can - Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

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M A G A Z I N E O F T H E T U F T S U N I V E R S I T Y D E N TA L A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N
WINTER 2009 VOL. 13 NO. 1
SPORTS FOR SCHOLARSHIP
OPEN
DENTAL MEDICINE
Come join the Tufts University
Dental Alumni Association
for the
27th Annual Wide Open
Golf & Tennis Tournament
Tufts Dental alumni, faculty, family
and friends are invited to participate!
ARTWORK PROVIDED BY RANDOM HOUSE
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Pine Hills Golf Club
564 Clubhouse Drive
Plymouth, Massachusetts
SEUSS DOCTOR
Long before Horton heard a Who and the
Grinch tried to vanquish Christmas, Theodor
Geisel’s creatures populated national
magazines, hawked bug spray and taught
soldiers the do’s and don’ts of military
life. Charles Cohen, D87, knows thing one
and thing two about those early days of the
beloved children’s author. For more, turn
to page 10.
All proceeds benefit
the Dental Alumni
Student Loan Fund
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
Schedule of Events
Registration Fees
Golf Tournament
$350/player
$1,300/foursome if signed up together
Tennis Tournament
$200/player
136 Harrison Avenue
Boston, ma 02111
Age OF
Dentistry
THE
www.tufts.edu/dental
TUFTS UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF PUBLICATIONS 7854 02/09
Golf and Tennis Registration
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Golf Tournament
11 a.m. shotgun start
Lunch included
Tennis tournament
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Reception
4 p.m.
Awards Dinner
5 p.m.
PAID
BOSTON, MA
PERMIT NO. 1161
What 76 million baby boomers
mean for your practice
PLUS: MURDER HE WROTE
■
ECONOMIC GRIND
■
H A L F WAY T H E R E
2009 Wide Open Tournament
FRONT MATTER
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WIDE OPEN
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the Dental Alumni
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Schedule of Events
A New Day
Ibtyhal Al-Amoudi, a third-year postgraduate
resident in pediatric dentistry, joined other
Tufts health sciences students, faculty and
staff in the Sackler Center café on the Boston
campus on January 20 to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s 44th
president. A native of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
Al-Amoudi is also pursuing a master of science
degree at the dental school. Behind her is
Preston Stephens, a manager in the dental
school’s clinical affairs division.
PHOTO: ALONSO NICHOLS
_____ golfers
@ $__________ each = $_________
_____ tennis
@ $__________ each = $_________
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Golf Tournament
Lunch included
Tennis tournament
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Reception
4 p.m.
Awards Dinner
5 p.m.
_____ dinner only @ $__________ each = $_________
Registration Fees
Please mail this form and your check, payable to Tufts
University Dental Alumni Association, to Office of
Alumni Relations, Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111.
Golf Tournament
$350/player
Tennis Tournament
$200/player
_____ I will be unable to attend the 2009 WIDE OPEN,
but I’d be proud to be listed as a sponsor for my
$100 donation to the Student Loan Fund.
❒ My check for $__________ is enclosed.
❒ Please charge $__________ to my
❒ MasterCard
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Registration confirmation and directions will be
mailed to you prior to the tournament.
contents
WINTER 2009 VOLUME 13 NO. 1
features
10 Creature Comforts
Dr. Seuss, who once created a character called the
Escardax (half escargot, half dachshund), no doubt
would have fancied the work of Charles Cohen, D87,
part dentist, part literary scholar. By Julie Flaherty
COVER STORY
14 The Age of Dentistry
Caring for elderly patients is as much about
appreciating the complexities of aging as it is about
teeth—a perspective that will become even more
critical as 76 million baby boomers enter their 60s.
By Julie Flaherty and Jacqueline Mitchell
22 Murder He Wrote
What possessed a mild-mannered pediatric
dentist to turn to a life of (literary) crime?
By Julie Flaherty
26
26 Economic Grind
When the stars come out at night, financial
meltdown chips away at oral health.
By Jacqueline Mitchell
64 Head of the Class
Never condescending, always brilliant,
H. Spencer Glidden, A12, M31, wasn’t
afraid to use the gross-out factor to make
his pathology lectures memorable.
By Jacqueline Mitchell
On the Cover: A resident of the
Woodburn House in Jamaica Plain,
Mass., discusses her oral health with
a Tufts dental student during one
of the weekly screenings third-year
students conduct in the community.
Photo by Laura Barisonzi
departments
2
LETTERS
3
FROM THE DEAN
5
WORD OF MOUTH
A SCAN OF PEOPLE & EVENTS
29
ON CAMPUS
D E N TA L S C H O O L N E W S
46
49
UNIVERSITY NEWS
BEYOND BOUNDARIES
PROVIDING THE MEANS FOR EXCELLENCE
52
ALUMNI NEWS
63
CONTINUING EDUCATION
6
w i n t e r 2 0 0 9 t u f t s d e n ta l m e d i c i n e 1
LETTERS
TH E J OYS O F MEN TO RIN G
I was very glad to read about the mentoring
program (“Homegrown Teachers,” Summer
2008) at the school I graduated from in
1975. At that time I felt that there was a general cutthroat mentality in dental schools
throughout the country. I found that most
part-time teachers were really not truly dedicated teachers, but there for the plaque on
the wall and to socialize with peers. After all,
their reimbursement was pennies.
We as mature dentists and students can
probably learn more from others than in
any textbook. When I was studying, the two
true educators were Dr. Robert Chapman,
A63, D67, DG74 [now a professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry] and
Dr. Van Ghugasian, A67, D72, DG74, both
postgraduate students dedicated to helping
others.
I think all dentists should attend residency programs, like physicians do, and there
must be some basic education in running a
private practice, again through mentoring
and some formal education.
ken tobin, d75a
wayne, new jersey
TH E P R O B L E M WITH
‘ STR E E T A RTISA N S’
The article “Oral Piercing Creates a Whole
Lot of Trouble” (Summer 2008) reiterates
numerous cautions that are of great concern to the health professions.
The dental profession may initiate legislation to limit lay persons from placing
such ornamental devices under less-thanadequate bio-sterile conditions, for which
many of these “street artisans” are poorly
trained. These unlicensed and often selfeducated inserters are practicing surgery.
Without the requisite medical or dental
credentials, their businesses are an assault
on their young and unwise clients.
The article correctly asks: “Is it professionally and ethically appropriate for dentists to do this? I say not. By forcing the issue
of outlawing lay “street surgery” with heavy
discipline for such illegal acts, the dentist, as
well as the physician, may be put in the position to grant or refuse such requests from
the public. The standards of care and some
of the various Practice Acts contain explicit language which makes it professional
2 t u f t s d e n ta l m e d i c i n e w i n t e r 2 0 0 9
misconduct for a dentist to perform treatment or render services that are recognized
as harmful and not in the best interest of the
patient. Unfortunately, there is no universal clear-cut standard as to the detrimental
health effects of the differing body intrusions. It does sometimes become a professional’s choice as to their personal beliefs
whether these “body jewelry” insertions
violate standards of care.
Further, these adorning elective services
requested by the public often ask for piercing body parts that are certainly not accepted
as within the scope of dental practice. Ears,
eyebrows, nasal walls and certainly regions
below the neck are clearly outside the scope
of dental practice, despite one’s interpretation of patient harm (or lack thereof). As
public health overseers, it is our duty to advise our patients appropriately, and to “do
no harm.”
ronald i. maitland, a60, d64
new york city
DENTAL MEDICINE
VOLUME 13, NO. 1 WINTER 2009
Executive Editor Lonnie H. Norris
Dean, School of Dental Medicine
Editor Karen Bailey
Alumni Editor Vangel R. Zissi,
D62, DG67
Design Director Margot Grisar
Designer Betsy Hayes
Contributing Writers
Deborah Blagg, Julie Flaherty,
Leslie Macmillian, Jaqueline Mitchell,
Helene Ragovin
Contributing Editor Leslie Macmillan
Editorial Advisors
Maria Tringale, Senior Director
Dental Development and Alumni Relaltions
Allison Norton, Director
Dental Fund and Alumni Relations
Mark Gonthier, Associate Dean
Admissions and Student Affairs
Mary-Ellen Marks, Faculty Secretary
President John P. Ficarelli, D73, D10P
H IG H M ARKS
I never really realized how good Tufts actually is until after I graduated. I am currently in a GPR at Mount Sinai in New York,
and even though I do like my program very
much and I am learning a lot, I now truly appreciate the value of my education at Tufts
University School of Dental Medicine.
I suppose I took for granted having every dental material and instrument at any
given time, along with paperless charts and
digital X-rays. After hearing other students’
experiences at their dental schools, I realize
now more than ever that Tufts is in the top
echelon of dental schools, without a doubt.
alex moheban, a04, d08
new york city
TA L K T O U S
Tufts Dental Medicine welcomes letters,
concerns and suggestions from all its
readers. Address your correspondence,
which may be edited for space, to Karen
Bailey, Editor, Tufts Dental Medicine,
Tufts University Office of Publications,
80 George St., Medford, MA 02155. You
can also fax us at 617.627.3549 or e-mail
[email protected].
Vice President Tofigh Raayai, DG77, DI82
Secretary Lisa Vouras, D89
Assistant Secretary Mostafa El-Sherif, DI95
Treasurer Janis B. Moriarty, D94
Directors
Cherie Cahillane Bishop, D94; Peter A.
Delli Colli, A69, D73; Joseph P. Giordano,
D79, DG84; Catherine Hayes, D87; John J.
Milette, D91; Derek Wolkowicz, D97, DG00
Ex-Officio
Past Presidents: Robert B. Amato, D80,
DG83; Nicholas T. Papapetros II, D91;
Lisa Vouras, D89
Dental M Club Chair John P. Ficarelli, D73,
D10P
Historian Charles B. Millstein, D62, A10P
University Liaison Thomas F. Winkler III, A62,
D66, D10P
Chapter Presidents
Steven Dugoni, D79, A08P, A12P, California
EJ Bartolazo, D92, New York
William N. Pantazes, D90, DG08, Florida
John A. Vrotsos, DG82, Greece
Tufts Dental Medicine is published twice
annually by Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine, the Tufts University Dental Alumni
Association and the Tufts University Office of
Publications. The magazine is a publication
member of the American Association of
Dental Editors.
Send correspondence to:
Editor, Tufts Dental Medicine
Tufts University Office of Publications
80 George St., Medford, MA 02155
Telephone: 617.627.2126
Fax: 617.627.3549
Printed on recycled paper.
FROM THE DEAN
Growing Old(er) Gracefully
the baby-boom generation is reaching
its prime, and this is having an impact on the
population that presents for health-care services
as well as on the providers of health care and
education. With increased awareness about the
importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle,
including better nutrition, regular exercise,
mental activity and routine medical and dental
checkups, the number of American adults over age 65 is growing, and
they’re leading active and productive lives. They’re also maintaining
more of their dentition.
The perceptions surrounding the term “geriatric” today are markedly different than they were in the past. Growing older is less about chronological age and
more about health, activity and attitude.
Fifty years ago, it was not unusual for the geriatric population to be edentulous, and 50 percent of U.S. adults over age 65 were. I have vivid memories
about the notion of losing teeth from my experiences as a resident in oral and
maxillofacial surgery doing rotations at Boston City Hospital. Fairly routinely
for young adults in their twenties, full-mouth extractions were performed under
general anesthesia when they had more than 20 deeply decayed teeth. Families
had dentures made for their children in time to celebrate major occasions. At
our Chelsea Soldiers Home rotations, vestibuloplasties (lengthening the soft
tissue sulcus for denture retention) and complete denture fabrication were the
primary procedures we did. Now, dental implants for retention of dentures have
essentially replaced extensive vestibuloplasty.
And while people are living longer, the good news is that their oral health is
improving, too. That also means the number of teeth dentists must care for is
increasing. The percentage of the population over age 65 in 1940 was 6.8 percent (roughly 9 million out of a total population of 132.2 million), according to
U.S. Census data. By next year, older adults will comprise 13 percent of the U.S.
population (40 million people out of 308.9 million), and in 2020, that number
is projected to be 16.3 percent, or 55 million out of a projected population of
335.8 million.
The number of adults who are edentulous has declined, especially in those
ages 65 to 75. The percentage of edentulous elderly in the mid-1970s was 46
percent, compared to 20.5 percent in 2004. As health-care professionals, we can
anticipate that the oral health of future generations of older adults will continue
to improve because since the 1970s, many children have been receiving better
preventive care, including fluoridation and sealants.
However, not all children are fortunate
enough to receive good dental care. The
burden of oral disease continues to be
borne most heavily by individuals with low
economic status. It is in these highly vulnerable populations that the oral health of the
next generation will continue to be compromised without active awareness, assessment and health-education and prevention
programs.
A report titled “The Oral Health of
Massachusetts Children,” released in January
2008 by the Catalyst Institute, revealed that
significant numbers of Bay State children
suffer from dental caries. More than one
in four kindergarteners (19,130 students);
more than 40 percent of third-graders
(29,110 students) and one-third of sixthgraders (24,575 students) had dental decay.
The report also found significant disparities
in the status of children’s oral health among
racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups.
The prevalence of edentulism in the elderly is also strongly related to income, education and race and ethnicity, according to
the Centers for Disease Control (see chart,
page 4).
