experience isn’t just about receiving an education; it’s also about building a community. And Terenzi couldn’t be more thankful for the endless support she’s received from her community of fellow Terriers.

“Over time... more doors opened to me, and I’m convinced it's because of the BU connection,” Terenzi said. “The doors led me to cherish the values of excellent training and the importance of the commitment we all have to do right for the patients and communities we care for.

Terenzi is currently the assistant dean of graduate clinic affairs, associate program director of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program (AEGD), associate director of the general practice residency in dentistry (GPR), and a professor of public health at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

“You can’t try to be great... You have to be passionate about what you do and what you're trying to help your patients achieve,” Terenzi said.

DR. MICHELLE HENSHAW SPH 96 DPH 07, GSDM ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR GLOBAL & POPULATION HEALTH: The Best is Yet to Come

Dr. Henshaw’s personal philosophy is that the only way to change the future of the profession is to help shape the dentists of tomorrow.

“I want to continue to enhance the DMD curriculum in ways that provide our students the best experiential education possible and to form a continuum of didactic and experiential education that that provides them the opportunity to explore all different paths of dentistry and prepares them to be the best dental professionals they can be—whatever path they choose,” said Henshaw, who joined the GSDM faculty in 1996 and is now the school’s associate dean for global & population health and a professor of health policy & health services research.

Henshaw said receiving the school’s alumni award serves as a reminder that the role of being a dental professional never stops. She is excited to keep playing a role in how the profession— and GSDM— continues to adapt.

“This award is not just a recognition of past achievements, but also a reminder of the responsibility we all carry as alumni of this great institution,” Henshaw said in her acceptance speech.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Dean Leone, Gina Terenzi CAS 86 DMD 91, Michelle Henshaw SPH 96 DPH 07 and Joseph Calabrese DMD 91 AEGD 92

CONNECTIONS

By Rachel Philipson

KARN DEV DMD 07 AND ALMA BUKHARI DMD 11: A FAMILIAR EXTENSION

Dental patients are sometimes chatty— and that can be a good thing.

Dev was talking with one of his patients during a check-up in 2018, when the patient shared that she provided babysitting services for someone who was also a dentist.

Two Pairs of GSDM Alums Share Their Unconventional Paths to Colleagueship & Camaraderie

An alumni connection can go a long way. For two unlikely GSDM duos, an unexpected twist of fate and a shared educational foundation blossomed into thriving professional relationships and friendships. An acquaintance-in-common brought Karn Dev DMD 07 and Alma Bukhari DMD 11 together while Komal Sharma DMD 10 and Tejas Bharat Patel DMD 10 go as far back as their dental school days in India. We spoke to the two pairs about how GSDM influenced their lives.

At the time, the Dev family Dev works alongside his father and sister at Dev Dental, a family dentistry practice with locations in Richmond Hill and Scarborough, Ontario was looking to add a dentist to the team. When the patient said the other dentist attended GSDM, Dev instantly sensed it was going to be a perfect match.

Dev reached out to the other dentist Bukhari and from that moment on, it was as if fate brought

them together. And indeed, Bukhari started working at Dev Dental’s Richmond Hill branch shortly after their first encounter. (She has since relocated to their Scarborough branch.)

“It accelerated the kind of relationship and the comfort because I knew where she came from,” Dev said of his interactions with Bukhari. “Sometimes we'll see each other's patients [and] there's literally no stress because I know how she's

going to think. With BU, we all had the same training. It's nice to have that interchangeable flexibility.”

Bukhari was initially nervous about joining a family practice as a non-family member, but it didn’t long for her to realize she was already family with Dev—the “GSDM alums in Canada” family.

“When I was brought on as an associate in the Richmond Hill location, I was nervous that patients wouldn’t be ready to meet someone new,” Bukhari said. “When I was able to tell patients that Dr. Karn and I both went to Boston University, it helped bridge that gap. Patients trusted the education and training provided and seemed to transition much easier than expected.”

Now six years later, the entire Dev family and Bukhari have become close professionally and personally. Dev said he couldn’t imagine having added anyone else to the team.

Bukhari said working with Dev has been a great educational and mentoring relationship. She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like if she hadn’t happened to mention to her babysitter where she went to dental school.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity the Devs have shared with me in their Richmond Hill office,” Bukhari said. “I’m so appreciative of the bridge Boston University helped build to make this office feel like home.”

KOMAL SHARMA

DMD AS 10 AND TEJAS BHARAT PATEL DMD AS 10: FRIENDS BECOMING FAMILY

When Sharma and Patel began their dental journeys in India, they never would have predicted that many years and cities later they would be running a dental practice together in Texas.

The duo attended Government Dental College and Hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, one year apart. They knew each other but were not close.

Independently of each other, they both wanted to attend GSDM, drawn by its exceptional reputation and esteemed faculty as well as the allure of living in Boston. In 2008, Sharma and Patel found themselves at GSDM on the same day, both interviewing for the school’s DMD Advanced Standing program.

“The starting point for us was BU and that particular interview,” Sharma said.

The pair quickly went from acquaintances to close friends. During their second year at GSDM, the duo moved into an apartment with two other roommates— all from the same dental school back in India. Sharma and Patel spent much of their time together, doing everything from grocery shopping, playing video games, and even working the same part-time job at a BU dining hall.

“It started as a friendship, but we were more like a family eventually,” Sharma.

“We chose to come to this country. Then, we chose to come to the same school, then we chose to live together, then we eventually chose to come to the same state, same city, [and] open a practice together,” Patel said. “It's an amazing journey together and having somebody as a companion on that journey, it's more like a family.”

