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CELEBRATING UKCD AND DR. ALVIN MORRIS
When working toward establishing the UK College of Dentistry, Dr. Alvin Morris, the college’s founding dean, shared, “The College of Dentistry should have as its aim the development of biologically oriented, technically capable, socially sensitive dental practitioners who are keenly aware of the significance of their potential contribution to the total health of their patients.”
Continuing to uphold these and other founding principles, the college celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2022. During the October Annual Fall Symposium and Alumni Weekend, alums and others took time to remember Morris and his tremendous contribution to the University of Kentucky, the college, and the profession of dentistry overall. A memorial honoring Morris, located at the college’s entrance, was unveiled during the weekend—many thanks to the Class of 1967 for spearheading this effort. Additionally, the college’s second dean, Dr. Harry Bohannon, was interviewed by current UKCD dean, Dr. Jeff Okeson. Bohannon reflected on the college’s early days and the never-ending dedication to the college embodied by Morris— watch the interview at dentistry.uky. edu/60years.
At the college’s 25th anniversary, Morris shared, “The early 1960s was the right time, the University of Kentucky was the right place, there were gathered the right people, and something good happened—for the citizens of the Commonwealth, the University, and the dental profession. As one who shared the excitement of the founding of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, it is gratifying to reflect on what occurred over the past 25 years. But more important, and equally satisfying, is the observation that once again, the time, the place, and the people are right—and the future of greater achievements is assured.”
“The college continues to embody the necessary elements Dr. Morris referenced to support the needs of our learners while also striving toward amazing achievements in education, patient care, and research,” shares Okeson. “Even with the challenges we faced during the pandemic, and the struggles that many learning institutions
and private practices experienced in its wake, we’ve continued to make gains in key areas and graduate highly competent dentists and specialty providers.”
In addition to reflecting on the college’s rich history over the last 60 years, UKCD also celebrated the following accomplishments in 2022, helping to demonstrate the college’s focus on education, patient care, and research:
• Saturday Morning Clinic, a longstanding, student-driven tradition at UKCD, provided over $29,000 in free care to pediatric patients throughout 2022. In addition to supporting the local community by responding to patient care needs, sessions provide additional clinical experience for all dental students, including first-year students eager to participate in a clinical setting.
• The college continues to work toward extending its patient care footprint to support the needs of more Kentuckians. In 2022, Bracken County Schools, Bracken County
Health Department, Interact for Health, PrimaryPlus, and the college formalized a partnership. The groups’ combined efforts helped establish an on-site school-based health center in Bracken County. Dental services at the site include dental exams, cleanings, X-rays, and select restorative procedures. The program will also host mobile dentistry to allow surrounding school systems to benefit from the program in the future.
• The college continues to build upon its digital dentistry efforts, helping to ensure dental students are regularly exposed to digital tools and workflows while balancing their education and experience with traditional dentistry methods. Efforts in this area include purchasing new equipment and software—including four milling machines, new intraoral scanners, and sintering ovens for the sixth-floor simulation lab, updates to the curriculum, and additional faculty and staff training to support clinical care cases using digital dentistry workflows. In 2021, 41 percent of DMD Student Clinic crown cases produced in the college’s in-house digital lab were fabricated from an intraoral scan. In 2022, the percentage increased to over 50 percent.
• While the college focuses heavily on clinical experiences and patient care, faculty secure research and grant funding to support various projects, and collaborate with several other groups on research efforts. In 2022, Dr. Luciana Shaddox, UKCD
Associate Dean of Research, received U01 funding from the National Institutes of
Health in excess of $6 million to support a five-year collaborative effort involving multiple universities. The college looks forward to sharing more news on this effort.
Additional notes of achievement are detailed throughout this issue of Perspectives and via quarterly Dean’s Bulletin emails. Stay connected by keeping your contact information current—email updates to rlvici2@uky.edu.
Opposite page: Dr. Morris’ daughter Beth Wofford, Class of 1967 Secretary Dr. Jack Frick, and Dean Okeson. VISIT DENTISTRY.EDU/60YEARS FOR: • Annual Fall Symposium and
Alumni Weekend photos
• Dr. Alvin Morris Memorial
Dedication Ceremony Video
• Interview with Dr. Harry Bohannon
FACULTY NOTES
Congratulations to Dr. Dolph Dawson on assuming the role of president and acting council of the AADCOR KY section.