We are working to change those alarming statistics. Tufts University and four other
area universities are collaborating on a program administered by the City of Boston to
provide comprehensive services to selected
urban schools. Our dental school and the
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and
Policy at Tufts offer initiatives in healthy
eating and physical activity, dental health
education and prevention and restorative
services. On the other end of the age spectrum, a geriatric outreach program strives
to upgrade services and oral health status
in the surrounding communities. Both
programs have a significant impact on the
FROM THE DEAN
schools, the total number of
graduates had dropped to 4,443
PREVALENCE OF
by 2001. If these graduates retire at age 65, and the number of
TOOTH LOSS IN
graduates after 2007 remains in
ADULTS AGE 65 +
the 4,800 range, it is estimated
that the aggregate number of
Edentulism
Yes
No
professionally active dentists
20.5%
79.5%
will begin to decline around
2014, when fewer dentists will
Sex
enter the workforce than leave
Male
18.8%
81.2%
it. The profession will have to
Female
21.7%
78.3%
evaluate thoroughly the distribution of dentists in underEducation
served areas and the effective
Less than high school
41.1%
58.9%
use of auxiliaries in addressing
High school or GED
23.2%
76.8%
access-to-care issues.
Some post high school
15%
85%
Recent data from the
College graduate
7.1%
92.9%
American Dental Education
Association (ADEA) indicates
Income
that the numbers of older,
Less than $15,000
35.9%
64.1%
professionally active dentists
$15,000–$24,999
25.3%
74.7%
will increase over the next de$25,000–$34,999
18.5%
81.4%
cade. In 2000, approximately 9
$35,000–$49,999
11.8%
88.2%
percent of dentists over age 65
$50,000 +
6.7%
93.3%
were still practicing. The number of active practitioners over
Ethnicity
age 65 is projected to increase
White
19.4%
80.6%
to 13 percent by 2010, and to 21
Black
28.6%
71.4%
percent by 2020. Dentists who
Hispanic
21.6%
78.4%
delay retiring could help feed a
Other
19.8%
80.2%
workforce available to provide
Multiracial
27.5%
72.5%
access to care.
The aging of dental faculty
SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL, NATIONAL ORAL HEALTH
is also of concern. An ADEA
SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM, 2004
survey of 11,925 dental faculty (4,620 full-time, 5,062
outcomes of healthy aging.
part-time and 2,243 volunteer) found they
About 80 percent of the elderly patients
ranged in age from 23 to 95. More worriwho are treated in our clinics suffer from
some is the graying of leadership at U.S.
at least one chronic disease, with hypertendental schools: The average age of deans is
sion and diabetes being the most common.
60; associate deans, 58; and chairs, 60. And
It is estimated that more than two-thirds
so it is imperative that schools have strategic
of adults over age 65 are taking at least one
plans to recruit, mentor and develop faculty
medication (the average, however, is three)
for future leadership. Our school has placed
that would affect dental treatment or pasignificant emphasis on faculty developtient management.
ment and leadership training.
Will there be enough dental professionStarting with the Class of 2001, the
als to care for a growing elderly population
school initiated a Student Teaching Assistant
in the future? We need to take steps to enProgram with two students. Now, from the
sure that is the case.
Class of 2009, 60 students are actively teachIn the early 1980s, at the peak of enrolling with faculty supervision in preclinical
ment, U.S. dental schools graduated 5,756
courses, clinics and didactic courses and
dentists. However, with the closing of some
working in advising/mentoring groups. We
are making a concerted effort not only to
expose our students to academic dentistry,
but also nurture a responsibility to give back
by providing care to underserved populations. Our hope is that this program will
feed the pipeline for future faculty.
To achieve our mission of offering an
outstanding educational program to develop future dental practitioners and academic
leaders who will provide access to highquality patient care, it is essential to support
them in top-flight facilities that bolster that
mission. The construction project that will
add five floors to the dental tower is on target to be completed by November 2009. In
this challenging economic climate, the university is continuing to support building
projects that are in progress. To address our
school’s academic priorities, $28 million has
been raised toward our $40 million goal for
the Beyond Boundaries capital campaign.
Your school needs your commitment
now more than ever. I ask that you consider
the school a worthy priority for your philanthropy. Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine has a history that began in 1868.
We’re 140 years old and growing stronger.
With your commitment to participate, your
school will continue to grow older gracefully as a leader in dental education with all
the necessary foundations for success in the
future.
lonnie h. norris, d.m.d., m.p.h.
References:
Brown, L.J., “Dental Service Among Elderly
Americans: Utilization, Expenditures and
Their Determinants,” in Improving Oral
Health for the Elderly: An Interdisciplinary
Approach, J.C. Takamura, Ira B. Lamster and
Mary E. Northridge, eds., 2008.
“The Oral Health of Massachusetts’
Children,” Catalyst Institute, January 2008.
Eugene L. Anderson, Ph.D., Associate
Executive Director and Director, Center for
Educational Policy and Research, American
Dental Education Association, 2008.
word of mouth
A SCAN OF PEOPLE & EVENTS
Meet Me on Facebook
Social networking site builds communities and keeps
alumni connected by Jacqueline Mitchell
N
ine months before they first arrived at one kneeland
Street, the Class of 2012 was already getting to know each
other on Facebook, the immensely popular online social networking site. Before they met face-to-face, the new classmates
started to break the ice, posting their names and hometowns
and other basic information on the web page created just for their class. As the
school year approached, they began to fret about textbooks and scrubs and,
of course, rents in Boston. Members of the Class of 2011, who have their own
dedicated Facebook page, weighed in with advice. By August, the new classmates
mainly used the site to make plans to meet for dinner. By September, Luddites
will be relieved to hear, the online group quieted down as the students’ real-life
interactions replaced their virtual ones.
“Facebook is a great networking program, and we still use it to contact one
another and set up class events,” says Megha Patel, who launched the D12 page
ILLUSTRATION: PHILIP ANDERSON
as soon as she knew she was going to Tufts.
“It helped people find roommates and make
connections before we all came to school.”
For the uninitiated, Facebook and other
social networking sites allow individuals to
create an online profile, something like a
digital bulletin board. Members can tailor
their profiles to suit their needs. New parents might post hundreds of baby pictures,
while job-seekers might keep it professional,
posting only resumes and contact information. Individuals then link up to Facebook
pages created by their friends, families and
colleagues and use the site as an easy way to
keep in touch with hundreds of people with
one keystroke.
That’s why this year, the alumni relations
team created an official Tufts University
School of Dental Medicine Facebook profile.
Launched in December, the group acquired
70 members without active recruiting. “A
lot of people are already on Facebook,” says
Natalie E. Chassaigne, a staff assistant in
alumni relations who maintains the school
Facebook site. “This is a good way to capture
their attention.” Though the school group is
still in its early stages, Chassaigne says her
office will use it to advertise events, including receptions for alumni at national dental meetings. It also helps the alumni office
maintain accurate contact information for
younger alumni, who tend to be transient
for a few years after graduation.
As of January 2009, 150 million people
were Facebook users. Almost half log in at
least daily. The virtual community represents
170 countries, speaks 35 languages and lives
on every continent, including Antarctica.
A group of Harvard University students
launched the virtual meeting place in 2004
as a fun way to get to know each other. It
didn’t take long for Facebook to spread, and
by September 2006, anyone with an email
address could create a user profile.
For the D12s, Facebook helped strangers become friends. For the D08s, who are
spending their first year apart after graduating, Facebook is helping old friends stay
in touch. Alex Moheban, A04, D08, who is
WO R D O F M O U T H
Continued from page 5
doing a general practice residency in New
York City, uses the site to communicate with
his classmates who are now scattered in
Rhode Island, Florida, Chicago, Los Angeles
and Boston. “We’re all over the place, and we
have busy schedules and live in different time
zones,” says Moheban, who accesses the site
on his iPhone several times a day. “Facebook
is the most convenient way to keep in touch
with a good amount of people.”
Facebook has long been a way of life for
Moheban, 26, who signed up when he was
an undergraduate at Tufts. The site doesn’t
replace the way he communicates with his
close friends and family, he says, but it is
preventing the inevitable drifting apart
from people he might not have kept up with
otherwise. His dental school class was the
first to form a Facebook group before they
arrived on campus in fall 2004.
While Moheban and his classmates use
Facebook entirely for socializing, some
alumni are seeking ways to use the site professionally. When Maria Botwin, D91, who
practices in West Palm Beach, Fla., needed
to find a new dentist for one of her patients
who was leaving town, she posted a request
to the School of Dental Medicine Facebook
site. “Florida is a very transient state, and
when my patients move or go off to college,
I like to set them up with a Tufts dentist
because I know they’ll treat them a certain
way,” says Botwin. A working mom of three
kids who is married to another Tufts dentist, Todd Botwin, D92, Maria Botwin was
already using Facebook to manage her life.
“All the moms use it to see who is picking
up whom,” she says.
Botwin doubts she’d use Facebook to
market her practice, however. “It projects a
different persona than I want to present to
my patients,” she says.
But for social networking, the medium
can’t be beat. Robert Berg, D03, recently
started a Facebook group for Tufts Dental
alumni practicing in New York. A prosthodontist with more than 650 Facebook contacts, Berg uses the site to advertise local
alumni functions.
While still exploring professional applications, he says Facebook is a great way to
keep in touch. “I see a photo pop up every
time a classmate has a new kid.”
The Austrian-made
microscope that
Anna Quincy Churchill
presented to her
protégé, Vincent
Lisanti, in 1951.
Anna’s Gift
Researcher’s ‘pet’
finds its way back home
by Julie Flaherty
C
leaning out a closet in his
North Bergen, N.J., home not
long ago, Vincent Lisanti, D42,
stumbled across an old friend.
It was the familiar black wooden box with
a key attached, and inside was the heavy
brass microscope that had been a constant
companion for much of his research career.
Should he give it to a high school, he
wondered? To his son? His granddaughter?
“You know what?” he said to himself,
“this ought to go home.”
Home, in this case, is Tufts Dental
School, where more than a half-century ago
a professor made a gift of the microscope
to a young dental researcher. Lisanti was
a rising star in the school’s laboratories
when Anna Quincy Churchill, the longserving histology professor who was nearing
retirement, sent a message asking him to
come to her office. Given that he hadn’t
been a stellar student in her class, Lisanti
was surprised to hear from her, and even
more surprised when she said she wanted
to make a contribution to his research. She
handed him one of her microscopes.
“She felt that being one of her students—mediocre or otherwise—I could put
the microscope to use,” Lisanti says.
The Austrian-made microscope, which
was manufactured between 1925 and
1926, was a little outdated when he got it
in 1951. “It was like a horse and wagon versus a Cadillac,” Lisanti says. But it served
its purpose. Countless slides of tissues,
blood and saliva passed beneath its lenses.
Perhaps its greatest achievement was
helping determine that hyaluronidase, an
enzyme found in saliva and associated
with the spread of infection, was caused
by bacteria.
“It was always on my desk,” Lisanti
says of the instrument, which he called
his “pet.” By the mid-1950s, Lisanti, an
associate professor of dental research, had
become the largest individual grant and contract holder in biology in the United States.
He took the microscope with him when he
left Tufts in 1958 to found the Institute of
Somatological Research. It stayed close to
him until 1973, when he stopped working in
the lab and began overseeing grants. That’s
when it went in the closet. It waited there
patiently until last fall, when Lisanti mailed
it to Dean Lonnie Norris “as a reminder that
TUSDM was a great dental centerpiece.”
Although the microscope probably
commanded a good price when new, its
value today is primarily sentimental, says
Raymond Giordano, an appraiser of scientific instruments and owner of the Antiquarian
Scientist in Southampton, Mass. “They
were substantial, well-designed, useful
instruments of their day,” he says.
The microscope still works, despite a
couple of missing parts, including the illuminator box that once threw light up through
the bottom of the stage. Lisanti hasn’t
given up hope of finding that part: “It might
turn up in the cellar here somewhere.”
PHOTO: VITO ALUIA
A Hero and a Saint
A
ndré st-germain, assistant
clinical professor of public
health and community service,
was honored by the state with
an Oral Health Hero citation for his years
of service treating individuals with special
health-care needs at the Tufts Dental Facility
Serving Persons with Special Needs (TDF)
at the Wrentham Developmental Center.
State Sen. Scott P. Brown, A81, and State
Rep. Richard Ross presented the citation.
A satellite program of Tufts Dental School,
TDF operates eight dental clinics throughout Massachusetts, serving 16,000 special
needs patients.
St-Germain, D63, fondly known as “The
Saint,” says he enjoys working with special
needs patients in part because they accept
him as he is. Joel Pearlman, D74, director of
the Wrentham clinic, recalls first meeting StGermain in the operating room at Lemuel
Shattuck Hospital, where some special
needs patients are treated because they cannot withstand the stress of a clinic setting.
As he prepared to place a stainless steel crown, St-Germain
announced, “I’m The Saint, and
I’m here to help.”
The TDF program was
founded in 1976 to identify
special needs patients in need
of dental treatment and dentists
willing to provide that care.
Despite St-Germain’s reputation as the consummate bargain hunter—he invites dental
students and others who are working at
the clinic to spend their lunch hour at the
Wrentham outlets—“Saint has always invested heavily in friendship,” Pearlman says.
“He generously and unselfishly has committed his spirit, heart and soul to the TDF
program and the patients he has treated.”
Pearlman notes that as St-Germain looks
toward retirement, the word “dinosaur” has
come up. “But the real concern here is about
extinction. In that context, it’s difficult to
picture the clinic without Saint and to also
André St-Germain, D63, left, receives
his Oral Health Hero certificate from
State Sen. Scott P. Brown, A81.
question whether it’s the individual who
perpetuates the program or the program
that perpetuates the individual,” he says.