Looking to the future, the pair hopes to further perfect their practice and eventually expand. They also plan to continue spending time outside of the practice with each other and their families, who have become close friends as well.

After graduating in 2010, Sharma and Patel moved to different states but stayed connected. Then, more than a decade later, and unbeknownst to each other yet again, Sharma and Patel both decided at about the same time to move their respective families to Austin, Texas. They decided it was an amazing opportunity to open a dental practice together, and they launched Jarrell Dental Care in July 2023.

“It’s very amazing how everything started 20 years back and how everything has shaped out,” Patel said. “I'm also very excited for the years that's coming because we now connected in this city after a long time. I'm very happy to see how the years unfold over time for us and for our family.”

CLASS NOTES

XIAOFEI ZHU ENDO 21 was named the 2024 Endodontic Educator Fellow by the AAE Foundation in September. He looks forward to furthering his teaching skills to provide quality education and mentorship.

TIM PENBERTHY ENDO 95 was recently appointed as president of the Idaho State Dental Association. This appointment acknowledges Dr. Penberthy’s commitment to excellence in the field of dentistry and dedication to serving the community.

TADROS TADROS ENDO 17 was promoted to the rank of major (MJ) in the U.S. Army Reserve in October 2024. Pictured with his wife GRACE HANNAWI-TADROS SAR 13 DMD 17 PEDO 19

TADEU SZPOGANICZ DMD 11 and wife Valeria Papa welcomed a son, Christian Yuri, in September 2024. Christian joins big sister Emma.

PEIXI LIAO PROS 18, clinical associate professor of restorative sciences & biomaterials, has started his term as chair of the ADEA Prosthodontics section and vice-president of the IADR Prosthodontics group.

On September 6, 2024 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejune, DANIELLE VERTOLLI SAR 09 DMD 13 and her husband, Travis Vertolli, were both promoted to the rank of commander (05) in the U.S. Navy.

FRANK SCHIANO CAS 01 DMD 06 AEGD 07 ORTHO 19 and wife Nicole welcomed a son, Frank Anthony, on July 22, 2024.

ANA KEOHANE DMD 16, DR. JESSICA WILLIAMS DPH 23, and DR. AUSTIN LEE AEGD 16, were named in March to the ADA’s “10 under 10” list, which honors new dentists for inspiring others and making an impact on the profession.

 GARY NORD DMD 10 was elected president of the New York State Section of the American College of Prosthodontists, and elected to the National ACP Board of Directors as the Northeast Regional Director. In this position, he will oversee the ACP Northeast state sections from Maine through New Jersey.

 ANA KEOHANE DMD 16, clinical associate professor of general dentistry, received the Yankee Dental Volunteer of the Year Award. She was also named the 2024-2025 Boston District Dental Society chair of the Massachusetts Dental Society.

 CAMERON SHAHBAZIAN DMD 14 QUESTROM 24, clinical assistant professor of general dentistry, recently completed an MBA from Questrom School of Business.

 Penticton Family Dentist, founded and co-owned by GEETIKA SAINI DMD 16 and SHAMMI SAINI DMD 16, received a gold medal in the “best dentist” category in the 2024 Best of Penticton awards.

 YANLING JIANG ORAL BIO 91 DMD 95 ENDO 99, clinical professor of endodontics, retired in July 2024 after 28 years of service to the GSDM community. She was appointed to clinical professor emerita of endodontics, effective August 1, 2024.

 ZHIMON JACOBSON PROS 80 DMD 86, clinical professor of restorative sciences & biomaterials, retired in August 2024 after 44 years of service to the GSDM community. He was appointed clinical professor emeritus of restorative sciences & biomaterials, effective September 1, 2024.

DID YOU GET MARRIED? HAVE A BABY? ACCOMPLISH A LIFE GOAL?

We’d love to hear your news! Email your updates (and any address changes) to Stacey McNamee at smcnamee@bu.edu.

GSDM student wins second place in Innovate@ BU’s New Venture Competition

GSDM student Alireza Eghdamian DMD 26 and his teammates won second place in the general track during this year’s Boston University’s Innovate@BU New Venture Competition, receiving a $10,000 prize. The Innovate@ BU New Venture Competition awards $72,000 in prizes to early-stage Boston University entrepreneurs to assist them in their transformation from pitch to product.

Eghdamian worked with BU alum Caspian Chaharom CAS 23 and Harvard School of Dental Medicine students Cami Tussie and Anita Nasseri to create PerioSense, an affordable and accessible automated electronic dental periodontal probe that would significantly reduce the time and effort needed for regular screenings.

The team had been working on PerioSense for two years prior to the Innovate@BU competition. With their winnings, Eghdamian said they could enter the next stage of the product by funding intellectual property (IP) protections and building a professionally made prototype.

“We have several prototypes that we built ourselves, but now we are able to build a professionally made prototype that we can actually use to test on real people,” he said. “So far, we’ve only been able to test on ourselves because it’s a handmade prototype. Once we get our IP protected and have our prototype ready, then we will probably be moving towards doing real trials on real patients.”

ON CAMPUS: HIGHLIGHTS

GSDM volunteers 2024 Special Olympics Massachusetts Summer Games

In June 2024, 60 volunteers from Boston University

Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM), Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences provided oral healthcare services to 88 athletes participating in the 2024 Special Olympics Massachusetts Summer Games as part of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles program.

“It is the dedication and commitment of our volunteers, students, staff, and faculty alike, that makes events like Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles possible,” Kathy Lituri, GSDM clinical assistant professor of health policy & health services research, said.