Dr. Reny de Leeuw retired from the college in 2022. Many thanks for her 20+ years of service to the college in such roles as division chief of orofacial pain and associate dean for academic affairs.
Congratulations to post-doctoral scholar Dr. Rubelisa Candido Gomes de Oliveira on being selected as a mentee in the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) Mentoring an Inclusive Network for a Diverse Workforce of the Future (AADR MIND the Future) Program. The primary goal of this program is to establish a mentoring network that will support a diverse pool of early-career investigators, including individuals from diverse backgrounds in developing independent research careers dedicated to improving dental, oral and craniofacial health.
Congratulations to Dr. Octavio Gonzalez on receiving an award of $2.7 million from the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research to support his project titled “Role of Notch-1/PLA2-IIA in Oral Dysbiosis, Inflammation, and Periodontal Disease.” The goal of the project is to (i) To determine the role of PLA2IIA in Pg-induced oral dysbiosis, inflammation and periodontal disease, (ii) To determine the role of epithelial Notch-1 in Pg-induced PLA2-IIA and periodontitis, and (iii) To identify and validate oral epithelial innate responses modulated by Pg through Notch-1 activation.
Congratulations to Dr. Ahmad Kutkut on earning his PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
Many thanks to Dr. Craig Miller for serving in the role of interim chair of the Department of Oral Health Practice for several months in 2022.
Congratulations to Dr. Thamer Musbah on being selected to receive the Class of ’68 Faculty Development Award during 2022.
In October 2022, Dr. Jeffery Okeson received the 2020 Fauchard Gold Medal Award (presenting the award was delayed due to COVID)shown at right with Dr. Ghabi Kaspo of the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Okeson received the award for his outstanding contributions to Orofacial Pain.
In early 2022, the UK Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Dr. Cristina Perez to the Endowed John R. Mink Chair for Pediatric Dentistry and Oral Health Research. This endowment was established in recognition of our former long-time faculty member, Dr. John R. Mink, who was responsible for the establishment of the college’s pediatric graduate training program.
Dr. Ted Raybould retired from the college in 2022. Joining the college in 1985, the college thanks him for his many years of service and contributions.
Dr. Ahmad Kutkut Dr. Thamer Musbah
Dr. Ghabi Kaspo and Dr. Jeffery Okeson
Dr. Cristina Perez Dr. Luciana Shaddox
Dr. Allison Wright Dr. Melvyn Yeoh
Congratulations to Dr. Marcia Rojas Ramirez on earning a Women in Leadership certificate from Cornell University. Her participation was funded by the Class of ‘68 Faculty Development Award.
Dr. Howard Roberts was named a Fellow of the Academy of Dental Materials, an international organization for the advancement and research of dental biomaterials.
Congratulations to Dr. Luciana Shaddox on being invited to serve as a member of the Special Grants Review Committee of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for a four-year term. This group is charged with providing a primary review of grant applications and contract proposals for special research programs. Additionally, Shaddox was nominated to serve as a member of the Task Force on Design and Analysis in Dental and Oral Research. The group makes contributions to dental research with specific attention to the field of clinical trials. Members include individuals drawn from universities, private research centers, and the government.
In late 2022, Dr. Emily Winfrey was named associate dean for academic affairs. See page 11 to read Dr. Winfrey’s faculty profile.
In late 2021, Dr. Allison Wright was named assistant dean for admissions. A long-time member of the Admissions Committee, Dr. Wright has been a full-time faculty member at the college since 2017.
Dr. Melvyn Yeoh, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, is serving as interim Department of Oral Health Science Chair.
DR. DAWSON NAMED CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF ORAL HEALTH SCIENCES
In September 2022, Dr. Dolph Dawson was named chair of the Department of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. Dawson has been with the UK College of Dentistry, since 1998.
