Dean's Message

Over the next couple weeks, many faculty and staff members from the college will be attending the ADEA and IADR/AADOCR/CADR annual sessions and exhibitions, which are both taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am looking forward to connecting with peers from around the country to discuss dental education and what we can do to continue to be on the frontline of dental education throughout the world. I am also excited for the annual research meeting and seeing national representation from Iowa on the exhibit floor. As the former Associate Dean for Research at the college, I understand how important our researchers are and their impact on our profession as a whole. If you're making the trip, I hope to see you there. Cheers! ~Clark Stanford

Updates for March 8, 2024–March 21, 2024

Dr. Theo Katsaros visits the DSB

On Feb. 22, former Department of Periodontics faculty member Dr. Theo Katsaros visited the department and presented a practice management seminar to residents, faculty, and staff. Katsaros is the former graduate director for the department and currently works at a private practice in Toronto, Canada. Attendees learned a lot about various aspects of day-to-day operations in a private practice.

Congratulations Dr. Jeff Marschall

Join us in congratulating Dr. Jeff Marschall, assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, on becoming certified by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. We are all proud of you! 

Obenauf named ASDA Legislative Liaison of the Year

Third-year dental student Mallory Obenauf was named the National American Student Dental Association (ASDA) Legislative Liaison of the Year awardee. Obenauf, the Iowa Section of the American Student Dental Association’s (IASDA) D3 Class President, is one of two ASDA legislative liaisons in the Iowa chapter. The liaison is responsible for promoting engagement in advocacy initiatives. This award honors an outstanding legislative liaison for motivating and organizing their chapter as well as getting members involved in advocacy efforts and events.

El-Kerdani named president of John F. Johnston Prosthodontics Society

Tarek El-Kerdani, clinical professor of prosthodontics, was recently elected president of the John F. Johnston Prosthodontics Society for 2024-25. The society is intended for prosthodontists who are graduates of the Indiana University Graduate Prosthodontics Program. Established in 1963, as the "Indiana Advanced Prosthodontics Society," it was later renamed after its founder, John F. Johnston in 1976. Congratulations Dr. El-Kerdani!

Operative dentistry professor explores how bioactive materials can prevent degradation of bonding interface on adhesive restorations

Thiago Soares Porto's research on bioactive glasses with niobum nanoparticles is intended to develop a novel adhesive system capable of enhancing the quality and longevity of dental restorations.

Perio celebrates great success at Midwest Society of Periodontology meeting

The Department of Periodontics was well represented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Society of Periodontology in Chicago. Senior residents Dr. Ronak Bhagat and Dr. William Burns were finalists in the graduate research forum competition with Burns taking first place in the Resident Case Competition. Bhagas and Burns both received honorable mentions for their research presentations as well. Sukirth Ganesan serves on the executive board of the Society and department head Siva Prakasam was a judge for the Resident Case Competition. Faculty, residents, staff, and predoctoral students gathered for a team dinner later that evening to celebrate their accomplishments.

IASDA named a Gold Crown finalist

The Iowa American Student Dental Association was named a Gold Crown finalist for district 8. The Gold Crown recognizes institutions that excel in all six of the Gold Crown categories: Member Engagement and Value, Community Service, Advocacy, Health & Wellness, Member Communications and Professional Development & Leadership. To participate in the Member Favorite vote, you must log into your MyASDA account and select "Gold Crown Member Favorite Voting." You can watch IASDA's nominated video here. 

Marshall serves as moderator and speaker at NASEM workshop

Dr. Teresa Marshall, professor of preventive and community dentistry, was recently on the planning committee and served as a moderator for two sessions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, at Penn Dental Medicine in Philadelphia called "Exploring Holistic Oral Health Value Proposition Frameworks Embedded Within a Whole Health Home: A Workshop Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education". Marshall also spoke on nutrition and dietetics as it relates to oral disease prevention and oral health promotion.

Reminder: Work-related injuries and illnesses

Faculty and staff are reminded of the following policy regarding work-related injuries and illnesses. All faculty and staff must complete a “First Report of Injury” form for any on-the-job injury within 24 hours of the incident. This electronic form can be found on Employee Self Service – under “Benefits & Wellness”; “Workers Compensation”; “First Report of Injury”.

All faculty and staff members must be initially treated (if necessary), at UI Occupational Health, 2591 Holiday Road, Coralville for any work-related injury or illness. EXCEPTION: care needed as a result of needle sticks, blood borne pathogens, and infectious diseases will continue to be provided by the University Employee Health Clinic at UIHC. See additional “Evaluation Following Exposure” website for additional protocol – https://uihc.org/evaluation-following-exposure-human-bloodbody-flu

UI Occupational Health is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm and the University Employee Health Clinic is open Monday through Friday from 7 am to 5:00 pm. If possible, please complete the “First Report of Injury” and phone UI Occupational Health (356-3335) or the Employee Health Clinic (356-3631) prior to arriving for treatment.