“Saint will always be remembered for his
professionalism, wisdom, friendship and
perhaps most importantly, for reminding
us that although we may be dinosaurs, we
won’t be extinct.”
GROWTH SPURT
The dental school will expand its school-based oral health
programs in Lowell and Boston, as well as in Hampden County
in western Massachusetts, thanks to a multi-year grant from
the Boston-based Oral Health Foundation.
The funding will allow the Department of Public Health and
Community Service to build on the success of its outreach
program, Oral Health Across the Commonwealth, which aims
to reduce dental disease in children in preschool through
eighth grade, when intervention can be most effective.
Kathy Dolan, director of the Tufts Community Dental Programs
and an assistant professor of public health and community
service, gives an oral health pep talk to a student at the
Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Boston.
The goal of Oral Health Across the Commonwealth is to
create a sustainable community-based program for at-risk
children in underserved areas. This kind of outreach improves
kids’ oral health status through preventive services, including sealants, oral prophylaxis and fluoride varnish treatments.
The Tufts Community Dental Programs also received another infusion of funding when American Dental Partners (ADP),
for the fourth consecutive year, donated $5,000 toward those efforts. ADP representatives toured the dental school and
visited the school-based clinic at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood on December 15.
PHOTO: JOANIE TOBIN (BOTTOM)
WO R D O F M O U T H
caption_fl
Meredith Jones, D09, above, administers
Novocain. The student captain of the Tufts
team, Monica Rancourt, D10, left, works on
a young patient.
Mission to Haiti
M
ore than 750 patients in haiti
received free dental care from a
Tufts Dental team that traveled
to the Caribbean nation, where
an estimated 80 percent of the island’s 8.7
million residents live in poverty.
“The Haitian people typically started
lining up between five and seven in the
morning, and sometimes waited up to
eight hours for dental care,” says Monica
Rancourt, D10, the student captain of the
Tufts team that worked at three facilities in
Port-au-Prince over eight days last August.
“Even then, some of them were asked to return the following day,” she says.
The trip was partly funded by the Tisch
College of Citizenship and Public Service
at Tufts, which awarded the group $5,000
as part of its Tisch Active Citizen Summer
Fellows program. The long-term goal of
the Tufts mission is to develop a sustainable
oral health program in Haiti.
The Tufts team performed prophylaxis
on more than 500 patients and extractions
on 180 people. “We did do multiple restorative procedures,” Rancourt says, “but it
depended on whether the air-compression
drill worked that day or not.” They often
worked without adequate lighting and other equipment that American dentists take
for granted.
In addition to Rancourt, the Tufts team
included faculty members Aidee Herman,
associate clinical professor of periodontology; Scott Lightfoot, a periodontist; and
Carolyn Cottrell, associate clinical professor
of prosthodontics; and students Meredith
Jones, D09; Dong-soo Hong, D09; Lee Tran,
D09; Samantha Jordan, D10; Ngoc Nguyen,
D10; Chelsea Wilson, D10; and Allison Piper,
D11. Three Tufts Dental staff members who
are natives of Haiti, Ernest Milfort, Renald
Joseph and Lysie Osias, provided translation
help as well as sterilized instruments.
HAIL TO THE TEETH
George Washington only had one tooth
when he became the nation’s first president.
And ill-fitting dentures kept the chief
executive from giving an inaugural address
when he was elected to a second term,
according to the National Museum of Dentistry.
THE BIG KNOWLEDGE GAP
While eight in 10 Americans say that caring for their mouth, teeth and gums is “absolutely needed,” only one-third of them admit to doing an “excellent” job with their oral health.
That was one of the findings of an American Dental Association national public opinion survey on oral health care, which was reported on at the ADA’s annual meeting last
fall.
Perhaps even more troubling, more than one in three Americans:
■ think a little bleeding from brushing is normal, even though it could be a sign of gum
disease or something even worse;
■ are unaware that periodontal disease needs to be treated;
■ don’t know that poor oral health is associated with stroke, heart disease and diabetes.
The survey helps dentists “address perception versus reality when it comes to oral
health,” says Ada Cooper, the ADA’s consumer advisor and a dentist who practices in
New York.
One thousand Americans, ages 18 and older, responded to the survey, which gauged
their perceptions of their oral health care and their knowledge of essential oral healthcare habits as well as the psychological benefits of a healthy smile and oral health habits
of the nation’s youth. The study had a particular focus on African Americans, Hispanics
and lower-income Americans.
More information about the survey, which was done in collaboration with Crest and
Oral-B, can be found at www.ada.org/public/media.
Principal for a Day
M
ost days lawrence s. bacow
leads a university of 8,500 students. On November 6, the Tufts
president went back to grade
school as principal for the 300 students
at Chittick Elementary School in Boston’s
Mattapan neighborhood.
Bacow was one of 136 Boston-area business and community leaders to participate
in the sixth annual Principal for a Day program, which pairs them with the heads of
public schools in Boston.
Tufts is one of five area colleges and universities that have partnered with the city
schools through the Step Up program, an
initiative of Mayor Thomas M. Menino
that offers programs and services focusing
on academic progress, student and family
wellness, art, athletics and citizenship to the
city’s schoolchildren.
“I was incredibly impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the principal of
the Chittick Elementary School, Michelle
Burnett-Herndon,” Bacow says. “She knew
the name of virtually every one of her 300
ILLUSTRATION: PHILIP ANDERSON
students and greeted each one as they came
through the door. Similarly, the teachers
were all fabulous—caring, engaged and enthusiastic. I left very optimistic about public
education in Boston.”
Volunteers from Tufts School of Dental
Medicine provide oral health-care services
to Boston students as part of the Step-Up
partnership. “Many kids at the Chittick have
never seen a dentist until they meet a member of the Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine team,” Bacow says.
The highlight of Bacow’s stint as a gradeschool principal? “Seeing a special needs
student successfully solve a math problem
in front of the class. I also visited a classroom with five autistic children who were
being taught by three very dedicated and
skilled teachers,” he adds.
“Our society owes much to those who
teach in our urban public schools,” Bacow
says. “We need to do more to support them.
That said, the quality of the teaching I observed and the care and love expressed by
the staff for the kids was truly inspiring.”
With smiles all around, Tufts President
Lawrence S. Bacow and Elaine Conroy, a Tufts
dental hygienist, with Yanelee Pimentel, a
fourth-grade Chittick student, after her dental
check-up.
if
dr. seuss had based one of
his fantastical characters on
Charles Cohen, D87, he might
have been the Knowtooth
Seussasleuth, or the Amassalot from the island
of Dentium. No doubt, the inimitable Pulitzer
Prize-winning author would have chosen a
more eloquent name. But Seuss, who once created a character called the Escardax (half escargot, half dachshund), probably would have
appreciated a man who was part dentist, part
literary scholar.
Cohen, a general dentist who lives very near
Seuss’s birthplace of Springfield, Mass., spends
about three-and-a-half days a week caring for
patients, and much of the rest of his time collecting, appraising, writing, curating and fielding questions about Seuss, who even after his
death in 1991, continues to be the world’s bestselling author of children’s books.
Although he never met the author, whose
real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, Cohen
knows as much about Seuss’s work as anyone
who was acquainted with him, perhaps more
so. His collection of Seussiana, which he began
a decade ago, is believed to be the largest private anthology of its kind. Along with a wide
variety of trade, library and foreign editions
of all the beloved Seuss books, he has gathered
obscure publications like Geisel’s first poems
and drawings for his high school newspaper.
There’s a human-sized Sneetch intended for
outdoor display at a theme park (and which
currently greets visitors to Cohen’s home). And
there are larger items, like an advertisement for
How the Grinch Stole Christmas designed for
the side of a bus. Some of the most valuable
pieces are watercolors, pen-and-ink drawings and sculptures Seuss designed and sold
through mail-order. Such original works can
fetch tens of thousands of dollars.
Acquiring the items was really just a byproduct of Cohen’s desire to know more about
the genius behind them. It began in 1988, when
Cohen saw a traveling exhibit about Seuss that
displayed some of his lesser-known work as a
political cartoonist and advertising artist.
“That was my first exposure to the things
that Ted Geisel did outside of his famous Dr.
Seuss children’s books, and it piqued my interest,” Cohen says. But when he began looking for more background on the author, he
found a dearth of facts. “More distressingly,
the things that were written often turned out
to be wrong.”
A fair amount of the misinformation came
from Geisel himself. Asked where he got his
ideas, for example, Geisel would describe a
Swiss hamlet called Über Gletch, where he purported to go every August 4 to have his cuckoo
clock repaired: “While the cuckoo is in the hospital, I wander around and talk to the people in
the streets. They are very strange people, and I
get my ideas from them.”
Surrounded by Grinches and Sneetches and ‘Flit’ stuff
lives a dentist named Cohen, the ultimate Seuss buff
Creature
BY J U L I E F L A H E R T Y P H OTO G R A P H BY S T E V E N VOT E
Comforts
As Cohen says, “Ted was a great storyteller, and it was much more important to
him to tell a good and amusing story than
to tell the truth.” So the dentist started looking for firsthand sources, combing through
the Boston Public Library, the Library of
Congress and the Seuss archives at the
University of California, San Diego, and at
Dartmouth College, Geisel’s alma mater. He
became a constant scourer of eBay, too.
In doing so, he came to appreciate Geisel’s
breadth of experience and his uncanny success in just about any field he chose to pursue.
As a young man in the 1920s, selling a funny
drawing to the Saturday Evening Post for $25
was all the encouragement Geisel needed to
move from Springfield to New York City to
make his living drawing cartoons. One of
Cohen’s favorites is a 1928 sketch of a man
giving a bouquet of fish to a girl, with this
caption: “The Height of Deception: Taking
Advantage of his Best Girl’s Astigmatism.”
“Apparently our senses of humor coincide on that level, since I still find that one
particularly funny,” Cohen says.
When Geisel decided to try to make some
extra money in advertising, he used his witty
scenarios and unlimited zoo of characters to
help sell “everything from beer to ball bearings, windshield wipers to whisky, sugar to
shaving cream, clocks to cosmetics, spark
plugs to spot removers, and radios to rifles,”
Cohen says. In a 1930s ad for disposable
Ajax cups, an unmistakably Seussian crowd
of fanciful germs parties on a drinking glass.
Geisel, in fact, created one of the most recognizable ad campaigns of the era, for Flit Bug
Spray, where the insecticide battled comically oversized mosquitoes. (“Quick, Henry,
the Flit!” was the “Got Milk?” of its day.)
It wasn’t until Geisel was midway through
his career that he decided to try his hand at
writing children’s books. He was an unlikely
candidate for the job, Cohen points out. He
had no children of his own, and his early humor was often inappropriate for kids. One of
his cartoons, titled “Making Our Daughters
Less Irritating,” featured a spring-loaded
mallet called The Pout Extinguisher: “After
this apparatus has been securely fastened to
daughter’s head by a reliable blacksmith, let
her go ahead and pout if she dare!”
Yet because books like And to Think That
I Saw It on Mulberry Street and The Cat in
the Hat were so different from the insipid
Dick-and-Jane primers that children were
used to, kids loved them. Aided by a carefully honed use of anapestic tetrameter (his
poetic rhythm of choice), Seuss was able to
get children to read at an earlier age than was
generally thought possible.
“I’m not sure if most people truly understand his contribution to improving
children’s literacy,” Cohen says. “Utilizing
repetition, rhyme and infectious rhythm to
drum his stories into kids’ heads, Ted was
able to facilitate memorization and bring the
pleasures of reading to children before they
could read actual words.”
In 1940, Geisel put aside children’s books
to focus on the growing threat of Adolf Hitler,
whom he lambasted in political cartoons. He
later joined the Army, where he got involved
with Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Mel
Blanc (the talents behind Bugs Bunny and
others) in writing “Private Snafu” cartoons,
which showed enlisted men what not to do
as soldiers. His work writing propaganda
films led him to try a career as a Hollywood
screenwriter. Along the way, productions
based on his work have won Oscars, Emmys,
Grammys and many other awards.
The more Cohen unearthed, the more
he saw the evolution of Seuss’s artwork. His
research revealed that Geisel was drawing
pachyderms in trees and stacking terrapins
long before Horton the elephant decided to
hatch an egg or Hitler gave Seuss his inspiration for the tyrannical Yertle the Turtle.
Cohen also found that Prohibition had a
significant influence on Seuss’s work. Where
an ordinary alcoholic might see pink elephants, drunkards in Seuss’s early cartoons
were treated to wide-eyed, sock-footed beasts
with balloons for tails, misplaced horns or
rainbow stripes.
“That weird menagerie started as the
odd animals one would see in the throes of
delirium tremens and only later developed
into loveably eccentric animals for children
to enjoy,” Cohen says.
Each find helped separate the truth from
the fiction (contrary to persistent myth,
Geisel was not opposed to merchandizing
his artwork, as his mail-order sculpture
business attests) and the real from the counterfeit. “I used to estimate that 80 percent
of the ‘original’ Seuss artwork I saw for sale
was not authentic,” Cohen says. “We’ve put
a substantial dent in that figure over the last
couple of years.”
All this became fodder for Cohen’s colorful visual biography of Geisel, called The
Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing but the
Seuss (Random House, 2004), which pays
as much homage to his work as a cartoonist
and advertising man as it does to his children’s books.
“I was hesitant to try to write a biography
of a man whom I’d never even seen in person,” Cohen says, “but it actually turned out
to be essential to doing it successfully. Not
knowing him allowed me not to make the
mistake of trusting his version of events.”