The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® program was started by GSDM alum, Dr. Steve Perlman PEDO 76, in 1993. In its inaugural year, 750 athletes were screened and received access to the healthcare system. The program has since expanded and is currently the largest public health program internationally for patients with intellectual disabilities with eight health disciplines.

Stacey McNamee, GSDM director of alumni relations & annual giving, said Perlman’s dedication to patients with intellectual disabilities remains invaluable.

“There is no doubt that the athletes who stopped at the hygiene table loved the puppets and enjoyed learning more about keeping their mouths clean,” McNamee said.

Ameer Ahmed DMD 25, who volunteered at the event, said that he valued the opportunity to work with patients with disabilities.

“We know how to treat patients with other conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, so treating patients with disabilities should be no different for us,” said Ahmed. “Special Olympics Special Smiles was an incredible learning experience and I urge others to get involved.”

Abdo completed her initial dental education in her home country of Syria before moving to Saudia Arabia in 2001, where she worked as a general dentist for 18 years. When the ongoing Syrian Civil War made it impossible for Abdo, her husband, and Hussein to move back to Syria, Hussein ended up moving by himself the U.S. for his senior year of high school, then went to UMASS Amherst for his undergraduate degree, and ultimately enrolled at GSDM.

When Abdo and her husband moved from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. in 2019 to join Hussein, she was determined to do what she needed to do to practice in the U.S. and after watching her son begin his dental journey at GSDM, and knowing about the school’s experienced faculty and diverse student population, she decided GSDM was the perfect place for her as well.

“My relationship with my son was so strong,” Abdo said. “I believe in him. I am so proud of him. These feelings and this communication really encouraged me to pursue my education and this journey.”

Hussein, now in his third year at GSDM, said he was surprised when Abdo expressed interest in applying to GSDM for the DMD AS Class of 2026. It was an unexpected update but a joyful one.

“I was like, ‘Alright, yeah, let's do it,’” Hussein said. “Sharing the same experience and having someone that knows what you're going through is very valuable.”

Fatema Abdo DMD AS 26 and Mohamed Hussein DMD 26 are taking the phrase “like mother, like son” to the next level. In a rare twist of fate, the motherand-son duo are studying at GSDM at the same time— Abdo in the school’s two-year DMD Advanced Standing program and Hussein in its four-year DMD program both expecting to graduate in 2026.

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Nearly 300 predoctoral students, postdoctoral residents, and postgraduate students were recognized for fulfilling their degree and certificate programs during the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine 2024 Commencement Convocation Ceremony at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center on Friday, May 17, 2024.

During his opening remarks, Dean Cataldo Leone commended the graduates for the hard work they’ve put in and sacrifices they’ve made to complete their dental educational journeys.

“I ask that you focus on what you have learned, on how you have grown, and on the good friends and colleagues you have made during your time here,” Leone said. “The school has endeavored to cultivate in you a mindset that embraces innovation and continuous improvement. Lean in to this mindset, for it will ensure that you remain ever curious, and ever learning that you will never cease aspiring to learn more, to do more, and to be more for your patients, your community, and your profession, while not forgetting that these apply also for your families and yourselves.”

SPOTLIGHT: FACULTY

FIXING TEETH, CREATING SMILES

Art is everywhere— even in dentistry. Or so Dr. Omnia Saleh, GSDM clinical assistant professor of restorative sciences & biomaterials, believes.

GSDM Professor

Balances Dental

Restorations with

Artistic Passions

by Rachel Philipson

And indeed, Saleh is an example of how art and science are inextricably linked. At GSDM, she teaches dental students the theories and techniques of dental prosthetics and how they can be fashioned to best mimic natural teeth. Outside of the classroom, she switches her white coat for a painter’s smock and creates works of art in a range of media, from classical oil paintings to 3-D renderings. Despite their differences, Saleh said her passions in both dentistry and art harmonize with each other and allow her to make something beautiful.

“When it comes to science and knowing nature, it will automatically drive you into art because everything that is in nature is really art,” Saleh said. “If you really observe

natural teeth and you see them under the microscope, or when it comes to color, light, reflection, and translucency, everything is pure art. I believe that every artist was at some point inspired by nature.”

According to Saleh, oral healthcare professionals are limited in their artistic creativity by the confines of a natural tooth. Thus, it is vital to her to have artistic ventures outside of dentistry that allow her to give free rein to her imagination.

“Teeth are not your canvas,” Saleh said. “If you want to do art, you can do it on your canvas, but when it comes to restoring teeth, we have to copy nature, nothing less, nothing more, or things will appear artificial.”

Saleh said she has loved art since her childhood. She fell in love with oil painting when she was a teenager and has been painting on and off ever since. She later added digital art/3-D renderings to her repertoire in 2020.

Nowadays, Saleh's art setup is simple but effective, comprising a canvas stand, canvases, and oil paints in a corner of her apartment near a window. She said she prefers to use a realistic style in her paintings, focusing on portraits, landscapes, and recreations of classical paintings. In contrast, her digital content which she makes using Maya, Cinema 4D, and Blender, veers more whimsical, with subject matter ranging from cinematic dental renderings to animated characters.

Saleh is not an expert in oil paintings or digital art — but that’s the point, she stressed. It’s not about the precision of the work, but about the mental stimulation and happiness it brings.

“Anything you want to learn, you can learn as long as you are consistent-that's the most important thing,” Saleh said.

BIDABADI HAKIMI CONFERENCE ROOM DEDICATION EVENT

In August 2024, Dean Cataldo Leone joined together with Nazila Bidabadi CAS 82 DMD 87 and her husband Mr. Ali Hakimi, and their close family, to celebrate the dedication of their named conference room: the Bidabadi Hakimi Conference Room, dedicated in memory of Dr. Bidabadi’s father, Ahmad Ali Bidabadi.

