Graduating students, who have been involved as active citizens during their graduate degrees, were inducted into the Tisch College Honos Civicus Society at a special ceremony in the Alumni Lounge of the Dental School. (Ian MacLellan for Tufts University)

The Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine and Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service celebrated community action and engagement this month during the Honos Civicus Society Induction Ceremony for graduating seniors.

The three schools began planning the ceremony this past fall to honor and publicly recognize graduating dental and medical students who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to community service and civic engagement during their studies at Tufts. The inaugural induction ceremony, which took place on May 1 in the Alumni Lounge, recognized 45 students- 23 from the School of Dental Medicine and 22 from the School of Medicine- who met the criteria.

“We were looking at the amount of activities students participated in, the consistency of participation of those activities, and active leadership within those activities,” said Dr. John Morgan of TUSDM’s Office of Public Health and Community Service. “These are students who were creating programs and who were concerned with their sustainability for the next group of students.”

Several prominent members of the university spoke at the ceremony, including Tufts University President Anthony Monaco, Dean Nancy Wilson of Tisch College, Deans Huw Thomas of the School of Dental Medicine and Harris Berman of the School of Medicine, and several members of the faculty and alumni association. President Monaco said the group of inductees had made a significant impact on society.

“All of you have made differences in the lives of individuals and improved opportunities for medical and dental care,” he said. “Your service has been a profound opportunity for education as well. You have learned about the connections between race, socioeconomic class and healthcare disparities. You have gained knowledge and wisdom from your faculty, your patients, community members and each other.”

Danielle Currier, D13, of the School of Dental Medicine, as well as Jonathan Brower and Michael Kwak, M13, of the School of Medicine also received the Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service during the ceremony. Currier said active engagement can mean working either globally or locally.

“Being an active citizen means contributing to society wherever you are, whether that’s on your block or across borders,” said Currier. “Your voice can travel farther than your body, and your influence is greater than just where you are physically.”

The activities students were involved in varied in scope and location, from The Sharewood Project, a free health care organization run by Tufts medical students and physicians, to the Lynn Friendship Center for Intellectually Disabled Adults, to Partners in Health, Rwanda. Dr. Morgan said that the range of organizations represented among the inductees demonstrates the supreme impact of their work. In addition, the collaboration between the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Medicine and Tisch College to create the Honos Civicus Society and the inaugural ceremony was extremely beneficial in fostering better relations between the three schools, according to Dr. Morgan.

“[Community service] is a core value of our university,” he said. “That carries through to all the schools. From the first day I came here I saw that commitment. While we were collaborating on this, we saw other projects and ideas that are similar to ones the medical school has. There are opportunities to share ideas and processes with them.”

The Honos Civicus Society was created in 2009 by Tisch College to recognize graduating students on both an undergraduate and graduate level for their commitment as active citizens. To be accepted into the Society, students must complete an application including questions on academic work, co-curricular work and an open essay. The 2013 Honos Civicus Society Inductees were:

Boston, MA - Graduating students from the Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, who have been involved as active citizens during their graduate degrees, were inducted into the Tisch College Honos Civicus Society at a special ceremony in the Alumni Lounge of the Dental School. (Ian MacLellan for Tufts University)

The Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine and Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service celebrated community action and engagement this month during the Honos Civicus Society Induction Ceremony for graduating seniors.

The three schools began planning the ceremony this past fall to honor and publicly recognize graduating dental and medical students who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to community service and civic engagement during their studies at Tufts. The inaugural induction ceremony, which took place on May 1 in the Alumni Lounge, recognized 45 students- 23 from the School of Dental Medicine and 22 from the School of Medicine- who met the criteria.

“We were looking at the amount of activities students participated in, the consistency of participation of those activities, and active leadership within those activities,” said Dr. John Morgan of TUSDM’s Office of Public Health and Community Service. “These are students who were creating programs and who were concerned with their sustainability for the next group of students.”

Several prominent members of the university spoke at the ceremony, including Tufts University President Anthony Monaco, Dean Nancy Wilson of Tisch College, Deans Huw Thomas of the School of Dental Medicine and Harris Berman of the School of Medicine, and several members of the faculty and alumni association. President Monaco said the group of inductees had made a significant impact on society.

“All of you have made differences in the lives of individuals and improved opportunities for medical and dental care,” he said. “Your service has been a profound opportunity for education as well. You have learned about the connections between race, socioeconomic class and healthcare disparities. You have gained knowledge and wisdom from your faculty, your patients, community members and each other.”

