Director’s Message

We remain hopeful that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, but in its wake, we still face many challenges.

Over the last two years, we worked together to find solutions to every problem (and there were plenty of them!). Your professionalism prevailed over every obstacle we faced to continue providing outstanding patient care, education and research. We were able to help our community in unprecedented ways, as well as help dentists and providers around the world who looked to our research for guidance related to provider and patient safety throughout the pandemic. As we continue to navigate through the recovery phase, we will apply everything we learned from this experience to our new normal. The future will look different as we restructure and remodel to accommodate the increasing demand of our clinical services, while providing exceptional training for our residents, students and preceptors. After working alongside so many dedicated people in every role within EIOH, I have no doubt we can overcome whatever new challenges may lie ahead. But aside from the challenges, we have many things to celebrate.

Sweet Thanks

As an expression of their gratitude, EIOH Director Dr. Eliav and EIOH COO Holly Barone distributed cookies to all clinics and departments. Eastman Institute was the only institution selected to lead a new initiative for faculty development by HRSA to help tackle the severe faculty shortage. The creative Dental Assistant Training Program has been so successful, we graduated the first class and added two more, which are in progress. The number of master’s research projects has increased dramatically in five years. We are working more closely with our colleagues throughout the Medical Center and community to build better programs for our residents and patients. Many of our faculty have earned well-deserved promotions and are being tapped for leadership positions within their specialty’s national associations. Sadly, we lost several of our Eastman family members this past year. We are grateful for the time spent with them, and the impact they had on our lives. As always, we extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the ongoing support of our alumni, donors and Eastman Dental Center Foundation Board members, and we look forward to seeing more of you in person in the coming months.

Ever Better,

Eli Eliav, DMD, MSc, PhD Professor & Director, EIOH Vice Dean for Oral Health, School of Medicine & Dentistry Vice President for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center