Bidabadi and Hakimi said they hoped that this conference room on the 7th floor will provide a space for study and inspiration as the students as they complete dental school.

Bidabadi is a double Terrier, holding both an undergraduate degree and

DEAN’S ADVISORY BOARD

David Paul Lustbader

CAS 86 DMD 86

Chair

Chief of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Milton Hospital

Founder, South Shore Oral Surgery Associates Quincy, MA

Tarun Agarwal

Owner, 3-D Dentists

Founder, Raleigh Dental Arts Raleigh, NC

Nazila Bidabadi

CAS 82 DMD 87

President & Chief Cosmetic

Dentist, Soft Touch Dentistry Allston, MA

Donald Booth

Professor and Chair Emeritus, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Retired Chief, Department of Dentistry Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Boston Medical Center Topsfield, MA

Shadi Daher

DMD 90 OMFS 94

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon Cofounder and President, Medical Missions for Children Westwood, MA

Patrik Eriksson

CEO, Vimian Newport Beach, CA

Richard A. Konys

DMD 84 OMFS 88

Founder, Eastside Dental Fayetteville, NY

a DMD from Boston University. Her husband is also a BU alum as are the couple’s children.

Bidabadi has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board since 2020. Throughout her career, she has been both a mentor and a trail blazer and has long advocated for women to pursue degrees in dental education.

As Leone said at the dedication event, everyone knows “how incredibly caring Dr. Bidabadi is, that her concern for others is unmatched, and that her positive attitude is infectious.”

Jonathan B. Levine DMD 81

Founder & CEO, GLO Science

Founder, Jonathan B. Levine & Associates New York, NY

Geoffrey Ligibel

President & CEO, 42 North Dental Waltham, MA

Madalyn Mann DPH 76

Former Director, Applied Professional Experience (APEX) & Extramural Programs, Boston University

Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Miami, FL

Alon Mozes

CEO, Neocis Inc. Miami, FL

Thomas Olsen

Advisor, Mavrik Dental Therapeutics Costa Mesa, CA

Mina Paul SPH 96

Administrative Dental Director, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center Boston, MA

Loubna Pla ENDO 08

Co-Founder and Owner, Pla & Watts Endodontics Puyallup, WA

Jeanne C. Sinkford

Senior Scholar in Residence, American Dental Education Association

Dean Emeritus, Howard University College of Dentistry Washington, D.C.

JOIN US

Boston University’s annual Global Days of Service is a widely anticipated, University-wide month of community service opportunities that encourages students, residents, faculty, staff, and alumni to give back to their local, national, and international communities. We encourage you to participate this year in whatever way you can!

In 2024, 86 members of the GSDM community contributed 499 volunteer hours at various events. From serving hot pizzas at the largest homeless shelter in New England to providing dental screenings, the GSDM community fostered meaningful experiences and/or oral healthcare for people in need.

“It’s important for dental professionals to know how to connect with their community,” said Kathy Lituri, clinical assistant professor of health policy & health services research at GSDM. “Every GSDM volunteer helps make Global Days of Service successful for our local community.”

BY RACHEL P. FARRELL

Modeling Excellence

AS A DENTAL STUDENT, MICHAEL S. HAUSER DMD 77 WAS AT THE TOP OF HIS CLASS. NOW, AS A DONOR, HE’S LEADING THE WAY AGAIN.

In his youth, Michael S. Hauser DMD, MD wore braces. Hauser enjoyed his dental visits: His orthodontist was also his uncle, someone he looked up to and after watching him work for many years, he decided he wanted to become an orthodontist, too.

Fast forward to 1972, when Hauser, then a college senior, discovered that Boston University was starting a predoctoral program in its School of Graduate Dentistry (now GSDM). Hauser was impressed by the school’s course offerings and faculty, which included renowned experts such as Drs. Donald Booth (oral surgery), Anthony Giannelly (orthodontics), Herbert Schilder (endodontics), and Spencer Frankl (pediatric dentistry). Plus, the school’s founder, Henry M. Goldman, “was essentially the father of periodontics,” said Hauser. “Putting it all together, I decided it would be the ideal school for me.”

At BU, Hauser stood out among his 34 classmates, excelling at prosthetics and in his preclinical lab work, which involved creating molds for crowns, dentures, and bridges. He was so skilled, in fact, that Dean Goldman asked him to make a set of jewelry for

his wife using a lion mold he had carved in the lab.

Although Hauser had planned to become an orthodontist, his interests shifted after taking several courses on oral surgery, including one taught by Booth and another by Thomas Kilgore. “I was inspired by the clinical accomplishments of Dr. Booth,” said Hauser. In a subsequent course, taught by Dr. Kilgore, “I found him to be a warm and wonderful person, and very congenial.” Kilgore became his mentor, which gave Hauser the confidence to pursue oral and maxillofacial surgery as his specialty.

In 1977, after graduating as the first valedictorian of BU’s four-year DMD program, Hauser began a general practice residency in dentistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed by a prestigious residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University. He subsequently earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed his general surgery residency at Harvard.

He taught for several years at Emory University School of Dentistry, then joined Mount Sinai Medical

Center in Cleveland, Ohio, as chief of dentistry, director of the oral and maxillofacial surgery residency, and director of the GPR in dentistry. He also started a private practice and was an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University.