He later approached Random House
with the idea of celebrating the 50th anniversaries of How the Grinch Stole Christmas
and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories with
special editions of the books. Cohen provided images and commentary to show, for
example, how the Grinch evolved from a
pucker-mouthed character in an advertisement for sugar to the familiar green sourpuss with more than a passing dislike for the
December holiday. More special editions are
in the works.
There is not much overlap between his
dental practice and his passion for Seuss, although you will find copies of Cohen’s books
among the usual magazines in his waiting
room, and a couple of cels from the animated production of The Lorax, mounted at
kid’s eye level. Cohen fears that a reputation
as the “Dr. Seuss dentist” would lead to an
exclusively pediatric practice, which he says
he would find “too limiting.”
And Cohen doesn’t like to be limited.
He studied postmodern literature as an undergraduate, but, as later witnessed by his
methodical search for empirical data about
Seuss, he also had an appreciation for scientific discovery. Dentistry was his father’s suggestion. “I thought he’d gone insane when he
mentioned it,” Cohen says. Yet the fit made
sense. “Dentistry keeps me grounded in science, in mechanical precision work, and
attuned to people’s difficulties and needs—
all of which are important to me as a wellrounded and caring person.”
Shades of Dr. Seuss’s fantastical
creatures were evident in Theodor
Geisel’s early work, clockwise from
left: part of an Esso campaign for
marine motor oil; an ad promoting
the anti-knock properties of auto
lubricant; an editorial cartoon with
an anti-Prohibition slant; and a
subway card for Flit Bug Spray.
Like Seuss, Cohen finds many outlets
for his creativity. When he was doing postgraduate work in orthodontics, a moment
of boredom would find him bending wire
meant for braces into more elaborate designs. Soon he was selling them as earrings
to a jeweler. His interest in the arts has led to
several one-man shows of his own paintings,
photography and sculptures, and a number
of literary and musical compositions.
He says he and his wife, Margarita, joke
about her putting up with his obsession,
which takes a lot of his time and resources.
“If there was no money spent on Seussiana,
our house would long ago have been repainted, and the hideous linoleum in our
kitchen would have disappeared,” Cohen
says. But he thinks his wife is also proud of
what he has been able to accomplish. “She
knows that I’m very seriously touched by the
fleetingness of mortality and that it means a
great deal to me to have created things that
will live on in libraries and potentially be of
use to people long after we’re gone.”
And so he revels in the acquisition of a paper flyswatter advertising Flit Bug Spray, fascinated that no one had the sense to throw it
out back in 1931, and begins a search for
the dozen or so Dr. Seuss books he recently
learned had been translated into Persian. By
the way, if you happen to have a copy of the
1952 Serbo-Croatian edition of Thidwick,
The Big-Hearted Moose or a flag from Seuss’s
1937 Esso Marine Navy ad campaign cluttering up your closet, Cohen would like to
hear from you.
Blame it on an overdose of anapestic
tetrameter, but Geisel’s style has certainly
drummed its way into Cohen’s brain. Asked
how he stores his collection, he responds
with a Seuss-worthy tale: “For security reasons, the collection is moved to a new location each day. One day last week, for example, it was kept in a self-storage unit in Havre
de Grace, Maryland, carefully watched by a
solitary chimney sweep with acromegaly,
and the next day it was moved to a quonset hut in Corfu, Greece, guarded by frilled
sharks and coelacanths.”
Someday, Cohen says, he might like to
open a museum for it somewhere. I hear
Über Gletch is in the running. TDM
Julie Flaherty, a senior health sciences
writer in Tufts’ Office of Publications, can be
reached at [email protected].
w i n t e r 2 0 0 9 t u f t s d e n ta l m e d i c i n e 1 3
Age
A
ge
Dentistry
With 76 million baby boomers headed into their 60s,
the need for geriatric care will only escalate
n the late 1970s and early 1980s, professor athena papas went door-to-door in
Tufts’ neighboring communities, dragging mobile dental equipment up flights of stairs
to provide oral health care to some of the city’s neediest senior citizens. On one of her
visits, Papas met a man who needed eight fillings across the front of his upper teeth. The
decay had not only affected his appearance, but his demeanor. She suspects that was
one reason his children had stopped visiting. “When your teeth aren’t right, you don’t
smile as much, and others don’t react as well to you,” she says. “You can become this dour
person without realizing it.”
Poor oral health can indeed trigger a downward spiral in the elderly, who often become
self-conscious about their speech or appearance and withdraw from social situations,
including seeking out dental and medical care. With funding from the government and
foundations, Papas, J67, established a geriatric outreach program to serve the homebound
elderly, hoping to break that cycle and bring her patients out of their apartments.
Papas still remembers the broad smile the man flashed after she treated his extensive
decay. “It motivated him to go out more.” But when the government money dried up, so did
many of the outreach programs. “It was very hard for me,” she says.
BY J U L I E F L A H E R T Y & JACQ U E L I N E M I TC H E L L
P H OTO S BY L AU R A B A R I S O N Z I
An important component of
caring for the elderly is a detailed
medical assessment. Here
Amanda Fix, D10, checks her
patient’s blood pressure.
“Older people are survivors. They have
Today, the situation is just as grave, if
not more so. With 76 million baby boomers
poised to enter their 60s, the need for geriatric dental care will only increase. Since
1990, the proportion of American citizens
over age 65 has tripled. And unlike previous generations, nearly three-quarters of
today’s senior citizens retain many of their
natural teeth.
But funding for care is just as scarce as it
was 30 years ago. Just 15 percent of people
ages 65 and older have dental insurance,
with Medicare picking up none of the tab
and Medicaid coverage varying widely
from state to state. Moreover, misconceptions about aging and teeth persist, among
the public as well as dentists. At Tufts
University School of Dental Medicine, faculty who focus on geriatric dentistry are
banking on a unique combination of education, research and outreach to prepare
the next generation of dentists to handle
the intricacies of caring for the elderly.
NOTIONS ABOUT AG ING
At Tufts, the third-year rotation in geriatric
dentistry is as much about appreciating the
complexities of aging as it is about teeth.
Sometimes the dentistry is straightforward.
When it isn’t, Professor Hilde Tillman, D49,
the course director, is happy to offer advice
about treatment planning and management. Perhaps more important to Tillman
is teaching students to challenge their assumptions about getting older.
She tells them about the geriatric clinic’s
oldest patient, who turned 102 during his
treatment. “He came to us because he needed new dentures,” Tillman says. “He was
in custodial care because he had outlived
most of his contemporaries, but he was
completely independent. He was very well
dressed. Whenever he came to the clinic, he
had on a shirt and tie and hat.” She does not
hide her pride.
Tillman developed Tufts’ geriatric dentistry program nearly three decades ago,
building on Papas’ education and outreach
efforts with the help of a $1 million grant
from the National Institutes of Health.
The course includes lectures on nutrition,
exercise, cognitive disorders, stroke, cancer, periodontal disease, endodontics and
rehabilitation—all as they relate to aging
and dentistry. The course is a prelude to a
rotation in the geriatric clinic and an opportunity to provide dental screenings for
senior citizens in the community.
“Certainly the program has changed a lot
from when we first started it,” says Tillman.
“Students used to say, ‘That’s the chance to
get a denture patient.’ We know now that
with good care and prevention, teeth can be
maintained throughout life.”
Each week, Tillman and her students go
over the cases they have seen in the clinic,
discussing radiographs, medical histories
and possible drug interactions. They also
talk about the patient’s broader life: Does
he work? Does he use a cane or a wheelchair? How is his diet? Does he eat alone?
The answers can make or break a treatment
plan. The students learn about adaptive de-
at first—this wasn’t covered in a textbook—
but soon realize she is asking them to question what they think they know about how
a 60-, 70- or 80-year-old looks and acts.
Tillman tells the students not to be intimidated by the long lists of conditions
their patients have been treated for, such as
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or even cancer. “Older people are survivors,” she says. “They have survived many
things, medical issues, dental issues.”
Students are well prepared for the
medical challenges of the aging patient.
Professor Kanchan Ganda, who came to
Tufts Dental School in 1980 and became
the fi rst full-time physician faculty member in 1991, estimates that as many as eight
or nine out of every 10 patients at the Tufts
clinic are medically compromised. The
vices that can help patients with arthritis or
stroke-related paralysis hold a toothbrush
or use dental f loss. Tillman stresses the
team approach, with frequent consultations with physicians, psychiatrists, physiotherapists and occupational and speech
therapists.
Tillman asks the students if they think
their patient’s physiological age matches his
chronological age. The students are hesitant
clinic cares for many patients with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, HIV or
cancer “because we’re recognized as a hub
of optimal care for medically compromised
patients,” says Ganda. “Many have one or
more disease states; many take one or more
medications.”
Since 1991, Tufts students have taken
medical classes in all four years of dental
school. The program, developed by Ganda,
survived many things, medical issues, dental issues.”
teaches students to recognize the symptoms
of common diseases, which lab tests can be
used to assess them, and the best anesthetics, analgesics and antibiotics to treat them.
Specialists from Tufts Medical Center lecture on subjects as diverse as rheumatology, cardiology, liver disease, emergency
medicine, immunology and even domestic
violence. Third-year dental students have
five weeks of rotation through 26 specialties at Tufts Medical Center and the Joslin
Diabetes Center, where they shadow clinicians and learn fi rsthand about caring for
the medically compromised patient.
“Through all four years, we include pediatric, adult and elderly populations right
off the bat,” Ganda says. “No matter what
age bracket a student is treating, he or she
needs to recognize the needs specific for
that population and apply that information to provide optimal patient care. With
patients living longer, people are coming in
on lots more medications, people who still
have viable dentition.”
With elderly patients in particular, students need to be aware of the status of the
liver, kidneys and heart and the need to alter doses of medications prescribed in the
dental setting based on those organs’ functional capacity. Students learn how elderly
patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia may
have to be managed differently. They learn
to coordinate patient care. “All the disciplines have to come together,” says Ganda.
“We do not have tunnel vision as far as patient care is concerned.”
TH E JOGG ING G R AN NY
If dental students remember nothing else
from Professor Carole Palmer’s lecture
on nutrition and aging, they remember
this: Palmer dressed in a white wig, granny glasses and sneakers taking a brisk jog
around the classroom. The character, based
Opposite page: Seungho Choi, D10, reviews a treatment plan with a
patient in Tufts’ geriatric clinic. This page: Nicholas Barone, D10, (top)
and Mary Qian, D10, (bottom) with their patients.
—hilde tillm a n
on her vibrant aunt, who lived to be 93, is a
reminder that the aging process varies from
person to person.
“Please don’t stereotype anybody,” says
Palmer, G69, N69. “Some people are very
old when they are young; some are young
when they are old. Some of it is health issues. Some of it is genetics. Some of it is
lifestyle. Some of it is attitude. A lot of it is
unknown.
“What you don’t want to do is make an
assumption based on your knowledge of
your grandmother,” she says. “There are senior citizens running marathons today.”
Palmer is not surprised when dental
students make assumptions about doddering old folks. (“When you’re twenty, fifty is
old,” she says.) Yet there are misconceptions
on both sides of the age divide. Many senior
citizens themselves believe the myths about
aging: That your mouth dries up just because you’re old. That you eventually lose
all your teeth. That once you get dentures,
you no longer need to go to the dentist.
Research in recent years has disproved
those beliefs and shown how crucial dental care is to the quality of life as we age.
Take nutrition. Thanks to Tufts researchers like Papas, we now know that missing
teeth or ill-fitting dentures can have a huge
impact on dietary quality. In collaboration with researchers from the Jean Mayer
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center
on Aging at Tufts, Papas examined the relationship between tooth loss and nutrition
in 691 elderly mostly Caucasian Bostonians.
The team asked volunteers to fill out lifestyle
surveys, which asked, among other things,
whether they wore full or partial dentures.
The researchers drew their blood and asked
them to keep three-day food diaries.
After analyzing the data, Papas and her
Tufts colleagues, including Palmer, Maureen
Rounds and Robert Russell, found that denture-wearers reported significantly more
difficulty eating. Not surprisingly, men who
wore dentures consumed far less vitamin
A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, protein
and calcium than their counterparts, while
denture-wearing women took in less calcium and protein than their peers. Worse,
a follow-up study six years later showed the
denture-wearers were more likely to have
died than those without dentures. About
80 percent of denture-wearers survived the
six-year span compared with more than 90
percent of the dentate study subjects.
Why would this be? After all, “a soft
diet can be perfectly healthy,” Palmer says.
People who have trouble chewing steak
can switch to hamburger; if raw carrots
are difficult to chew, cooked carrots will
do the job. But too often, older adults fall
into the “tea-and-toast” syndrome, where
soft foods like toast, muffi ns and donuts
become the fallback, washed down with
sips of coffee or tea. As their nutrition declines, they may start to feel more fatigued
or ill, symptoms they may write off as just
another part of getting older.
Published in the journal Special Care in
Dentistry in 1998, this landmark study underscores the importance of keeping your
teeth as long as possible.
Papas’ research has also improved our
understanding of dry mouth. Once thought
to be an inevitable result of aging, dry
mouth is most often a side effect of what
you’ll fi nd in a senior citizen’s medicine
cabinet: prescription drugs. More than 700
medications cause dry mouth, or xerostomia, the decreased salivary flow that puts
teeth at higher risk for decay. Among the
culprits are the pills commonly taken to
manage cholesterol, hypertension, asthma
and depression. In her research on medications, dry mouth and oral health in the elderly, Papas often finds it difficult to recruit
enough study subjects for her control group.
“The hardest population to fi nd is people
over 65 on no medications,” she says.