Speaking on his role as chair, Dawson shares, “My goals are to strengthen the department by assisting faculty in their development, providing a voice for improvement of education and teaching, improving communication, and advocating for efforts to retain good faculty. I bring experience from years of teaching, research, and service to this role that I will utilize to help drive the mission and vision of the college.”
Dr. Dolph Dawson
Dawson received his Doctorate of Dental Medicine and his certificate of Advanced General Dentistry from the University of Louisville. He received his Masters of Science in Oral Biology, Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology, and certificate of Periodontology from the University of Kentucky. In 2020, Dawson achieved recertification of Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and was awarded the American Academy of Periodontology Excellence in Teaching Award.
“We are excited to have Dr. Dawson as our new chair,” said UKCD Dean Dr. Jeffrey Okeson. “He has served in many leadership positions in the college, including the Director of the CODA approved Periodontics Graduate Program since 2013. I feel certain that Dr. Dawson will do an excellent job in this position and represent all the members of the Department of Oral Health Practice extremely well. I very much look forward to having him assume this leadership position and assist us in developing the strongest college possible.”
Dawson has served as a committee member and Vice-Chair of the University of Kentucky Medical Institutional Review Board since 2006, the Director of the Delta Dental of Kentucky Clinical Research Center in 2017, and the Director of the Clinical Core, Center for the Biologic Basis of Oral/ Systemic Diseases from 2017-2019. Dawson will also to continue to serve as the Director of Graduate Periodontology at the UK College of Dentistry.
RESEARCH DayIn April 2022, the college held its annual Research Day event in conjunction with the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) Research Day. From 33 poster submissions, below are the day’s results:
Post-DMD Category
CASE REPORT/TABLE CLINIC/REVIEW 1. Megan Tallman, Mohamed Adel, Emory Byrd, A Look at the Factors
Causing Orthodontically Induced External Apical Root Resorption (EARR)
2. Linda Sangalli, Low Dose Naltrexone for Treatment of Burning Mouth
Syndrome: A Case Report
3. Stephanie Judge, Hypnosis for the Treatment of Unresponsive
Post-Traumatic Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain: A Case Report CASE REPORT/TABLE CLINIC/REVIEW 1. Christopher Fanelli, Determination of Impacted Permanent Maxillary
Canine Position Using a Single Panoramic Radiograph 2. Ivan Huynh, COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effects on Kentucky Medicaid
Pediatric Access to Dental Care
3. TIE: Abdo Ismail, The Clinical Impact of L-PRF, H-PRF, or the Use of a
Surgical Stent on Palatal Donor Site Healing and Hunter Hazle, The Impact of Beverage Choice on Early Childhood Caries in Kentucky Undergraduate/Dental Students
1. Sydney Gordon, Anti-inflammatory properties of Functionalized
Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles loaded with Quercetin 2. Madeline Dunn, The Association of Fruit and Vegetable Intake on Blood
Pressure Measurements and Hypertension Diagnosis in Wellness Clinic
Patient Population
3. Anna McCowan, Social Vulnerability in Oral Health Care Utilization National Respresentation
Anna McCowan will be attending the 2023 AADR/Dentsply Sirona Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) program to be held in Portland, Oregon, in March 2023.
Jon Petrie and Ryan White will be attending the 27th Hinman Student Research Symposium to be held in Memphis, Tennessee, in October 2022.
Top, from left: Mohamed Adel, Megan Tallman, and Emory Byrd Middle: Sydney Gordon Bottom: Christopher Fanelli
SECOND ANNUAL AADOCR KY FALL SYMPOSIUM
In late September, the UK College of Dentistry co-hosted the Second Annual AADOCR KY Fall Symposium with the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. Attendees heard from keynote speaker Dr. Jane Weintraub, president of the AADOCR. Additional presentations were given by UK faculty Drs. Marcia Rojas Ramirez and Mauro Pedrine Santamaria, and UofL faculty Drs. Michael Metz and Lisa Sandell.
Over 40 poster presentations were displayed by UK and UofL participants. Congratulations to the following: DMD/UNDERGRADUATE CATEGORY • 1st Mina Iskander-Tobacco Smoke Augments the pathogenicity of the Emerging Periodontal Pathogen,
Filifactor Alocis
• 2nd HeeJue Hong-The transcriptomic response to CBD of Treponema denticola, a phytocannabinoid-resistant periodontal pathogen.