Since retiring in 2020, Hauser has shifted his attention to philanthropy, giving back to the places that helped him achieve his success. As a former valedictorian, supporting other accomplished dental professionals at BU was important to him and led him recently to establish an endowment at GSDM, which will provide awards annually to the four-year DMD valedictorian and the top student in each class, an award for a graduating student who is highly accomplished and interested in pursuing a residency in OMFS, and funding to support the OMFS residency. Since the gift is endowed, the annual awards will be given in perpetuity.

As someone who always strived for academic excellence himself, “I want to support academic excellence at GSDM,” Hauser said. “My career would have been impossible without the education, training, and mentorship I received at Boston University.”

“My career would have been impossible without the education, training, & mentorship I received at Boston University.”

MICHAEL S. HAUSER DMD 77

GIVING DAY

Gurgen Abazyan DMD 22

Gurgen Abazyan

Ali Abdallah PROS 21

Jeremy Aczon DMD 18

Asmita Adhikari

Naveen Reddy Admala DMD 18 ORTHO 22

Ashish Agarwal DMD 17

Adela Agolli Tarshi DMD 08 ENDO 12

Mona Alenezi DMD 10 ENDO 18

April Alford ENDO 07

Alfonso Alvarez

Julie Atkinson DMD 11

Elorm Atuwo

Meredith Bailey Questrom 23

Ahmed Baioumy DMD 23

Hussam Batal DMD 98 OMFS 03

Arghavan Batal DMD 01

Lina Benslimane

Elizabeth Benz DMD 11

Sheri Bernadett ENDO 91

Manish Bhagania

John Jhujhar Bhambra DMD 94 ENDO 07

Paul Bianchi ENDO 00

Michael Blau

Lucineia Boesing

Melvin Boner ENDO 86

Charles Brodsky ORTHO 05

Stephanie Brooks DMD 18

Lara-Brown de Fuenmayor

Berta Caez De Mercado

Xieyi Cai DMD 21

Joseph Calabrese DMD 91 AEGD 92

Michele Calabrese SSW 93

Thomas Calabrese

Rocco Calabrese

Joe Calabrese, Jr.

Marco Camargo

Lisa Case

McAllister Castelaz DMD 17

Gennaro Cataldo

Maureen Cataudella CAS 88 DMD 92

Emely Cepeda

Pelly Chang DMD 89

Kwan-Chan-Hawes

Alis Checovich

Christine Chiao CAS 13 CAMED 15 SPH 15 DMD 19 PEDO 22

Radhika Chigurupati

Sami Chogle

Jae Choi

Nicholas Croce

Shadi Daher DMD 90 OMFS 94

Bing Dai DMD 09

Wenyong Dai DMD 19

Catie Dargue

Joseph Dargue

Mohammad Dashti DMD 88 PROS 91

Lori Davis

Timothy Davis

Katherine DeForest

Luis Del Castillo

Richard D'Innocenzo

Corrie Dirksmeier

Tien Do CAS 12 CAMED 14 DMD 18

Mark Doherty ENDO 05

Ludmila Doller

Gerard Dorato

Diane Dougherty

Francheska Ovalles DMD 13 AEGD 14

Larry Dunham DMD 83

H. Nelson Eddy PERIO 92

Radwa Elghadafi DMD 24

Yuwei Fan

Fadi Farah DMD 93 PERIO 97

Elizabeth Fay MET 15

Michael Faynzilberg

Gabriel Federo Hungria CAMED 23

Mark Ferriero

Avi Feygin DMD 10

Neal Fleisher DMD 84 PERIO 86

Kambiz Fotoohi DMD 91 PROS 93

Mehran Fotovatjah ENDO 95

Elie Freilich DMD 19

On April 3, 2024, BU students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff came together to give back and celebrate what makes them #ProudToBU as part of 2024 Giving Day, collectively creating an even bigger impact on BU schools/colleges, teams, programs, and causes. We want to thank every donor who helped make the 2024 Giving Day a success.