Drugs are not the only cause. For about 4
million Americans over age 40, an autoimmune disease known as Sjögren’s syndrome
is at the root of the dry mouth. The disease
causes the body to attack the tear ducts and
salivary glands, producing extreme cases of
dry eyes and dry mouth. Ninety percent of
sufferers are postmenopausal women, says
Papas, who has been researching the disorder for more than 20 years. “Many women
go years before they get diagnosed,” she says.
“It was almost unheard of when I started.”
In a normal mouth, teeth are continuously bathed in saliva, which contains
antimicrobial compounds that stave off
decay. So whether xerostomia stems from
prescription drug use or from Sjögren’s,
dry mouth leaves teeth at increased risk for
decay, especially at the roots. Additionally,
Papas says, patients with dry mouth tend to
eat more sweets—hard candy, sugared soda
or ice cream—to sooth the discomfort associated with xerostomia. To combat this
vicious cycle, Papas has been researching
ways to prevent cavities and root decay in
people suffering from dry mouth, as well as
ways to restore damaged teeth.
As part of a multi-center research project, Papas and her colleagues tested a varnish for its effectiveness in warding off
caries in dry-mouth patients. Though the
varnish—containing a chemical called
chlorhexidine—had little effect on the
crown of the teeth, it did reduce the incidence of root caries by more than 40 percent and overall decay by 25 percent. Their
work was published in 2000 in the journal
Gerontology. Papas currently has an $11
million grant to further investigate the
protective coating.
“Root decay is a huge issue in the elderly,” says Papas. “Our studies are among the
first to identify early decay and learn how to
re-mineralize” problem areas.
Since the 1980s, Papas has been investigating ways to restore teeth at risk for
decay. In 1999, she and her colleagues at
Tufts School of Dental Medicine and at the
Forsyth Institute reported in the journal
Gerodontology that toothpaste containing
soluble calcium and phosphate ions, in addition to fluoride, showed some ability to
remineralize teeth at risk for decay.
TH E ISSU E OF ACCESS
In one of her earliest research projects,
Papas screened more than 2,000 residents of
30 Massachusetts nursing homes. She found
a “huge, unmet need.” Her resulting report,
a position paper for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, led to legislation requiring
Opposite page: Quyen Tran, D10, palpates her patient’s neck,
while Jinju Song, D10, makes a notation in her chart. Above:
Ju-yong Chung, D10, examines an elderly man in the Tufts clinic.
Below: A patient’s smile says it all
oral exams for nursing home residents at
least once a year.
But 25 years later, that great need still
exists among Massachusetts’ elderly. Access
to dental care is a major issue for older
Americans. About 5 percent of the elderly
live in long-term care settings, and another
5 to 10 percent of the population is homebound. People who may have had dental
insurance through their employers typically lose it when they retire, and Medicare
does not cover dental care at all. Too often,
senior citizens forego dental visits because
of the expense.
“We focus a lot of our public health
efforts on children, which is important,
but we need to focus equally on the older
population,” says Catherine Hayes, D87,
chair of the dental school’s department of
public health and community service. “At
least children are in the system—they are
in schools, and we do school-based programs. Whereas the elders, they may be
living alone. They just may not be in the
system at all.”
Older adults are also more likely to suffer medical consequences from poor oral
health, and vice versa. Diabetics, for example, are more prone to gum disease and
abscesses. And although the causal relationship is not known, there is a reported
link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease.
“One mistake that people make—and
it’s an understandable mistake—is that if
they don’t have teeth, they don’t think they
need to go to the dentist,” Hayes says. Yet
the golden years are exactly when patients
are at increased risk for serious illnesses.
Oral cancer has a very low survival rate
relative to other types of cancer, specifically
because it is often diagnosed at the later
stages. Yet if it is detected early enough, it
is very treatable. “Even if [elderly patients]
have dentures, it is important to go back to
the dentist for routine cancer screening,
and to have them look under the denture to
make sure there are no sores or signs of oral
cancer,” she says.
Senior citizens often see their physician more than their dentist because they
do have medical coverage under Medicare.
“What would be wonderful to see is the
same coverage for dental care,” Hayes says.
But there is little promise of that in the near
future. With health issues like HIV and
cancer already competing for available resources, “oral health falls to the bottom of
the priority list,” she says.
Students at Tufts aside, dentists-intraining don’t receive enough instruction in
geriatrics, Hayes says. “It’s not a recognized
specialty like endodontics or pediatric dentistry or orthodontics. However, there is
special training you can have for geriatric
patients, which would serve anybody well.
I would say Dr. Tillman’s program is one
of the most extensive pre-doctoral geriatric
programs in a dental school.”
The goal is to take the program even
farther. Tillman has drawn up plans for
a fellowship program that would allow a
small number of students to devote a year
to geriatric dentistry. The details have all
been spelled out. All that’s needed is the
funding.
In addition, “we need to do a better job
of educating the public as a whole,” Hayes
says. “We have to have better [health] coverage for seniors. There should be coverage
for people to be able to see a dentist on a
regular basis for prevention and interventions, and hopefully those interventions
will be fewer and less complicated. What
other disease do you know that you can
completely prevent? If you do adequate
home care and make regular visits to your
dentist, you could be disease-free.”
Is the dental profession as a whole doing
a good job of caring for its elders? “Yes, but
not enough,” Tillman says. “We could do
better”—specifically, more research on geriatric treatment, and more dentists to focus
on it. Above all, “programs like this need to
continue,” she says.
Senior citizens often see their physician more than their dentist
“What would be wonderful to see
OUT IN TH E WORLD
Every Thursday, Tillman takes five thirdyear Tufts students into the community to
conduct oral health and cancer screenings
on senior citizens. They go to a different
location each week, visiting senior centers,
churches, homeless shelters and senior day
care centers around Greater Boston. They
see about 200 patients each year, and 90
percent of them need dental work.
“Some have private dentists, but most
of them do not,” Tillman says. “And unfortunately, some of the private dentists don’t
take the time that should be taken with
them.”
At an outreach in Roxbury, Mass., on a
rainy December day, several men and women have come for the screening. The students feel the lymph nodes in the neck, and
check the tongue and palate for sores. They
evaluate the dentures and partials, and even
demonstrate the right way to brush.
One of the seniors takes her dentures out
of a handkerchief in her pocket. Although
the dentures are less than two years old, she
never wears them because they are painful.
“I’m ashamed to open my mouth,” she says
as she lets one of the students examine her.
Bony protrusions in her mouth are causing
part of the problem. The possibility of surgery comes up. “Do surgery? I’m too old for
that,” she says. But she says she is willing to
visit the Tufts clinic, where she can have a
full exam and X-rays.
“The prosthesis is not as good as the natural dentition,” Tillman says. “It’s important to teach the patient very carefully what
to expect, what the limitations are, how
to adjust. There are five steps in making a
denture, so you have at least five sessions to
make the patient aware of what to expect
of their denture, just as you have to teach
somebody to use an artificial leg.”
Another patient knows she needs new
dentures: she has had the same false teeth
for 20 years. “They are worn down, down,
down,” she says. But even with the reduced
fees charged by the Tufts clinic, she is afraid
she will be unable to afford new ones.
Rattanjit Kamboj, D10, screens another
woman and finds two decayed molars.
“When you lose those, you really lose your
ability to chew,” he says later. “It’s a huge
quality-of-life problem. I told her to come
in [to the clinic], and we’ll at least tell her
what needs to be done. She says she’s having difficulties right now; she’s taking care
of her mother, who is dying. I understand
where she is coming from, but … right now
it’s a savable tooth. But if she lets it keep going, it’s going to become a hopeless tooth.
I gave her my card and a pamphlet. I hope
she comes in.”
The work can be difficult, even heartbreaking. Tillman remembers an outreach
visit to a nursing home, where the Tufts students approached a woman who was clearly
edentulous and asked if she would like to
have some teeth made.
“She looked at us with a straight face and
said, ‘I’ve been put here to die. What do I
need teeth for?’ ” Tillman says.
They continued with their screenings,
making plans for several of the other seniors
to come to Tufts for treatment. Tillman recalls: “By the time we were ready to go, the
woman called to us and said, ‘Where are all
these people going?’ I said, ‘They are going
to Tufts—would you like to come?’ ‘I think
I might.’ Well, she did come to Tufts, and
we did make dentures for her. And it was
an important point for her. All of a sudden
there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Because somebody cared, someone thought
her life mattered.”
B R ACES AT 8 0
Senior citizens today visit the dentist more
often than their parents did, so there is the
assumption that as the baby boomers age,
they will bring with them an awareness
of the importance of oral health. Tillman
wants to see more patients like the one
Caitlin White, D09, worked with in the
Professor Hilde Tillman, below right, who developed Tufts’ geriatric
dentistry program nearly 30 years ago, says the profession needs more
dentists to focus on treating the elderly. With her is Pablo Gonzalez,
D10, and his patient. Opposite page: Every Thursday, third-year students
go into the community to do oral health and cancer screenings for senior
citizens in Greater Boston.
because they do have medical coverage under Medicare.
is the same coverage for dental care.” — c at h e r i n e h a y e s
Tufts clinic. At age 84, he still has 28 of his
own teeth and is determined to keep them.
“He really takes pride in them,” White says.
“He was very curious and wanted to review
little things no one had ever gone over with
him before.” White, the daughter of two
dentists (Charon Brinning White, J74, D78,
is her mom) was glad to oblige, and the
two struck up a relationship that has lasted
long after White’s weeklong rotation in geriatric dentistry. “He brings in newspaper
clippings for me and wants to know which
mouth rinse is the best,” says White.
In addition to discussing medications
(he brought her an itemized list), they talked about lifestyle concerns such as diet and
nutrition and manual dexterity. Though
For Michael Butera, D10, working with
an older patient helped him see the meaning
of all his years of education. Among Butera’s
fi rst patients was a woman in her late 50s
with full dentures that weren’t working for
her. The lower plate slipped around in her
mouth, making it difficult for her to chew
her food. Butera thought his patient would
be happier with a new set of dentures, with
the lower plate supported by implants to
keep it fi rmly in place. The patient, who
had the implant surgery in January, loves
her new teeth. Butera is just as pleased. “We
spent the fi rst two years [of dental school]
so focused on textbooks,” he says. “It’s nice
to see that what we’ve learned can really
make a difference in people’s lives.”
he was in good overall health, he did have
one or two teeth he was in danger of losing.
Because of his age, White wanted to avoid
putting him through extensive restoration.
With her coaching and his careful attention
to her hygiene lessons, the pair was able to
keep the area of concern healthy.
Now when he comes in for his followups, he brings White a detailed list of his
oral hygiene routine. “I know he cares
about it,” says White, “and that makes me
feel good.”
A common assumption—among both
young and old—is that once the skin starts
to sag and the hair starts to gray, people
shouldn’t invest time or money in their appearance. “If somebody says to me, ‘I don’t
care how I look,’ that’s not what they mean,”
Tillman says. “I say, ‘Everybody cares. Why
wouldn’t you care?’ And they usually smile.
Of course they care. Aesthetics are important, as important as function.”
She remembers an Alzheimer’s patient she worked with some years ago, a
nursing home resident who needed dentures. Because he rarely spoke, he never said
whether he liked or even cared about his
new teeth. But then the nursing home staff
noticed something unusual: Where he used
to take his tray to his room and eat alone,
he suddenly began eating his meals in the
dining room with the other residents. On
some level, Tillman knew, his self-esteem
had received a boost.
Kanchan Ganda says she has seen more
elderly patients go beyond routine care.
“These patients feel more comfortable here
because they see the depth of patient assessment here, and they feel confident that
their needs will be optimally recognized
and managed,” she says.
An 80-year-old may choose to get braces
to straighten a smile; a 90-year-old can opt
for implants. If a patient is interested in either, “always get a consult,” Tillman tells
her students. “There is no reason why not.
Age is not an issue.”
Above all, Tillman encourages the students to advocate for their patients. “We
can maintain our mouths through our life.
That’s very important in relation to nutrition, chronic diseases, cancer. So we have a
very important contribution to make,” she
tells the students. “You’re a critical member
of the health-delivery team. Don’t forget
that. Physicians, they cannot give people
a new heart that easily, not yet. But even
when teeth are lost, we can usually restore
oral health.”
And even when longevity is in question, dental care should not be neglected.
Tillman recalls a geriatric patient who had
a malignancy. His prognosis was not good,
but he needed new dentures. The student
working with him asked Tillman for advice. “I said we’ll make him new dentures,”
she says. “Whatever comfort he gets out of
that, it’s valuable. None of us can look in the
crystal ball and see how long we can live.”
She is not sure how long he was able to enjoy
the dentures, but that wasn’t the point. “It’s
important to have them feel that we think
their life has value,” she says, “and that we’re
going to fight with them to the end.” TDM
Julie Flaherty and Jacqueline Mitchell are
senior health sciences writers in Tufts’ Office
of Publications.
What made a mild-mannered pediatric
dentist turn to a life of (literary) crime?
He Wrote
BY J U L I E F L A H E R T Y P H OTO G R A P H BY M A R K O S TOW
Joseph O’Donnell , DG74, goes
inspiration grew out of O’Donnell’s successful endeav-
by a couple of aliases these days. As “Dr. Joe” he has
or in the 1980s, with a group of medical colleagues and
compassionately cared for thousands of children in
local businessmen, to build a medical office building
his more than three decades as a pediatric dentist. But
in quiet Winchester, Mass. In the fictional account,
grown-ups may soon know him as “JP O’Donnell,” the
Jonathan Becker, a pediatrician who is “loved and re-
novelist with a taste for murder.
spected by the entire community,” is inexplicably shot
Fatal Gamble, which he published through iUni-
in the building parking lot as he arrives at work early
verse.com in December, is a detective story popu-
one morning. Then his real estate partners begin dying
lated by a corrupt politician, a cynical policeman and
mysteriously. Private investigator Daniel Gallagher is
some hard-hitting mobsters. The seemingly innocent
called in on the case.