• 3rd Amanda Ramage-Comparison of image quality of CBCT acquired with different milliamperages and with and without metal artifact reduction using t
GRADUATE/RESIDENT/PHD STUDENT/POST-DOC CATEGORY • 1st Jared Williams-A multi-strain competitive fitness screen for tobacco-essential genes of Porphyromonas gingivalis
• 2nd Camila Stolf-Immune response characterization of primary gingival fibroblasts from Grade C periodontitis patients
• 3rd Denny Gao-In vitro antifungal activity of antimicrobial peptoids against Candida auris
ENCOURAGING AN INTEREST IN DENTISTRY
The college offered two enrichment opportunities over the summer—the Professional Education Preparation Program - Discover Modern Dentistry (PEPP-DMD) offering and a scaledback version for high school students.
PEPP-DMD is a one-week residential summer academic enrichment opportunity, for rising college juniors and seniors, that provides a unique experience through shadowing opportunities in the offices of PEPP alumni, lectures on UK’s campus, and hands-on projects in the college’s dental simulation lab and clinics. The offering aims to: • Recruit high-performing students interested in dentistry from medically under-represented and under-served Kentucky counties;
• Recruit diverse students interested in dentistry with regards to socioeconomic status, culture, and ethnic backgrounds;
• Foster a community and create a network of dentists on which candidates can rely as mentors; and
• Showcase the technology and innovation at UKCD.
In addition to PEPP-DMD participants, the college also hosted an abbreviated version of the offering for high school students taking part in a 4-H summer camp activity. Participants benefited from interacting with current DMD students and UKCD residents as well as completing a variety of hands-on exercises in the simulation lab after hearing presentations by faculty.
CELEBRATING 45 YEARS
OF PROVIDING Care
THE PAIN CLINIC SUPPORTS: • Pain Diagnosis & Management • Children & Adolescents Orofacial Pain
• Dental Sleep Medicine • Sleep Apnea Treatment • Headache
• Oral Medicine & Oral Pathology
After 45 years, the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Clinic continues to make a lasting impression on the individuals it serves. Patients routinely credit the clinic, and its integrated team, with helping them get their life back. Many have undergone extensive treatments or visited multiple healthcare providers before finding support and having their pain addressed at the UK Orofacial Pain Clinic.
When Dr. Jeffrey Okeson began teaching at the UK College of Dentistry in 1974, it was widely believed that most facial pain resulted from the misalignment of the teeth and jaws, otherwise known as malocclusion or simply a “bad bite.” However, Okeson noted that an occlusal adjustment did not consistently reduce a patient’s pain, spurring him to work to secure the support of college leadership to establish the first multidisciplinary university-based orofacial pain clinic in the country at UK in 1977.
Following the clinic’s creation, a graduate program was established. It became the first nationally-accredited program by the Postgraduate Education Committee of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain and one of the first programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
– OFP CLINIC PATIENT
Earlier this year, one happy patient, Pam Ziegler, reached out to congratulate the clinic on its 45th anniversary and remind its team members that they have “touched so many lives across the world.” Like many of the clinic’s patients, Ziegler found the clinic after being unable to reach an acceptable quality of life following treatments prescribed by other healthcare providers. After an accident in 1978 that resulted in a broken mandible, Ziegler underwent nearly ten orofacial surgeries in addition to extensive dental treatments. Unfortunately, she continued to suffer from pain and uncontrollable muscle contractions even after these treatments. The contractions impacted her jaw function and occlusion, resulting in pain and extreme difficulty talking and eating. In addition to intense pain, previous treatment plans also robbed Ziegler of her mobility and independence. Early solutions included heavy doses of medication that left her unable to go about her typical day-to-day routines.
After working with Okeson, Ziegler praises the variety of services available in the clinic and other faculty and staff present, noting that the clinic is a special place able to offer hope to people with complex issues. “I can’t tell you how many doctors I have been to throughout the United States before I made it here, and I have never had a doctor like Dr. Okeson…so thorough, so personal, so caring, just down to earth,” she shares.