Robert Garber CAS 73

Raul Garcia

Justin Gee DMD 04 PERIO 07

Russell Giordano

Riaan Gode

Gurkan Goktug PROS 01 DMD 08

Shengpeng Guo

Pranav Gupta DMD 24

Sergio Guzman PERIO 01 DMD 03

Mona Haghani DMD 14 ENDO 17

Lea Hajjar PROS 22

Pauline Hall DMD 01

Xiaozhe Han Oral Bio 04 DMD 08

Li-Han Wang Oral Bio 04 DMD 06

Gretchen Heinsen ENDO 84

Michelle Henshaw SPH 96 DPH 07

Hiroshi Hirayama

Matt Hogberg

Kerrin Hogberg

Hannah Hogberg

Sophie Hogberg

Kevin Holland

Xingxue Hu DMD 15

Yang Hu DMD 21

Kai Hu DMD 19

Zhiqiang Huang DMD 08

Hui Huang DMD 05

Zhan Huang DMD 16

Erin Huang

Daniel Ingel DMD 13

Vaibhav Jagad DMD 17 PEDO 23

Yanling Jiang Oral Bio 91 DMD 95 ENDO 99

Zheqing Jiang DMD 21

Jun Jiang

Dennis Jodoin DMD 95 PERIO 98

Clifford Johnson ENDO 00

Christopher M. Jones DMD 10

John Jou DMD 93 PROS 96

Bassel Kano DMD 00 ENDO 04

Zachary Kano DMD 96 ENDO 08

Virginia Karapanou

Steven Karpas CAS 77 DMD 87

Phyllis Karpas

Doug Katz ENDO 97

Trisha Keane

Ana Keohane DMD 16

Emma Keohane

Sophia Keohane CAS 27

Mira Khouzam DMD 16

Ryota Kikuchi DMD 07 AEGD 12

Hannah Kilbride DMD 24

Sarah Kim DMD 18

Puneet Kochhar DMD 03

Seth Koczela DMD 22

Celeste Kong PROS 84 DMD 87

Jeffrey Kotz ENDO 07

Maria Kukuruzinska

Saheem Kundapur

Kennie Kwok DMD 11

Kate Lacoste Surprenant ENDO 02

Sandip Ladani DMD 16

Afsheen Lakhani DMD 06 AEGD 07

Katherine Lam

Merllory Lampe DMD 24

Lana Le DMD 16

James Lee CAS 09 CAMED 10 DMD 14

Ted Lee DMD 86

Lynn Lee

Rosemary Leone

Cataldo Leone

Stephanie Leung DMD 15

Brian Levy DMD 20

Ying Li DMD 21

Jimmy Li DMD 17 ORTHO 20

Qiyu Li DMD 21

Yan Liang DMD 18

Yu Hui Lin DMD 21

Guanghui Ling DMD 16

Kathy Lituri SPH 03

Hongsheng Liu DMD 10 ENDO 12

Bing Liu DSc 99 DMD 03

Lucy Liu

Joyce Liu

Ryan Liu

Wei Liu

David Lustbader CAS 86 DMD 86

Andrew M. Schwartz-Hinds DMD 15

Yun Ma

Maria Clara Macena DMD 25

Pat Machalinski DMD 90 AEGD 91 ENDO 93

Sumeen Malhotra DMD 20

Tarika Malik DMD 17

Gibran Mangui CAMED 17 DMD 21

Madalyn Mann DPH 76

Matt Mara DMD 16 AEGD 17

Alisha Marble

Elianys Mavares

Mike Mayr CAMED 12 DMD 16

Charis McCarthy

Gail McCausland

Shelby McCormick DMD 24

Tim McDonough

Blake McKinley Jr ENDO 97

Stacey McNamee MET 98

Amir Mehrabi ENDO 05

Arpit Mehta DMD 18

Christine Melito ENDO 07

Hector Mendoza

Anthimos Michael Questrom 16 MET 22

Konstantinos Michalakis

Claudia Minami Kussano Lopes

Jacob Miszuk

Amanda Modelevsky

Manuel Molina PERIO 08

Esteban Molina PROS 22

Liz-Montero CAMED 07 DMD 11

Amira Mottawea DMD 16

Divya Mudumba DMD 20

Richard Mungo PEDO 75

Adba Najjar DMD 04

Michael Nardi DMD 18

Nikita Naumowicz DMD 21

Steven Naumowicz

Amy Nelson

Brian Newman CAS 99

Diane Newman

James Newman MET 93,96 CGS 85

Linda Newman

Leila Nezakatgoo DMD 04

Helen Nguyen DMD 22

Michelle Nguyen CAMED 23

Graham Nickerson ENDO 10

Gary Nord DMD 10

Hesham Nouh Oral Bio 12 PROS 15

Andrew Novak

Sepideh Novid DMD 04 AEGD 05

Daniel Nyer DMD 10

Matthew Orlando DMD 19

Osareniye Osayande

Malekshah Oskoui DMD 98 ENDO 01

Nuria Otero DMD 02 PROS 04

Wladimir Padron

Debra Pan DPH 86 DMD 01

Katelyn Pan DMD 21

Heather Parsons DMD 11

Khamir Patel DMD 14

Abhishek Patel DMD 14

Brijesh Patel DMD 14

James Penney ENDO 94

Snehal Pingle DMD 15

Loubna Pla ENDO 08

Apeksha Pole DMD 10

Stephen Polins CAS 65 PERIO 73

Sitashi Poudyal DMD 21

Steve Prieve DMD 18

Anna Pukhovitskaya DMD 13 AEGD 14

Barbara Pyke

Wenyu Qu CAMED 13 DMD 17

Katie Quan DMD 19

Neda Rajablou ENDO 16

Kadambari Rawal AEGD 10 DPH 18

Breno Reboucas Oral Bio 07 PEDO 12 Questrom 23

Mai Regan

Jignesh Rudani DMD 17

Juan Ruiz

Nilima Runwal AEGD 16

Mitchell-Sabbagh DMD 87

Ali Salehpour DMD 06 ENDO 10

Klara Salib Rasla DMD 21

Catherine Sarkis CAS 88 Questrom 91, LAW 94

Ramzi Sarkis AEGD 96 DMD 02 ENDO 05 08

Frank Schiano CAS 01 DMD 06 AEGD 07 ORTHO 19

Bruce Seidberg ENDO 67

Darshit Shah DMD 13

Rohan Shah DMD 17

Hirwa Shah DMD 18

Steven Shao DMD 04

Samira Sheikh DMD 03

Jiangyun Sheng DMD 11

Han Chao Shi SAR 20 CAMED 21

Mary Ellen Sholes MET 78

Maryam Shomali CAS 87 ENDO 93

Pamela Simmons

Adina Simone DMD 88

Japsimran Singh DMD 17

Sonika Singla DMD 09

Sudarvizhi Sivaraman DMD 17

Joanna Song DMD 17

Yunbo Song DMD 13

Marilyn Steinert Lyons DMD 78

Kali Stewart DMD 15 PEDO 18

Casey Stillson

Erica Stocks COM 01 Wheelock 12

John Stropko ENDO 89

Mingfang Su DMD 91

Zhi Sun DMD 15

Tadeu Szpoganicz DMD 11

James Taillefer

Nayrouz Talua ENDO 17

Mary Tavares DPH 81

Peter Tian DMD 99

Na Tian Oral Bio 14 DMD 19

Lisa Tilley ENG 98

Christopher Tom

Stephanie Tom

Tony Tong DMD 13

Wyatt Traina DMD 14

Cheryl Lang Ullman ENDO 80

Bhuvan Shome Venigalla DMD 19

Anchita Venkatesh DMD 18

Hitesh Vij DMD 20

Li Wang Oral Bio 04 DMD 06

R Kristopher Watts ENDO 08

Carolyn Wehler SPH 01

Na Wei DMD 15

Quinton Wesley

Elizabeth Whitney CAMED 05

Joshua Williams DMD 15

Bradley Woland DMD 11 ORTHO 14

Tao Xu Oral Bio 90 DMD 95

Zhewu Xu DMD 20

Wanpeng Xu PERIO 13 DMD 15

Hideo Yamamoto PROS 90 DMD 92

Yuko Yamamoto PROS 17 DMD 23

Eugenia Yang DMD 11 ENDO 15

Xinhai Yang DMD 07

Xu Yang DMD 22

Yuan Yao Oral Bio 99 DMD 04

Jonathan Ye DMD 18

Amerlie Yi DMD 10

Henry Yu ENDO 83

Roula Zaza DMD 19

Fengling Zhan

Min Zhu PhD12 DMD 17

