| | Dean's Message
Our 2024 All-College Conference is on Monday, August 19, and it marks the start of our new academic year at the college. I am excited to share with you the accomplishments—particularly of our faculty recognized for their excellence as educators, introduce new faculty and staff members, and celebrate the years of service for our faculty and staff. All of us collectively make this institution what it is. I'm proud to be serving as your dean and look forward to an exciting academic year. Cheers! ~Clark Stanford | | | Updates for August 16, 2024–August 22, 2024 | | | | Gasparoni named USA-ICD Regent for District 10 Congratulations to Dr. Alberto Gasparoni, associate professor and director of patient admissions, on being named the USA-International College of Dentists (ICD) Regent for District 10, which consists of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North, and South Dakota. Gasparoni will serve as the district leader for the ICD and represent more than 200 dentists. | | | Lindsey Meder, a 2007 DDS grad and 2009 Endodontics grad, will be inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its 2024 class. Meder, a standout basketball player for Iowa from 1998-2002, she was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and helped Iowa to a 2001 Big Ten Tournament Championship. She finished her career ranked second in school history in career scoring (1,906 points). She was drafted in the third round of the 2002 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. | | | | A University of Iowa researcher Dr. Shareef Dabdoub has been awarded a grant (R03) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to investigate the complex role of viruses in oral health and disease. The grant, totaling $311,000, will support two years of research. | | | College of Dentistry volunteers at Salvation Army event Last Friday, a group of students and faculty from the college provided dental screenings and fluoride varnish applications at a Salvation Army Back to School event organized by the United Way. Members from the Department of Pediatrics and Dental Public Health Student Club, including Dr. Julie Reynolds and Dr. Amy Lesch provided screenings to 168 kids aged 2-19 and 155 flouride varnish applications. | | | | Dr. Nathan Hehr ('93 DDS) shared why the Iowa Mission of Mercy is so important for patients and the volunteers who give back to their community.
"This is great opportunity for us as a profession to serve those folks, so they have necessary dental care." - Nathan Hehr, Mason City. | | | The Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) will be offering a fall session of the Iowa Mentoring Academy for faculty. Sessions are discussion-based and interactive, with topics including Setting Expectations, Maintaining Effective Communication, and Culturally Responsive Mentoring. The group will meet on Fridays, from 12-1pm, October 4 through November 22 via Zoom. | | | | Download the new University of Iowa mobile app to see your class schedule, use campus maps, connect to resources important to you as a student, and much more. The new app is free by searching “University of Iowa” on your app store or from this webpage. | | | Nwachukwu PC, Damiano PC, Levy S, Thomas JC, Shane D, Singhal A, Dabdoub SM, Reynolds JC. Variation in dentist participation between dental medicaid managed care organizations. J Public Health Dent. 2024 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12636. PMID: 39078227.
Medicaid coverage for oral health care can improve access to care for underserved populations, including patients from low-income backgrounds. However, dentists must accept Medicaid patients for this coverage to improve access to care. Some U.S. states, like Iowa, are using managed-care organizations (MCO) to handle dental Medicaid coverage in the state. Iowa uses two such organizations. This study used surveys of Iowa private practice dentists to examine Medicaid participation rates for these two managed-care organizations in Iowa. Among other findings, the researchers found that Iowa dentists were substantially more likely to accept one MCO rather than the other. This was the case for adults (26% v. 7%) and for children (40% v. 11%). Among the factors that may influence dentists’ preferences for one MCO over the other may include: differences in administrative processes and requirements related to dentist enrollment and credentialing, speed/denials of payments, the length of time an MCO has operated in a state, etc. The study concludes that future studies of Medicaid participation among dentists should consider variations in MCOs for states with more than one dental MCO. | | Events
August 29, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day
September 6, Chew on This: Emerging Trends in Pediatric Dental Care CE course, 8:00 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
September 7, Guided Bone Regeneration in the Age of Digital Dentistry and Homecare Dental Products: Facts vs Fads CE Course, 8:00 a.m. -- 10:00 a.m.
September 7, Pregame Social Tailgate, Iowa vs Iowa State, Behind the DSB, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. RSVP here
September 13, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day
September 13, Alumni Reunion Friday Continuing Education: The Impact of the 21st Century Diet: Nutritional Challenges on Health Equity, An Update in Endodontics — What's Changed?, Teenage Patients, the Conundrum, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
September 13-14, Dentistry Alumni Reunion Weekend (years ending in 4s and 9s)
September 14, Selection Criteria, Shielding and Current Guidelines in Radiation Protection CE Course, 8:00 a.m. -- 10:00 a.m.
September 14, Pregame Social Tailgate, Iowa vs Troy, Behind the DSB, 12:00 p.m. - 3 p.m.
RSVP here
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 11, Endodontics Professional Program CE Course, 8:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
October 12, 1st: Oral Ulceration with Bone Sequestration; 2nd: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): Considerations and Treatment Options for Patients in Your Private Practice; and 3rd; Managing and Referring Patients with XIX/DMP Insurance CE Course, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
October 18, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day
October 25, Let's Talk About Weed - Marijuana's Impact on Dental care CE Course, 8:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
October 26, Pregame Social Tailgate, Iowa vs Northwestern, Behind the DSB, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. RSVP here
October 30, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day (Virtual)
November 7, Prospective DDS Student Interview Day
Notes and Resources
Filling Station Menu
Hours: M-F: 7:30 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.
(Closed Monday, August 19 for the All-College Conference)
The Hawkeye Smile banner image shows dental students posing for a photo at the UI College of Dentistry's 2024 Commencement Ceremony inside Hancher Auditorium. | | | |