Danielle Currier, D13, of the School of Dental Medicine, as well as Jonathan Brower and Michael Kwak, M13, of the School of Medicine also received the Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service during the ceremony. Currier said active engagement can mean working either globally or locally.

“Being an active citizen means contributing to society wherever you are, whether that’s on your block or across borders,” said Currier. “Your voice can travel farther than your body, and your influence is greater than just where you are physically.”

The activities students were involved in varied in scope and location, from The Sharewood Project, a free health care organization run by Tufts medical students and physicians, to the Lynn Friendship Center for Intellectually Disabled Adults, to Partners in Health, Rwanda. Dr. Morgan said that the range of organizations represented among the inductees demonstrates the supreme impact of their work. In addition, the collaboration between the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Medicine and Tisch College to create the Honos Civicus Society and the inaugural ceremony was extremely beneficial in fostering better relations between the three schools, according to Dr. Morgan.

“[Community service] is a core value of our university,” he said. “That carries through to all the schools. From the first day I came here I saw that commitment. While we were collaborating on this, we saw other projects and ideas that are similar to ones the medical school has. There are opportunities to share ideas and processes with them.”

The Honos Civicus Society was created in 2009 by Tisch College to recognize graduating students on both an undergraduate and graduate level for their commitment as active citizens. To be accepted into the Society, students must complete an application including questions on academic work, co-curricular work and an open essay. The 2013 Honos Civicus Society Inductees were:

School of Dental Medicine

C. Marissa Alikpala, D13

Lindsey Brangwynne, D13

Diego Camacho, D13

Danielle Currier, D13

Patricia Domings, D13

Helen Fassil, D13

Sarah Greenlaw, D13

Emily Joseph, D13

Gregory Josephsen, D13

Jennifer Kusner, D13

Gregory Lane, D13

Rachel McKee, D13

Rachel Misuraca, D13

Lauren Murphy, D13

Michael Neglia, D13

Laura Rein, D13

Erica Stutius, D13

Elissa Teasdale, D13

Denise Tong, D13

Vincent Trinidad, D13

Daniela Urciuoli, D13

Carlin Weaver, D13

Julie Williams, D13

School of Medicine

Shauna Hutchinson Andersson, M13

Heather Bradford, M13

Graham Brant-Zawadzki, M13

Jonathan Brower, M13

Sarah Cairo, M13

Amy Chong, M13

Lily Conover, M13

Molly Douglas, M13

Susan Eklund, M13

Colleen Fant, M13

Sally Greenwald, M13

Michael Hemond, M13

Christina Johnson, M13

Kunal Kothari, M13

Michael Kwak, M13

Jacqueline Latina, M13

Kathleen McKenna, M13

Adam Nadolski, M13

Anoop Raman, M13

Moira Rashid, M13

Vicky Reichman, M13

Matthew Shepard, M13

Students present their research at TUSDM’s 2013 Bates Andrews Research Day | Credit: J.D. Sloan

3/6/2013 – Tufts University School of Dental Medicine students came out to celebrate their achievements in research and professional growth earlier this year at the 2013 Bates-Andrews Research Day on March 6.

The occasion, sponsored by the George A. Bates Society and the Robert R. Andrews Research Honor Society, featured student table clinics showcasing research conducted during the past year. The annual event, which has taken place since the 1930s, allows students to share their fields of special interest with fellow students, faculty members, alumni, and the administration.

There were 71 presenters at this year’s event, one of the biggest in recent memory. Each presenter displayed a poster of their research on the 14^th and 15^th floors of the TUSDM Building.  Eileen Doherty, who organized the event, said it provides a unique opportunity for the students to share and reflect on their work over the past year.

Dr. Kathleen O’Laughlin, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the American Dental Association (ADA) and TUSDM alumnus gave the keynote speech, “The Preservation of the Profession.” The address discussed the future of dentistry in the context of changing dental schools, health care reform and the need of underserved populations.

The event concluded with several awards to some of the presenters. Among them was Amanda Merikas, who was awarded the ADA/Dentsply Student Clinician Award for Best Overall Predoctoral Table Clinic for her work “Contact Angle and Shear Bond Strength Tests of Silane Primers.” As part of the award, Merikas will go on to present her work at the 2013 ADA Convention in New Orleans this November. Second and Third place were awarded to Kyler McEwan and Saad Butt, respectively. They both received a cash award and the opportunity to present their research at the Greater New York Dental Meeting in December.