Ira Zohn ENDO 71

Hui Zuo DMD20

Matthew Zweig

$3.9 M

TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED 11,821

TOTAL DONORS 800 +

CAMPUS CASES SUPPORTED $120,946

GSDM

TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED 308 TOTAL DONORS 34%

INCREASE IN # OF DONORS FROM 2023 15 FUNDS SUPPORTED

Giving to the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine in your will is a simple way to make a real difference.

It’s easy — and rewarding. Take the time now to make sure that your will reflects your intentions to care for your family and the people and causes that matter most to you.

If you include a gift for GSDM in your estate plans, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that future generations of students and residents will benefit from your generous legacy.

To learn more about how you can make a gift in your will to support GSDM, contact Boston University Planned Giving at 800-645-2347 or opg@bu.edu, or visit bu.edu/plannedgiving.

Download a complimentary copy of our Estate Planning Guide at bu.edu/estateguide .

Maintaining a competitive edge, no matter what the arena, takes investment, and we are grateful for the support we receive from many sources.

Generous contributions from our alumni and friends are vital to our ongoing success. These gifts have made improvements in our clinical facilities, classrooms, and public areas, and have been used them to support student scholarships, among other areas. If you are interested in giving to the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine or want to become involved in our resource development activities, please contact Stacey McNamee at smcnamee@bu.edu or use one of the methods listed below to make a gift.

ONLINE

Give online safely and securely at bu.edu/dental/supportgsdm.

PHONE

Call us at 617-358-8774 to make a gift or pledge over the phone.

MAIL

Mail your contribution to Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Development & Alumni Relations 85 E Newton Street, M-1009 Boston, MA 02118

Checks should be made payable to Trustees of Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.

IN MEMORIAM

Kenneth J. Backman PERIO 78

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL

JULY 13, 2024

Dr. Kenneth Backman was a graduate of Syracuse University and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and held a postdoctoral degree from Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, past president of the Boston Metropolitan District Dental Society, the Greater Boston Dental Society, and the Massachusetts Periodontal Society, and lectured widely throughout the United States.

Charles Francis Poeschl ENDO 88

SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Charles Poeschl practiced dentistry for more 42 years and tried to serve his patients and his profession to the best of his abilities, with good to all. Charles served as a clinical assistant professor at SIU School of Dental Medicine. He had many leadership roles in the Missouri Dental Association, the Greater St. Louis Dental Society, and Healthworks! Kid’s Museum.

James "Jim" Thomas Clynes PERIO 72

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

JULY 18, 2024

Jim Clynes was a life-long learner: He graduated from Gueydan High School, Southwest Louisiana Institute, Loyola University Dental School, Boston University Dental School, and Tulane University. He served in the Navy for many years as a dentist where he went on to become a periodontist. Jim also was a professor of periodontics at Louisiana State University School of Dentistry and was a member of the American Dental Association during his career.

Jim grew up in Brooklyn, New York, but also lived in the Philippines, San Diego, Hawaii, Virginia, and Boston, eventually settling in New Orleans. During his life, Jim touched the hearts of everyone he met with his kindness, generosity, and a blunt and playful sense of humor. Jim had many passions, including photography, cars, reading, writing, health and fitness, biking, and travel, but Jim's greatest joy in life was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, whom he adored beyond measure. Jim will be remembered for his gentle spirit and genuine interest in others that left an indelible mark on all who knew him. He leaves behind a legacy of wisdom, generosity, and laughter that will live on in the hearts of his family and friends forever.

IN MEMORIAM

Theodore F. Engel, Jr. (faculty)

ROCKPORT, MA

MAY 9, 2024

Ted Engel graduated from Newton High School, Boston University, and Tufts School of Dental Medicine. Ted served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II as a flight engineer, and then in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant in the Dental Service Corp. After his military service, Ted settled in Needham, Massachusetts, with his family and practiced general dentistry for 41 years in his own practice.

Ted enjoyed teaching and wanted to pass his knowledge of sailing and dentistry on to future generations. He taught sailing with great patience to adults at Sandy Bay for many years. After selling his dental practice in 1992, he went on to teach dentistry at GSDM for 25 years (until the age of 93), where he attained the position of clinical assistant professor.