Dr. Becker bears more than a passing resemblance to O’Donnell. They
like the same cereal, drive the same model car, listen to the same radio station
and live in the same town of Bedford, Mass. And O’Donnell, an associate clinical
professor of pediatric dentistry at Tufts Dental School, is equally esteemed by the
community. Prior to founding his thriving practices in Winchester and Reading,
he was the chief of pediatric dentistry at Tufts Medical Center, and was lauded for
his public service as the first dentist-in-chief of the Tufts Dental Facilities for persons with special needs, a program he helped develop.
What would induce a kindhearted children’s dentist to write about hitmen and
harlots? Whatever the motivation, it hasn’t gone away. O’Donnell says his second
book, Deadly Codes, a sequel published in January, is even spicier than the first.
considering the nation’s current financial
crisis. You also have a senator who solicits
bribes, not unlike what Illinois Governor Rod
Blagojevich has been accused of.
A: That’s what my editor asked: How did I
know all this was going to happen? But I am
not clairvoyant. One of the banks that loaned
us the money for the building did end up
being taken over by the FDIC, but that’s as
far as it went. I just made it up. Everything
is fiction in the book. None of us got shot,
and none of us bribed a congressman, and
none of us had a guy from Las Vegas chasing him.
TDM: But the book speaks knowingly of
mobsters, prostitutes, guns …
TDM: Have you always wanted to be a
mystery writer?
A: I did a lot of writing in my career, but
as a dentist. I wrote articles on pediatric oral
pathology and a clinical study on sealants.
I was the editor of a manual on preventive
dentistry for special needs patients. I enjoyed writing those types of articles. But
then I wrote an article on the management
of pediatric dental trauma for the Journal
of the Massachusetts Dental Society, and the
International College of Dentists recognized
that journal with the Golden Pen award. It
was so satisfying to have somebody say I was
a good writer.
So in 2006, when my wife, Ronney, and
I were vacationing at the beach in Florida, I
turned to her and said, “I think I’m going to
try something different.” And when you’ve
been married for 30 years and you tell your
wife you’re going to try something different,
it gets her attention.
TDM: Was she enthusiastic?
A: She said, “What do you know about
writing a mystery novel?” I said, “Nothing,
but I have this story about our building,
and I think I could fictionalize it.” She said,
“You’re crazy. You don’t even read mystery
books.” But she was really very supportive.
She was my main editor on the first draft of
Fatal Gamble.
I started in February of 2006, when I
came back from Florida. There are three
women working in my office who love mysteries, so I brought in the rough draft of the
first three chapters. Then it got to the point
where I would come into the office, and the
three of them would be waiting at the door:
“Did you write anything last night?” They
couldn’t wait to find out what was happening to the characters. I’d work on it every
night for three or four hours. I finished it in
about eight months.
TDM: Your real estate partnership
included a general dentist, a periodontist
and yourself, a pediatric dentist. Why did you
change them to physicians in the book?
A: When I finished my manuscript, I attended a conference on Medical Fiction
Writing for Physicians. There were 225 participants. I was the only dentist. There were
also several book agents. They all told me
the public loves to read about doctors who
have problems and doctors in trouble. They
said, “Make them all physicians—it’s a much
juicier story.”
TDM: How do you explain the dichotomy
of a cheerful, child-friendly dentist who can
also write about murder and mayhem?
A: They are separate and distinct. There is
no connection. If I was 18 years old, and I
had to start all over again, I would be a pediatric dentist. And that’s why I haven’t retired.
I just like doing it. The kids are fun, and I
still enjoy it.
TDM: Part of the book deals with the
failure of banks in the savings-and-loan
crisis of the 1980s, which is very topical
A: I made it all up. But I’ll tell you a funny
story about the guns. At one point in the
book, I wrote that someone fires a shot at
Gallagher and misses him. My editor said,
“We can’t buy your line that the bullet hit
the ceramic tile and ricocheted into the wall.
We think the bullet will pulverize the tile.”
Now, I’ve never fired a gun. I don’t know
the first thing about guns. But thank God for
Google. I went online and I typed, “How do I
find out how a .357 Magnum bullet behaves
when it hits ceramic tile?” I was referred to
the gun forum, and three people got back to
me within 24 hours. They referred me to a
guy who did not want to be identified, but
he is known in the gun forum as a guy who
performs underground ballistics tests. He
actually went out to his backyard—he must
live in a very remote area—and fired .357
Magnum bullets into different objects. And
he wrote back to me and said, “You’re right.
It’s going to ricochet.”
He also shot bullets into plastic jugs full
of water so I could see whether, when a bullet hits somebody, it goes through them or
explodes out the back. People are remarkably helpful about these things.
TDM: In the book’s acknowledgments,
you also give credit to Haig Soghigian, a
former investigator for the Treasury Department, and to Keith Kaplan of the Boston Police
Department. How did they get involved?
A: Haig I just happened to meet while
playing golf in western Massachusetts. When
I found out he was a retired U.S. Customs
Service agent, I told him about the novel I
was writing, and he offered to help. He read
the manuscript when it was really rough and
told me a lot of things about police procedure and about guns. And Keith is the son
of the woman who gives me my haircut.
Whenever I had a question I would call him.
He was great.
TDM: If you weren’t a fan of mystery
books, where did you get your inspiration
for the mystery genre? Movies or television
shows?
A: I’m not a big TV-watcher. I like films
like Heat, with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro.
That scene where they are in the diner—
that’s one of the great movie scenes. But
some other movies, like the Bourne Identity,
I find them to be ridiculously absurd. Here
he is jumping through windows and into the
water. Any normal person would be killed
instantly.
I tried to make my books believable,
although I want the reader to feel they are
escapism. Doctors aren’t being shot in
Winchester. I don’t want people to worry
about going to that building and getting in
the elevator.
TDM: What did your business partners
think when they found out you were writing
about them, and that at least some of them
would be murder victims?
TDM: What do you have in common with
your detective, Gallagher?
A: I have no gum disease or cavities. I have
one line in there for those who know I am
a dentist: “His teeth were perfect, and he
worked at keeping them that way.”
TDM: What comes next?
A: I’ve got the idea for the third book, but
I’m going to wait and see how the first two
go before I start on it.
A: I said, “None of you can take offense,
because I’m the first one to get bumped off.”
They were mostly thrilled. Jerry Murray [a
friend and periodontist] was bothered that
I named one of the bad guys after him. He
said, “Can I be another character in the
book? I’ve got grandchildren.” But then he
talked it over with his wife, and he decided
the book was going to be successful. Now he
thinks it’s terrific.
TDM: If you don’t hit the big time and
you’re just writing for your friends, would that
be enough to keep writing?
A: Probably, because it was a lot of fun.
More information on O’Donnell’s books is
available at www.jpodonnell.com.
SETTLING THE SCORE
This excerpt from JP O’Donnell’s novel, Fatal Gamble, gives a nod to his alma mater:
Jimmy’s feet were cold. He squeezed his toes back and forth
His initial, defensive instinct was to hold the thick newspaper,
to try to keep them warm. A jogger, clad in a light blue hooded
full of ads and sale brochures, in front of his face to shield himself
sweat suit with a Tufts logo on the front, ran past the Nickerson
from the bullets. But his eyes looked past the gun to the face of
home and out to the main street. Jimmy took his eyes off Barry’s
the man holding it—a face he not seen in many years, but one he
house to watch the jogger turn up the street and disappear behind
instantly recognized.
the hedges. When his gaze returned to the house, the automatic
garage door had already opened. Barry Nickerson, wearing a pair
of brown work pants and a navy blue winter parka, had emerged
“Jimmy, you old fool, what the hell are you doing?” Nickerson
blurted out incredulously.
“Just gettin’ even, Barry. Just gettin’ even for what you did to
from the garage. He walked down the driveway to retrieve the
me. I worked my ass off for you guys, and you screwed me. You
newspaper.
never gave me a chance.” Jimmy’s voice cracked with emotion,
Jimmy’s heart was racing as he got out of his car. He left
and his body trembled. His finger alternately started to squeeze
the door ajar. He walked purposefully across the street toward
and release the pressure on the trigger, trying to decide what to
Nickerson. As he moved closer, his right hand slowly came out of
do, but apparently unable to force himself to discharge the gun.
his jacket pocket and lifted the .357 Magnum revolver so that it
Barry stood frozen, now helpless to think of any action that could
aimed directly at his unsuspecting target.
deter his crazed attacker.
Barry, oblivious to the approaching danger, bent down to pick
Suddenly, a blow of enormous power to his blind side sent
up the newspaper. When he straightened up, his first glance
Jimmy Nolan’s body crashing to the driveway. His right arm flailed
caught the barrel of the gun pointed straight at him.
wildly upward. He fired a bullet harmlessly into the air.
BY JACQ U E L I N E M I TC H E L L I L LU S T R AT I O N BY DA N PAG E
Financial
Fi
i meltdown
l
iis setting people’s teeth on edge
tock market sent you into a swoon? from causing headaches to
heart disease, stress makes us sick. And one of the ways we respond to
anxiety is sleep bruxism, the unconscious nighttime tooth grinding or
clenching that can cause serious damage to oral and overall health.
Though there isn’t yet data documenting an uptick in bruxism related
to the recent economic turmoil, “we do know that heightened anxiety
and/or depression can affect tooth grinding,” says Noshir Mehta, DG73,
DI77, director of the craniofacial pain center at Tufts University School
of Dental Medicine.
At his Manhattan practice, Andrew Kaplan, D80, a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) specialist, has noticed an increase in bruxism-related
complaints, especially in men. Traditionally, women experience bruxism
four or five times as often as men. Lately, though, the men are catching
up. “It’s anecdotal,” Kaplan says, “but I think it speaks to people who have
either lost their jobs or are worried about losing their jobs, and we certainly have a lot of bankers as patients in Manhattan.”
Most people will grind their teeth at
some point during their lives, but because
the clenching and grating happens mainly
during sleep, most patients are unaware they
do it. Unless a significant other complains
about the nightly noise—which Mehta likens
to listening to someone chewing ice chips or
chomping on crackers in bed—it’s often a
dentist who identifies bruxism, which is categorized as a sleep disorder.
“People who wake up with headaches
should be examined by a dentist,” says Mehta,
who lists neck or jaw pain, tooth sensitivity
and ringing of the ears among the other telltale signs of bruxism.
A simple visual exam for distinctive patterns of wear on the teeth (the tooth edges
actually flatten) and palpating the jaw to
detect tight muscles is usually enough to
diagnose bruxism. In rare cases, Mehta has
used a sound-triggered tape recorder or observed a patient in a sleep lab to confirm the
diagnosis.
Patients who clench or grind their teeth
may exert as much as 250 pounds per square
inch of pressure on their teeth, gums and
brux in response to a life transition such as
moving, getting married or losing a job, and
intractable grinders, for whom the behavior
seems “hard-wired into the system.”
For an episodic grinder, Kaplan, who is
also an associate clinical professor at Mount
Sinai School of Medicine and an associate
attending at Mount Sinai Medical Center,
will create an appliance to “get them through
this period without hurting themselves.” A
custom-fitted night guard will keep the teeth
apart during grinding and redistribute the
forces that can be so destructive to the teeth,
gums and jaw muscles. Nightly use will also
help relax clenched jaw muscles in about 80
percent of patients, Kaplan says, reducing
further grinding.
Night guards are also a first line of defense
for intractable grinders. “These people are
really destroying their teeth,” he says. “An appliance at the very least prevents that.” Then
Kaplan may prescribe a course of physical
therapy focused on relaxing the jaw muscles
through stretching, massage and ultrasound.
Medication, including muscle relaxants to
prevent grinding and anti-inflammatories
“I think it speaks to people who
have either lost their jobs or are
worried about losing their jobs,
and we certainly have
a lot of bankers as
patients in Manhattan.”
ANDREW KAPLAN, D80
jaws, resulting in chipped or broken teeth,
gingivitis and receding gum lines. If the
bruxing continues, patients can develop
arthritis and inflammation, and the temporomandibular joint in the jaw can start to
degenerate.
Preventing initial damage to oral tissues
is usually a dentist’s first priority.
Kaplan, a former president of the
American Academy of Orofacial Pain, distinguishes between episodic grinders, who
like ibuprofen to stave off discomfort and
damage to the TMJ, may be in order.
While stress is known to trigger bruxism
in many people, so are some of the most
common remedies for anxiety and depression. Some selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac have been found
to cause grinding, as have some herbal remedies and even small quantities of alcohol.
For his patients using SSRIs, Kaplan works
closely with the prescribing psychiatrist to
find a more suitable medication. Kaplan is
treating one patient who grinds to cope with
her pre-nuptial jitters with a low dose of
Valium. “It’s an old medication, but it works
nicely,” he says. Mehta also advocates stress
reduction techniques, including biofeedback
and relaxation training.
However, oral orthopedist Harold Gelb,
D47, argues that dentists focus too much on
stress as the cause of bruxism. A former president of the American Equilibration Society
and the American Academy of Orofacial
Pain, Gelb believes that grinding and clenching is orthopedic in nature, resulting from
misaligned jaws as well as muscles in the
head and neck.