Commercial exhibitors provided funding for the event, including dental supply manufacturer Dentsply which sponsored the First Place award with the ADA.

TUSDM’s Haiti Mission Trip | Credit: Emma Johnson

The Tufts Student Hispanic Dental Association (SHDA) traveled to Haiti last April on the 14^th Annual International Mission Trip to provide free dental care and oral hygiene education.

The group, consisting of 10 students, 11 dentists and four faculty members, spent five days in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. They treated nearly 1,200 dental patients in those five days, performing 687 cleanings, examinations and fluoride treatments, 444 extractions and 69 restorations. The group also distributed material about oral health and preventative care. This was the third time the SHDA had traveled to Haiti for their Mission Trip.

“It was like two different worlds,” said mission volunteer and SHDA treasurer, Andrew Tonelli, D14. You’d drive out past the wall [of the hotel], and it’s just people and chickens and dust.”

The group was based in the Institute of Human and Community Development in Port-au-Prince, which operates as both a school and a refuge for impoverished urban youth. Local Port-au-Prince dentists provided some of the equipment and materials for procedures. The organization also worked for several days in the seaside town of Leogane, about 18 miles from the capital, in a church that was little more than a metal frame with a tin roof.  Temitope Maiyegun, D13, a mission volunteer, said the 85 degree weather and oral health issues stemming from the lack of fluoridated water in Haiti, made the work extremely challenging.

“Despite the prevalent oral health disparities, one thing I will always remember is how grateful the patients were to receive such care,” Maiyegun said. “The heartfelt, warm thank you’s made the days go by that much quicker, and made every moment that much more rewarding.”

Tonelli said that the sheer number of patients and the fast-paced work meant they weren’t truly able to reflect on their efforts until after the trip was over.

“The last day, we were done completely, and we were packing up our equipment. It was the first time we were able to take a breath of fresh air and reflect on what we did and where we were,” he said. “There were kids still hanging around, smiling at us. It was really nice to have that moment.”

Read the entire article on CNN.com

(CNN) — It is disheartening and alarming to learn that as many as 7,000 patients are at risk of serious, life-threatening infections because of dentist W. Scott Harrington’s alleged failure to follow “standard infection control guidelines” at his practice in a Tulsa, Oklahoma, suburb.

Around the country, people are asking: Are U.S. oral health services safe?

The short answer is: Yes. But, patients should always check to make sure that their dental provider adheres to the strictest safety guidelines.

The allegations leveled against Harrington are deeply troubling, and it is terrible that his many patients must now worry they might have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV because of his alleged failure to implement even the most basic infection control guidelines. As the leader of his oral health care team, it was his responsibility to ensure the safety of the patients who trusted him with their care.

Read the entire article on CNN.com

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/03/17584797-shots-kill-budding-wisdom-teeth-study-suggests?lite

Education: Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA

Postgraduate Training: MS in Periodontology. Diplomate American Board of Orofacial Pain

Clinical Interests: Temporomandibular and Craniofacial Pain Disorders, Chronic Pain and Headache management, Dental Sleep Apnea, Dental Occlusion and Bruxism

Research Interests: Dental malocclusion, Bruxism Pain and temporomandibular and cervical interactions

Language(s): English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujrati

Affiliations: Tufts School of Dental Medicine. Boston Mass.

View/Download as a PDF

Creating Level Playing Fields in the Classroom

Jean Wu, a senior lecturer in American studies in the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts, talked about how students experience learning during the fourth session of the Adapting to Diversity in Dentistry Series on February 20.

“Studies of all levels of classrooms show that formal learning environments are not level playing fields for all of our students,” Wu says, “despite demonstrated excellent preparation and prior performance. Our best intentions as teachers can be thwarted by this kind of unevenness of students’ experiences.”

In discussing the culture of students and best practices, Wu asked the audience to think about these questions: What do we need to be aware of in how students experience their learning? What are some strategies for creating learning environments that have the best potential for leveling the playing fields of our teaching spaces?”