Ted loved carpentry and building ship models. He was an avid skier and sailor. Ted was a longtime member of the Sandy Bay Yacht Club in Rockport, and was also a member of the International Star Class and raced in Star boats for 50 years.

Donald Ferguson (faculty)

DENVER, COLORADO

JULY 31, 2024

Donald "Skip" Ferguson was an avid hunter, fisherman, poet, and outstanding athlete. He was quarterback at Humboldt State University prior to his acceptance at University of Oregon School of Dentistry. After graduation with a DMD, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the US Navy Dental Corps, where he served aboard the carrier USS Ranger in the Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnam).

After his service, he obtained a Certificate of Orthodontics at University of the Pacific in San Francisco, CA. His career included private practice, research, and teaching in universities in California, Indiana, Wisconsin, St. Louis, Boston and Dubai. Skip was a faculty member at GSDM from 2002 to 2007, serving as professor and chair of orthodontics & dentofacial orthopedics. He also served as chair of orthodontics at Marquette University and as one of the founding deans at the European University College in Dubai, UAE. He was a member and past president of the Midwest Component of the Edward H. Angle Society (1998), diplomate and member of the American Board of Orthodontics. Skip was well respected in the orthodontic community and loved by all whose lives he touched along the way.

Donald M. Seifert OMFS 62

SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY

SEPTEMBER 2024

Donald Seifert graduated from The Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut, and earned his bachelor's degree with honors from Brown University. After graduating from Harvard School of Dental Medicine with highest honors, he completed specialty training in oral & maxillofacial surgery at NY Cornell, Kings County Hospital, and Boston University.

Donald established the successful practice of Summit Oral Surgery in Summit, New Jersey. He was also an attending surgeon at Overlook Hospital for over 40 years, where he founded the residency in dentistry, served as chief and director of dental education for over 10 years. He also served as an assistant clinical professor at Columbia University.

Donald was a passionate member of the greater Summit community, and served on the Board of Directors and as president of the Board of Trustees at the Summit YMCA. He was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award from New Providence and Summit for commitment to local institutions.

He was an active sports enthusiast and could very often be seen cycling through the Great Swamp. He enjoyed sailing with his two daughters at Hunterdon Sailing Club at Spruce Run Reservoir and racing Sunfish at the New Jersey Shore and Long Island.

Wayne A. Gonnerman (faculty)

OCTOBER 19, 2024

NEWTON, MA

Wayne A. Gonnerman was known for his unwavering commitment to education, his love for creating beautiful homes, and his devotion to his family; he leaves behind a legacy of knowledge, craftsmanship and love that touched the lives of many.

Wayne earned his degrees from University of Missouri, including a Ph.D. in Zoology. Over six decades, Wayne contributed to the field of biochemistry through his research, and inspired countless students at Mizzou, UNC, Boston University, and local community colleges. His work as a professor at Boston University School of Medicine brought him to Boston, and his dedication to the field continued to engage him in research and supporting emerging scientific talent at BU for nearly 50 years.

Additionally, as a professor of anatomy & physiology at Mass Bay College and other community colleges for nearly three decades, he was revered not only for his deep understanding of the human body but for his genuine care for his students' success. His classroom was a space of encouragement and challenge, and many of his students went on to successful careers in healthcare, always remembering the impact he had on their journeys.

Last Word

Dr. Carl McManama Professor of General Dentistry

Henry

M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine

For much of the 20th century, dentistry saw very little change. This made teaching, which I started doing in 1976, pretty simple: You taught the same way — same procedures, same techniques, same materials you were taught.

That all started to change in the 1970s, with the invention of things like sealants, composites, porcelain fused to metal crowns, bonding agents and esthetic dentistry. All of a sudden, patients were asking for the latest technologies, and dentists — who hadn’t learned how to do these procedures when they were in school were facing difficult decisions about whether and when to switch from the “tried and true” method to the latest innovation.

Sound familiar? It’s a pattern that’s played out time and again over the last 50 years, as the pace of change in dentistry has continued to increase. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is just the most recent breakthrough with which dentists are grappling.

For those of us in dental academia, our challenge is to strike the right balance between the “old” and the new. We certainly want to evolve as our profession does and to ensure that our students are conversant in the latest breakthroughs in treatment — but we also owe it to our students (and to their future patients!) to ensure that anything we integrate into our curriculum has a strong body of evidence behind it. There is real value in both healthy skepticism and logical risk-taking. A GSDM graduate must be “marketable,” possessing the knowledge and skills to be successful in a 21st century practice.

At GSDM, I believe that we teach in the sweet spot between old and new. We’ve long been a leader in digital technology, and I know that we’ll continue to stay ahead of the field when it comes to the next breakthrough including AI. But we must continue to ensure that our students

have a firm grounding in fundamental knowledge, values, techniques, and technologies.

In some ways, however, I believe that the most important thing to teach students when it comes to a new technology or innovation has nothing to do with the technology itself. What we need to do and what we do very well at GSDM is empower our students with the ability to think critically and logically. Teach them how to evaluate the evidence, to assess the demographics of their practice, to analyze the geography within which they’re located — teach them how to both ask and answer the question: Will our treatment decisions truly maintain and improve our patients’ quality of life?

Teach them that, and they’ll be able to assess for themselves the right moment to jump on a new innovation.

TAKEAWAYS FROM

“My career would have been impossible without the education, training, and mentorship I received at Boston University.”

EXCELLENCE / pg. 38 pg. 02

“We should be proud of the way that GSDM equips its students and residents with the critical thinking skills they’ll need to evaluate ... new technologies.””

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LETTER / pg. 16