The founder of Tufts’ Gelb Craniomandibular and Orofacial Pain Center, Gelb
analyzes three-dimensional images of a patient’s jaw to determine the exact misalignment, which he corrects with a specialized
night guard invented by his son, Michael,
who practices with him in New York City.
The appliance was designed to reduce snoring by keeping the tongue and jaw properly
aligned. It also relieves TMJ disorders and
prevents grinding. “The moment they put
it in, they stop hurting, and the muscles become stronger,” says Gelb.
But whether orthopedic misalignment
or tension is at the root of bruxism, Gelb,
Kaplan and Mehta agree that each case demands comprehensive and specific care.
“All patients need to be worked up properly, and a proper diagnosis needs to be
made,” says Kaplan. “We can’t just label patients as a TMJ case when it might be a much
more complex problem.”
Mehta agrees: “If you can target a patient’s individual behavior, then you can reduce grinding significantly, if not eliminate
it completely.”
So if the roller-coaster economy has you
gnashing your teeth at night, see your dentist. And then relax. Kaplan recalls a more
severe increase in bruxism in his patients
in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on
September 11. “It was an extremely stressful time, but complaints died down within
three or four months. People tend to adapt
to change.” TDM
Jacqueline Mitchell, a senior health
sciences writer in Tufts University’s Office
of Publications, can be reached at jacqueline.
[email protected].
on campus
DENTAL SCHOOL NEWS
Halfway There
School expansion project headed to a November dedication by Jacqueline Mitchell
H
igh over kneeland street, more than
1,700 new window panes gleam in the midwinter sun from the five new floors atop the
dental school tower. Although the building
is still girdled with staging, and a busy cargo elevator makes
dozens of trips each day up and down the Washington Street
side of the school, the expansion project is officially halfway
done. A dedication ceremony is slated for November 20.
Some 1,400 tons of concrete and 1,200 pieces of steel
went into the construction of the new floors at Tufts
University School of Dental Medicine, which now rises 15
stories above the Boston skyline.
With the installation of the window panes over winter
break, the new space is essentially enclosed. “That transitions the job from one of steel and mechanical systems to
one of an interior fit-up job,” says A. Joseph Castellana,
executive associate dean. That means the 130 workers on
site each day are busy wiring, plumbing and installing sheet
rock in the new space, starting on the twelfth floor and
making their way up to the fifteenth. Continued on page 30
ON CAMPUS
(The building’s mechanical systems are
housed on the ninth and tenth floors, while
the eleventh floor will remain as shell space
to accommodate future growth.) New carpeting, furniture, operatories and other
equipment are on order.
In February, workers were also scheduled to complete construction on the stairway connecting the new floors to each other
and to the rest of the dental tower. Known
as Stair 5, the glassed-in staircase at the corner of Kneeland and Washington streets
will let lots of light into the school, while
lending a more open feeling to that busy urban intersection. At the end of the month,
two of the new high-speed elevators were
scheduled to begin shuttling to all 15 floors,
while the last two old elevators were closed
for refitting. All four should be in service
late this summer.
“Overall, we are slightly ahead of schedule by a couple of weeks,” says Castellana.
Meanwhile, renovations are taking place
on the old floors as well. The windows on
the Kneeland Street side of the building are
being replaced to give the front of the dental school a uniform look. The lower floors
will also be retrofitted to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
The construction “has been a lot less disruptive than I ever imagined for students
and for patients,” says Mark Gonthier, associate dean for admissions and student affairs, who acknowledged the real challenges
may lie ahead as students, faculty and clinic
patients move into the new 95,000-squarefoot space over winter break at the end of
this year. To keep the school community informed about the progress of construction,
Gonthier has been leading monthly tours,
taking small groups of students, faculty, staff
and alumni up on the roof of the building.
School administrators are also giving
thought to how the existing seven floors of
the dental tower will be reconfigured once
the new addition is ready for occupancy to
achieve the best balance of clinics, classrooms, labs and offices. The renovation of
the existing space probably will be done
over several years because of the economic
downturn and to minimize disruption of
patient care and the educational process, according to Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80.
The expansion project
as seen from the
corner of Kneeland and
Washington Streets.
Peter Brodeur says “students
know when instructors care.”
Well Taught, Well Learned
Students say pathologist is a star in the classroom
by Leslie Macmillan
mmunology might not rank as one
of the more scintillating courses a student takes during four years of dental
education—unless the class is taught
by Peter Brodeur. Immunology is a subject that is “easy to make interesting,” says
Brodeur, whom the Class of 2011 honored
as Professor of the Semester for his ability to
make the science sizzle.
The class presented him with a certificate,
I
PHOTO: JOANIE TOBIN
dozens of hand-written notes commending his teaching abilities and a gift certificate for a French restaurant in Boston.
“Immunology FINALLY makes sense!” one
student wrote.
The award “is our attempt to honor a
professor who went the extra mile to ensure
the students’ mastery of subject material,”
says Ross Icyda, the class president.
Brodeur, an associate professor of
pathology who has been on the Tufts faculty
since 1985, says that he is lucky enough to
teach a course that is inherently interesting
and relevant. “I get a lot of satisfaction out
of getting people excited about immunology,” he says. “It has so much relevance to
so many different diseases—periodontal
and autoimmune diseases, immunizations.
It touches on HIV-AIDS. It’s one of those
medically important and far-reaching topics. And it’s also pretty neat. It forms a good
story.”
The “story” comes together easily, says
Brodeur, because “in immunology, everything is so connected. As long as the instructor is linking everything, the students
get something out of it.”
Brodeur, who is vice chair of the curriculum committee at Tufts School of Medicine,
says he has worked to reduce the role of
rote memorization in his courses and to
“provide a concrete framework for students.” He served on the American Dental
Association’s Microbiology/Pathology Test
Construction Committee from 1996 to
2000, and was responsible for immunology
questions on the dental boards.
“Dr. Brodeur was a natural choice [for
the award] because his excitement for immunology and dedication to inspiring students with the same enthusiasm could be
easily seen and felt,” says Farah Assadipour,
D11 class secretary. “His willingness and
ability to approach the material from multiple angles, dedicating many additional
hours in review sessions, bolstered students’
interest in and mastery of immunology.”
This is not Brodeur’s first teaching award.
In 2003 he received the Dental Dean’s Award
for Excellence in Basic Science Teaching.
He also runs his own research lab, where he
studies antibody genes. The ability of the
body to create billions of gene combinations to make antibodies is, Brodeur says,
“an interesting genetic trick.”
“One of the fundamental questions of
immunology is how you can make so many
antibodies,” says Brodeur, who uses a combination of gene mapping and transgenic
and cell culture models to understand the
signaling pathways and transcriptional
regulation required to orchestrate the genetic mechanism. He has trained six Ph.D.
Continued on page 32
ON CAMPUS
Leaders of the Pack
L
eadership comes naturally for some people.
Meghann Dombroski, D10, was president of her
high school class and took on several leadership
roles in college. She later vowed, “I am not doing
this in dental school.” That promise lasted about two years.
And because of her lack of willpower, for the first time
in dental school history, two women—Dombroski and Inga
Keithly, D12—are serving as class presidents.
The women emphasize that they and their executive councils work as teams to represent their classes. The D10 council
has helped seniors with their licensing exams; seniors typically
have to find their own assistants for the exams. To save reluctant spouses and roommates from being pressed into service,
the council came up with a program that pairs seniors with
second-year students willing to lend a hand.
“Karma is very crucial in dental school,” Dombroski says.
“We helped the D08s, hoping that the D12s will do the same
for us. It’s trickled down because the D11s are helping the
D09s.” That same message is reflected in the fundraising and
community service initiatives the class has undertaken. “The
more you give, the more you are going to get back. We’ve really
been trying to preach that as a class,” she says.
Balancing her leadership responsibilities with her class
work was not as anxiety-filled as you might think, in part because she saved her deepest concern for her husband, Aaron,
a soldier who was deployed in Iraq her entire sophomore year.
“It really put things in perspective for me,” she says. “The
least of the problems in my life was a 50-question quiz.”
If the Class of 2012 has a legacy, Keithly says, it may be
as the technology class. They petitioned, with the Class of
2011, to get wireless Internet access in Merritt Auditorium
(they got it over the winter break) and are continuing to
advocate for video captures of the more difficult classes. With
the video capture, “you’re able to ‘pause’ your professor and
candidates at Tufts and is currently working
with his seventh.
Brodeur received his Ph.D. in immunology in 1980 from Tufts, where he met fellow immunology student and future wife,
Margot O’Toole, an immunologist at Wyeth.
The couple has three sons, one who graduated from Tufts in 2003 and is in law school,
and two who are currently undergraduates
at Tufts.
In a note to his students after he won the
award, Brodeur wrote: “Margot and I will
For the first time in school history,
two women, Inga Keithly, D12,
left, and Meghann Dombroski, D10,
are serving as class presidents.
write your notes,” she says.
At age 35, Keithly had some unique experiences to bring
to the role of president. She spent seven years as a high
school English teacher in Hawaii before moving to Boston and
starting a women’s health network company. It was that job
that introduced her to some “very cool dentists,” and sparked
her interest in the profession. She sees the presidency as a
bonus because she has connected with her classmates in a
way she never would have otherwise.
But if you want to talk about struggles, Keithly can tell you
about training for the 2009 Boston Marathon as part of the
Tufts team. For the San Diego native, navigating the glaciers
shrouding Boston’s sidewalks—now that’s a challenge.
—Julie Flaherty
give a hearty toast to D11 when we enjoy
dinner at Pigalle with your generous gift
card (I am told that it is a very romantic
restaurant).” He also thanked them for their
personal messages.
“The best part of the award was the 80
or so personal notes. That’s what I’ll frame
and put up,” Brodeur says. “It’s a nice sentiment—that your hard work has not gone
unnoticed. And students know when instructors care,” he says. “They know when
you want them to learn, rather than just
presenting the material and leaving it up to
them.”
Brodeur says the students give him a lot
in return. “As teachers, we get older every
year, but the students are always the same
age. Every year I get to look out and see fresh
faces.”
Brodeur is only the second recipient of
the Teacher of the Semester Award, which
was established in 2007. The award, he says,
not only recognizes that a subject has been
well taught, but well learned.
disorders, methamphetamine is relatively
easy to concoct from household items such
as cold medicine, iodine and ammonia.
Known as “meth,” “ice” or “crank,” the
powerfully
addictive drug can be snorted,
Dentists are among the first health professionals to spot
injected, smoked or eaten, and the resultsubstance abuse by Jacqueline Mitchell
ing high may last four to 12 hours, during
which time the user is unlikely to eat, sleep
or hydrate, all of which are needed to mainentists may not seem the
tain good oral health.
One particularly problematic side effect
likeliest of candidates to be on
Drug abuse poses other problems in the
of stimulants like methamphetamines and
the frontlines of identifying drug
dentist’s office. Dentists should be aware of
cocaine is severe dry mouth, or xerostomia.
abuse trends, but that’s what
potentially dangerous drug interactions,
Without the continual flow of naturally anhappened in the early 2000s, when practiespecially with respect to anesthesia, sedatibacterial saliva, drug users are at increased
tioners in the Southwest alerted authorities
tives or nitrous oxide. Methamphetamine is
risk of developing cavities. To relieve the dry
to a potential epidemic of methamphetparticularly problematic because it remains
mouth, and to sate attendant sugar cravings,
amine addiction.
in the system longer than other recreational
drug users often drink lots of soda, which
Oral health is a strong indicator of overdrugs. Another type of patient dentists may
further contributes to decay. And the hyall health, so when the dentists in that reneed to treat with special care is the recovperactivity associated with stimulant drugs
gion saw a sudden spike in patients with exering addict, for whom prescription painmay manifest in the form of teeth gnashing
treme decay, they had a hunch
killers may trigger a relapse. For
that the culprit was more than
those patients, Vankevich sugbad oral hygiene.
gests prescribing non-opiate
The onset of decay had
painkillers such as ibuprofen. “I
been rapid, between six and 12
look at [drug use] from a riskmonths, and they suspected a
management perspective,” says
dangerous cause: addiction to
Vankevich. “If we are going to
methamphetamines, a potent,
render care to patients, we want
cheap and highly addictive
to make sure whatever we do is
drug, says Paul J. Vankevich,
to the benefit of that patient.”
D81, an assistant professor of
And, Vankevich notes, dengeneral dentistry who gave a
tists and dental staffs should
lecture at the dental school on
be wary of the so-called “drugdrug-abusing patients.
shopper,” prescription drug
With more than 22 million
abusers who obtain multiple
Americans struggling with drug
prescriptions from multiple
or alcohol dependency, dentists
health-care providers. Drug
are indispensable in spotting
shoppers may show up at odd
signs of addiction in their pahours, ask for drugs by name
tients. “This is relevant to all of
and have the potential to beus practicing clinical dentistry
come violent if refused. With
pau l j . va n k e v i c h
today,” says Vankevich. “This is
an estimated 2,500 drug shopa special category of patients
pers in Massachusetts alone, lowe are going to encounter whether we like
cal dentists should be prepared for such an
or grinding. All these behaviors often result
it or not.”
encounter, Vankevich says.
in a telltale pattern of extreme decay.
Those in the grips of addiction may not
While drug use overall is on the decline
Despite the attention-grabbing side
give priority to routine brushing and flossin the United States, methamphetamine
effects of methamphetamine abuse,
ing or eating a healthy diet. And when subuse and abuse has surged in recent years.
