Dean's Message

Our alumni are essential parts of what makes the college such a unique and special place. Your support for our college and your excellence in dentistry puts us on the radar for prospective students, and your referrals for complex needs help our educational and clinical missions. Our reunion weekend three weeks ago was an excellent opportunity to reconnect with you, and University Homecoming is this week. Numerous festivities are planned, including university wide events like the Homecoming parade on Friday night and also dentistry-related events, such as our pregame professional course and a dental student and dentist social event. I know some of you will miss homecoming festivities because you'll be with me at our alumni reception at the ADA Meeting in Orlando. Whether you are cheering from near or far, go Hawks! ~Clark Stanford

Updates for October 6, 2023–October 12, 2023

Kyungsup Shin named as endowed professor

Kyungsup Shin is the graduate program director for orthodontics and director of clinical research for Iowa Dentistry. In recognition of his excellence in research, teaching, and clinical care, and his service to the profession, he was named the Ross D. Christensen Family Professor of Orthodontics.

Janet Guthmiller ('88 DDS) named Leader of the Year 2023

Janet Guthmiller, dean of the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry and a 1988 graduate of Iowa Dentistry, has been named Leader of the Year 2023. Janet was a faculty member at Iowa from 1997 to 2007 and credits this experience, and others in academia, with preparing her to take on top-tier leadership roles. 

Iowa is seeing a critical gap in dentists who take Medicaid patients

Iowa Dentistry is the largest Medicaid provider for dental patients in Iowa. Thank you to Ashley Huber, a dentist at Siouxland Community Health Center in Sioux City, and the Iowa Dental Association for continuing to raise the issue of Medicaid reimbursement rates for dental care.

“The number one complaint I've seen and heard from dentists is Medicaid's current reimbursement rate is so low, it doesn't even cover the cost of overhead,” [Ashley Huber] said. “In order to take a Medicaid member on as a comprehensive patient, it actually costs them money to do that. So, it’s hard for a small business owner to be able to make that sacrifice.”

Tailgating in the College Parking Lot is a treat!

As Hawkeye faithful get ready to pack into Kinnick stadium seven Saturdays a year, the parking lot of the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics is prime tailgating real estate. If you've not tried it out, it's worth it! And if you do, say hi to the Raecker family, who are celebrating 100 years of tailgating Iowa football, as seen in the story—you may even score a McRaecker sandwich! James Raecker ('59 DDS) was always a big supporter of Iowa Dentistry, and his son, Scott Raecker was influential as a state legislator on behalf of upgrading the Dental Science Building.

IMOM is one week away!

The Iowa Mission of Mercy IMOM provides free dental care to underserved populations. Since 2008, it is has served over 16,000 patients from all over the state. Iowa Dentistry has played an influential role in supporting IMOM, especially on Saturday. The 2023 IMOM is being held in Waterloo on October 13-14. You can sign up to be a volunteer today.  

Exciting CE Opportunities!

Our 2023 Fall Continuing Education lineup offers exciting opportunities across a wide variety of courses in various specialties from our world-class experts in the field. We want to highlight two upcoming opportunities:

• Check out our Saturday Pregame Courses: Homecoming v. Purdue; Minnesota; Rutgers; Illinois; and when you sign up, you can purchase 2 football tickets to the game! 
• Our Nowak (Pediatric Dentistry) Professorship CE course is on October 20, and it will be an exciting opportunity to hear about a variety of health care specialties in collaboration with UIHC that intersect with pediatric oral health care.

Why Iowa: Person-Centered Care

Person-centered care is a way of thinking and providing care by taking into consideration the preferences, beliefs, and values of the person. Focusing on the elements of care, support and treatment by using health and social services as equal partners. Patients and their families are at the center of decisions. From the dental student curriculum to our graduate training programs and our clinics, person-centered care is at the heart of who we are. 

Kudos to you!

Vilma Parks' five star review: "I enjoy my visits at the Ul College of Dentistry, The staff are courteous and friendly. My most recent visit was very pleasant, my hygienist was very nice and friendly. I highly recommend UI Dentistry. For those without dental insurance, it is the place to be. They have affordable treatment plans."

Collaborative and Innovative Research

Hawkeye History: Corn Monument

What's a homecoming without a huge structure holding a enormous amount of corn! Although we aren't completely sure, we think the tradition of the Corn Monument started in 1919. That's when some engineering students made the a structure and put a lot of corn on it. Over time, this annual tradition became a major homecoming tradition at Iowa. Go see this year's Corn Monument on the Pentecrest!

Events

October 6, Dental Alumni Reception in Orlando, Florida (in conjunction with the ADA Annual Meeting)

October 6, Iowa Dental Association social at the Coralville Vine, 5:30 p.m. 7 p.m. RSVP on the IDA's facebook page.

October 7-8, D4 ADEX Board Exams, Family Dentistry Clinic, 6:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.  

October 7, Pregame Professional Program: "CBCT: Endodontic Applications and Interesting Cases" by Dr. Juan Pablo Castro Cuelllar; "Endodontic Irrigation: Principles and Application" by Dr. Chris Hogden, 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

October 10, Research Seminar, Ana Fugolin, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health & Science University, “Designing the Future: Exploring the Potential of Stimuli-Responsive Dental Biomaterials," hosted by Ariene Leme Kraus and Cristina Vidal, Galagan B, 12:00–1:00 p.m.  

October 13-14, IMOM, Waterloo Convention Center, Sullivan Brothers Plaza, 200 W Fourth Street, Waterloo, IA.

October 20, Nowak Professorship: Pediatric Dentistry Course, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

October 20, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

October 21, Pregame Professional Program: "Oral Pathology Patients that Taught Me the Most" by Dr. Steve Vincent; "Infection Control: What's Trending Now" by Dr. Carrie McKnight, 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

November 3, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

November 9, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

November 14, Research Seminar, Jamie Nichols, School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado–AMC, "Buffering craniofacial variation," hosted by Eric Van Otterloo, Galagan B, 12:00–1:00 p.m.

November 15, Virtual Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

November 30, Research Seminar, Ronald Strauss, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, "Blessings in Disguise: Finding Wisdom from Facial Difference", hosted by Steve Levy, Galagan B, 12:00–1:00 p.m.

Notes and Resources 

Filling Station Menu

Hours: M-R: 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; F: 7:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

The Hawkeye Smile banner image shows Dean Clark Stanford with Jin Xie, associate dean for research, with Herky along with several others during the Iowa Section of the AADOCR in 2022.