When UI Occupational Health or the University Employee Health Clinic is closed, the UIHC Emergency Treatment Center should be used. You must inform the Emergency Center staff that you are requesting treatment due to a workplace injury. Emergencies are considered to be the sudden, serious and unexpected onset of symptoms that require immediate medical care.

Please carefully note the following important fact: any initial treatment for a work-related injury or illness received outside of UI Occupational Health, the University Employee Health Clinic, or University Hospital Emergency Center will not be covered by either Worker’s Compensation or your University health insurance plan. If you have questions, please contact Dental Human Resources

Collaborative and Innovative Research

Peter TK, Xie XJ. An Overview of Meta-analysis for Dental Researchers. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants. 2024 Feb 27;39(1):18-28. doi: 10.11607/jomi.10685. PMID: 38415999.

Reading, understanding, and evaluating meta-analyses are vital practices for ensuring that clinical norms remain aligned with the best available evidence-based practices. This applies not only to dental researchers but also to clinician scientists, and it affects any evidence-based dental practice. This article describes the underlying principles and the approach used in conducting a meta-analysis and is aimed at empowering dental researchers to understand, evaluate, and develop their own meta-analysis in their field of inquiry. The authors identify and address six elements of a meta-analysis, including: formulating a research question, searching the literature, collecting the data, aggregating the data, analyzing the data, and interpreting results and drawing generalizations. The goal of the paper is to help readers understand each of these stages in order to conduct and use high-quality, scientifically rigorous and reproducible meta-analyses.

Events

March 8, Live Distance Course: Beyond Bonding: Resin Cement in Modern Dentistry with Dr. Nikkita Madhu; From Hues to Hardness: Understanding Color and Mechanical Properties in Dental Materials with Dr. Franciele Floriani.

March 15, Saxophone ensemble in The Link, 12:00 p.m.

March 18-22, Collection for Domestic Violence Intervention Program for International Women's Day, First Floor Link, most requested items include: black hair care products, women's undergarments, reusable plastic dishes and cups.

March 19, Seminars in Dental Research: Lakmali Silva, hosted by Sukirth Ganesan, Galagan B, 12:00–1:00 p.m.

April 9, Seminars in Dental Research: Ping Zhang, "Periodontitis: from local destruction to brain dysfunction," hosted by Huojun Cao, Galagan B, 12-1 p.m.

April 11, University District Dental Society Social, Field Day Brewery, 6-8 p.m.

April 12, Live Distance Course: An update on Posterior Restorations with Dr. Hiromi Saisho.

April 16, Seminars in Dental Research: Xiaohua Liu, "Bio-inspired Materials for Dental and Craniofacial Tissue Regeneration," hosted by Hongli Sun, Galagan B, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

April 25, Seminars in Dental Research: Ronald Stauss, "Blessings in Disguise: Finding Wisdom from Facial Difference," hosted by Steve Levy, Galagan B, 12-1 p.m.

May 2, IDEAS24 Welcome Happy Hour for Dental Students, 4:30 - 6 p.m., Iowa Athletic Club Restaurant

May 3, Dental Alumni Reception in conjunction with the IDA Annual Meeting, Hyatt Regency Coralville, IA. 4-6 p.m. Location TBD

May 17, IASDA Talent Show at the Coralville Center for Performing Arts emceed by Dr. Michael Kanellis and Dr. Karen Baker. $5 admission. Email Amam Nasir to sign up for a performance slot.

August 2, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

August 8, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

August 14, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

August 29, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

September 13, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

September 13-14, Dentistry Alumni Reunion Weekend

September 19, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

September 30, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

October 4-5, Iowa Mission of Mercy (IMOM), Sioux City, Iowa, Tyson Events Center

October 18, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

October 30, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day (Virtual)

November 7, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day

Notes and Resources 

Lend a helping hand. Due to family caregiving needs, Alanna Keating has exhausted her sick leave and vacation. If you would like to help Alanna by contributing vacation time, please go to the following website: CAT Leave, and click on “Catastrophic Leave Donation Form.”

Filling Station Menu

Hours: M-R: 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; F: 7:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Mar 10-15: M-F: 7:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

The Hawkeye Smile banner image shows dental students during the 71st Anniversary of the UI's Iowa Section of the AADOCR