A Primer on Externships

Students in the Class of 2014 learned about externship opportunities during the annual Community Service Learning Externship (CSLE) Forum on January 30. Coordinated by CSLE director Cynthia Yered and Patricia DiAngelis, the event featured presentations by preceptors about 16 of the program’s 24 externship sites. The afternoon session included a presentation on Commission on Dental Accreditation competencies by Mark Nehring; an overview of the MPH degree program by Wanda Wright and Jennifer Au and a calibration exercise on TUSK, the Tufts University Sciences Knowledgebase.

Alum Elected Vice President of ICD

Joseph Kenneally, D81, who practices in Biddeford, Maine, has been elected vice president of the International College of Dentists. He will become president of the organization in 2015. Kenneally has received numerous leadership awards from the American Dental Association, the Maine Dental Association, the Yankee Dental Congress and the University of New England. His ICD activities have been numerous at the New England District, the USA Section and the international levels. He chaired the Information Technology Committee for many years and helped guide the organization’s electronic communications and web media efforts.

Outreach to Honduras

A Tufts Dental team provided care to patients at the Andrew Health Clinic in El Castaño, Honduras, during the first 10 days of February. The nonprofit Luke World Missions operates the clinic.

Hitesh Tolani, a general practice resident; Temi Maiyegun, D13; Christine Cao, D13; Roz Najafabadi, D13; and Amy Nguyen D12, joined Honduran dentists and dental students and dental graduates from Penn, Columbia and NYU in treating more than 600 patients, 400 of whom were children living in slums or orphanages. The Tufts team worked side-by-side with the Honduran dental students, who also served as translators.

Tufts’ Department of Public Health and Community Service donated toothbrushes, toothpaste and fluoride. The Tufts team also brought with them donated clothes, toys and other items for the clinic patients.

Thanks to Our Volunteer Faculty

Dean Huw Thomas hosted the school’s first reception to recognize the contributions of volunteer faculty on January 31. The event, coordinated by Eileen Mahoney, was held at the Westin Waterfront during Yankee Dental Congress. Fifty faculty members and their department chairs attended.

Notable People

Michael Chin is the dental school’s new web content specialist. Prior to coming to Tufts in January, Chin was a founding member and editor of Color Magazine, where he oversaw the editorial operations and managed the website. He previously worked as a freelance media analyst, journalist and web developer. He holds a B.A. in journalism and communications from Northeastern University. He is the primary contact for making updates to the school website and can be reached at Michael.chin@tufts.edu.

Harish Gulati (diagnosis and health promotion) gave a talk titled “To Post or Not to Post” at Yankee Dental Congress on Feb 2.

Aidee Herman (periodontology) gave a lecture on “Multicultural Crisis in Oral Health in America: The Role and Need of More Mentors and Leaders in the Dental Field” during the 88th annual Greater New York Dental meeting last fall. At the December meeting of the Better Oral Health for Massachusetts Coalition, Herman received the Excellence in Community Oral Health Award, which recognizes individuals and/or community organizations working to improve oral health for residents of the Commonwealth. In January Herman gave a motivational lecture celebrating National Mentoring Month at the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in Roxbury to an audience that included 27 dental assistant students, 17 nursing students and 17 medical assistant students. In February she organized a Children’s Oral Health Month outreach at the Neighborhood Involvement for Children’s Education (NICE) in Roxbury, where 32 preschool children received oral hygiene instruction, oral hygiene kits and dental screenings. Yusuf Bhatti and Christian Benitez, both D14, volunteered at the event.

David Leader (diagnosis and health promotion) presented a Minuteman lecture on “Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Oral Health” on February 2 to a sold-out crowd of more than 200. The previous day he was inducted into the Pierre Fauchard Academy.

Maria Papageorge and Daniel Oreadi (oral and maxillofacial surgery) published “Radiographic Evaluation of Facial Injuries” in Oral and Maxillofacial Trauma, 4th edition, 2012.

Morton Rosenberg, D’74 (oral and maxillofacial surgery) has been elected to the Society for Pediatric Sedation (SPS) Board of Directors for a three year term.   The Society for Pediatric Sedation® (SPS) (http://www.pedsedation.org) is the international multidisciplinary leader in the advancement of pediatric sedation by promoting safe, high quality care, innovative research, and quality professional education.

News@TuftsDental is distributed each month via email to dental school faculty, staff, students and friends. We welcome your suggestions, comments and story ideas. Contact the editor, Mary-Ellen Marks, at mary-ellen.marks@tufts.edu. Thank you!