Vankevich notes that far greater numbers
stance abusers fall or pass out, they often
of people die of tobacco-related illnesses
Federal and local statistics describe a public
break teeth or damage oral tissues. “The
than from drugs each year, and that tobacco
health threat marching west to east across
addict’s lifestyle is inconsistent with mainthe country.
is a gateway to substance abuse. “We need
taining human dentition,” Vankevich says.
A derivative of amphetamine, a stimuto engage diplomatically with our patients,
“We certainly should be aware of what our
lant prescribed to combat fatigue, depresconduct thorough exams and apply appropatients are taking.”
priate interventions,” he says.
sion, obesity, narcolepsy and attention
WARNING SIGNS
D
“The addict’s lifestyle is
inconsistent with maintaining
human dentition.”
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
ON CAMPUS
Welcome
to Tufts
The School of Dental Medicine
hosted its 7th annual Family
Welcome Day on August 6, 2008.
Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow
brought greetings from the university to the entering students and
their families. Because the event
has grown in popularity, the morning
assembly was moved to the Shubert
Theater, followed by lunch at the
Courtyard by Marriott on Tremont
Street.
Then the new students went on
to register for classes, while their
parents and other family members
enjoyed campus tours and participated in the first-ever parentto-parent panel discussion, which
featured two sets of parents of
currently enrolled students as well
as four course directors and a clinic
administrator. The day concluded
with a reception in Posner Hall.
More than 450 attended the
event, including 42 Class of 2011
orientation volunteers, which was
a record.
This page, top: Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80;
Virginia Shahinian, D77, DG79; Rustam DeVitre,
DG76, DI77; Adrina DeVitre, D12; and Tufts
President Lawrence S. Bacow; middle: Alemtu
Hassain and her granddaughter, Helen Fassil,
A05, G07, D12; John Ficarelli, D73, president of
the Dental Alumni Association; Hirut Fassil, A07;
and Tadelech Asfaw, Helen Fassil’s mom; bottom:
Sonia Arevalo Vasquez, D12. Opposite page, top:
Halina Ogledzka, Marek Ogledzki, D12, Davina
Wheeler, and Jerzy Ogledzki; middle: Jessica
Pushee, D12, with her parents, Laura and Michael
Pushee; bottom: Joanne Ferrick, Bradford Ferrick,
Carolyn Ferrick, D12, and David Ferrick.
PHOTOS: J.D.SLOAN
YOU HAVE ACCESS
TO FIRST-RATE
BIOPSY SERVICE
ufts’ oral pathology services (tops) has
always provided a top-notch biopsy service for
oral and maxillofacial pathology. But in the past
year and a half, according to Dean Lonnie H.
Norris, DG80, the number of specimens sent to the service has tripled. One reason for the clinic’s success, says
Michael Kahn, professor and chair of oral and maxillofacial pathology and director of TOPS, is that the process is
now “clinician-friendly, staff-friendly and client-friendly.
We’ve made it as user-friendly as possible.”
Kahn has made several key improvements to the service since he became department chair and lab director in
July 2006, including contracting with an overnight courier
service. “It’s not cool to have a biopsy specimen sitting in
the U.S. mail somewhere,” says Kahn. “All you have to do
is think of yourself and if you were on the waiting end of a
diagnosis. You would want to know.”
TOPS now offers free local and nationwide courier pickup of specimens via Federal Express, 24-hour turnaround,
diagnosis of radiographs or glass microscope slides submitted from other pathology services and detailed written
reports. The level of detail contained in the reports is particularly important, Kahn says, because it enables doctors to
convey vital health information to their patients.
“The doctors need prompt and accurate support from
the pathologist so that when the patient starts firing questions, the doctor can answer them,” says Kahn.
TOPS offers biopsy, cytology and culture-sensitivity
testing. In addition to processing standard formal and fixed
biopsy specimens, TOPS also offers liquid-based cytology
procedures (SurePath®) and the rendering of a microscopic
diagnosis.
Kahn says that the expertise of the clinicians, Lynn
Solomon and Michael Hall, has also contributed to the service’s success. TOPS clinicians are diplomates, and as faculty of the dental school, their expertise covers all aspects
of oral and maxillofacial pathology, clinical management
of oral disease, forensic dentistry, basic science and clinical
research.
“People appreciate that we’re a resource in our discipline,” says Kahn. “Tufts really does care about the patient
and the doctor. And I think that’s why we’ve gained the
reputation we have.”
To order no-cost biopsy and cytology kits, call
617.636.6510 or toll-free 866.670.8677. Provide your name,
address and phone number, and you will receive your kits
the next business day.
—Leslie Macmillan
T
ON CAMPUS
DEAN’S MEDAL
Thomas F. Winkler III, A62, D66, D10P, received the Dean’s Medal
integrity and dedication. His passion for the dental profession is
during the annual Toast to Tufts event on September 5. The medal,
matched by his passion for the School of Dental Medicine. He gives
which was presented by Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, honors those
much of himself and inspires and expects others to do the same.”
who exemplify the ideals Tufts seeks to instill in its students.
Family members who attended included Winkler’s wife, Barbara
Kay, D71, Elizabeth Jones, D10, Kevin Jones, Mary Levine, Andy
Winkler, David Winkler and Marina Winkler.
Since graduating from Tufts Dental School, Winkler has been a
faculty member for more than 30 years. He has been a university
trustee since 1999 and currently chairs the dental school’s Board of
Overseers.
The Dean’s Medal citation reads, in part, “A role model to many,
he has fostered compassion and professionalism in our students.
From left, Dean’s Medal recipient
Thomas F. Winkler III, Robert E.
Hunter, D63, a dental overseer,
and Dean Lonnie H. Norris.
Classmates, colleagues and students cite his thoughtfulness,
NOTEWORTHY
Danielle Christie is the new staff
assistant in the School of Dental
Medicine’s admissions office.
Christie earned her bachelor’s
degree in English at Gettysburg
College in Pennsylvania, where
she worked in the off-campus
study office. In her new role
at Tufts, she oversees the processing of all applications to
the D.M.D. program, as well as
provides administrative oversight
for the admissions office.
More than 60 runners and
walkers from Tufts Dental School
participated in the 2008 Komen
Race for the Cure on September
7, raising more than $3,000 for
the fight against breast cancer.
Top finishers for the Tufts Dental
Team in the 5K race included:
Michael Brown Dowling, D09,
17:01 and 5th overall; Nathan
Clem, D11, 17:38, 6th overall;
Nicholas Gordon, D12, 19:11,
19th overall; Liz Turner, D11,
19:38, 26th overall; and Derek
Nobrega, D12, finished the
course in 20:49 for 41st overall.
Twelve Tufts Dental runners finished in the top 100. Samir Patel,
D10, Michael Butera, D10, and
Liz Turner, D11, organized the
Tufts team.
Two Tufts dental students
and an alumnus spoke about
their research experiences at
the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) in Bethesda, Md., during a
presentation at the dental school
in December. Edward Lahey,
D00, participated in the Clinical
Research Training Program after
his third year of dental school.
After graduating from Tufts, he
went on to complete the six-year
M.D. Oral Surgery Program at
Harvard/Massachusetts General
Hospital, where he now serves as
an attending on a part-time basis.
Samantha Jordan, D11, is in
the midst of a yearlong research
training program sponsored by the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute/
NIH Research Scholars Program,
and Hubert Park, D11, participated in the National Institute of
Dental and Craniofacial Research
(NIDCR) summer program last
year. All three of these programs
attract applications from the best
and brightest students in the
country.
Todd Walker, D10, received
a second-place award for his
research on “Effect of Adhesive
System and Composite Type
on Dentin Bonds” at the 2008
ADA/Dentsply Student Clinician
Research Program during the
American Dental Association’s
annual meeting in San Antonio,
Texas, last October. The Student
Clinician Research Program
provides the opportunity for a
student from each accredited
dental school in the United States
and Puerto Rico to receive an
expense-paid trip to participate in
the ADA’s scientific session and
to compete for awards. Walker
was selected to attend the ADA
session because his project won
the Best Overall Pre-doctoral
Table Clinic Award at the School
of Dental Medicine’s 2008
Bates-Andrews Research Day.
His research mentor for the
project was Gerard Kugel,
associate dean for research
and professor of prosthodontics
and operative dentistry.
PHOTO: TIFFANY KNIGHT
COMMENCEMENT
Off and Running
on carmichael quad, 174 members of the class of d08 became doctors
of dental medicine during commencement ceremonies last May 18. Dean
Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, commended the class for its dedication to excellence and for its commitment to deliver care to the underserved, from the
neighborhoods of Boston to developing nations around the world. He also
urged the new graduates to maintain their ties to Tufts School of Dental
Medicine. “We were fortunate to have had you,” he said. “Help us continue
to be a leading dental school.”
The new graduates also honored their classmate, Edilene Chaves
Evangelista, who died in a car accident in December 2006. Evangelista’s
husband, Sirlei, and their young daughter accepted her diploma.
Aaron Sheinfeld, D09, and Marcelo Suzuki, both assistant professors
of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, received the Dean’s Award for
Excellence in Clinical Teaching. Anthony Silvestri, E69, a clinical professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, shared the Dean’s Award
for Excellence in Pre-clinical Teaching with eight-time winner Charles
H. Rankin, D79, DG86, D08P, a professor of endodontics. The Dean’s
Award for Excellence in Basic
Science Teaching went to Alvar
Marty R. Montgomery
Gustafson, an associate profesreceives his diploma.
sor of anatomy, and the Provost’s Award for Outstanding
Teaching and Service went to
Petros Damoulis, DG91, D05,
professor of periodontology.
In addition to the new
D.M.D.s, 17 students were
awarded master’s degrees, and
46 received postgraduate certificates and fellowships. The
ceremony ended with James
B. Hanley, D75A, DG79, the
dental school’s associate dean
for clinical affairs, leading the
graduates as they recited the
dental graduate oath.
At the all-university commencement earlier in the day,
award-winning journalist and
television host Meredith Vieira, J75, urged members of the Class of 2008 to
listen to their own voices and to believe in themselves. “You have an internal
compass,” she said. “I would urge you to follow it.”
Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow presented honorary degrees to
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver; Steven S. Manos, retired executive vice president of Tufts; Robert S. Schwartz, deputy editor of The
New England Journal of Medicine and former professor at Tufts University
School of Medicine; Susan Rodgerson, founder of Artists for Humanity;
and Donald E. Wilson, M62, senior vice president of health sciences at
Howard University.
Tufts’ 2009 commencement will take place on Sunday, May 17, starting
at 9 a.m. on the Medford/Somerville campus.
2008 POSTGRADUATES
In addition to the students pursuing their D.M.D.
degrees, another 100 students are enrolled in the
dental school’s postgraduate certificate and fellowship
programs, which prepare them for specialty practice.
The 2008 graduates were:
CRANIOMANDIBULAR
DISORDERS
AND OROFACIAL PAIN
Khlood A. Arab
Georgios Kanavakis
Reem H. Nowailaty
ENDODONTICS
Monaf Alyassi
Meghan M. Clark, D06
Zachary T. Dodson
Katherine L. Fry
Maryanne K. Irwin, D05
Milos R. Janicek
ORAL SURGERY AND
PROSTHODONTICS
Takayoshi Suda, DG07
ORTHODONTICS
Mohamad R. Alolabi
Michael P. DiMarzio
Sara Ghassemi
Deborah A. Sorrentino, D06
Kristin L. Huber, D06
Elexis Elon Joffre, D05
Nina S. Khedkar, A02, D06
Shalev Sabari, D06
ESTHETIC DENTISTRY
Nurin S. Jaffer, D07
Mamoru Tanaka
PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY
Hèctor R. Martìnez
Hassan Moeinzad, DI03
Gisela M. Velàsquez, DG06
GENERAL PRACTICE
RESIDENCY
I-Fang Y. Chen
Xiaojing Li
Yi-Wei Liu
Annika Marschall
Lidia Tekle
Hana Sadi
PERIODONTOLOGY
Khalid A. Al-Hezaimi
Michael Cwiklinski
Jonell K. Hopeck, J01
Yong Hur
Hiroyasu Shimizu
Julia R. Sivitz, D05
IMPLANT DENTISTRY
Fadi Alh Rashi
Maria Ftouli
Jong Il Park
ORAL AND
MAXILLOFACIAL
SURGERY
Neophytos Demetriades
Amir Naimi
Ryan Abdool
PROSTHODONTICS
Maria Chartzoulakis, D04
Moftah El-Ghadi
Hyejin Kwak, D05
Hamilton Hoai Le, D05
Athanasios Stratos
ON CAMPUS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The post-graduation pursuits of the Class of 2008
ARIZONA
Timothy Johnson
AEGD, Lutheran Medical Center, Tucson
Mark Larsen
Private Practice, Tucson
Ryan Larsen
AEGD, Lutheran Medical Center, Tucson
Wendy Muscier
AEGD, Indian Health Service Clinic,
Winslow
Christopher Sandvi
AEGD, Indian Health Service Clinic,
Winslow
CALIFORNIA
Pamela Abraham
Private Practice, Los Angeles
Julia Benson
Postgraduate Program in Oral
Pathology, University of California,
San Francisco
Gonzalo Braunthanl
Private Practice, Southern California
Keumkang Choi
Private Practice
Franklin Cordero
Private Practice
Viet Dinh
Brian Green
Private Practice, Irvine
Lee Hanson
Private Practice, San Diego
Kevin Huang
GPR, West Los Angeles VA Medical
Center
Steve Huang
Private Practice, Los Angeles
Sheila Inalou
Private Practice
Aaron Khaira
Private Practice, San Francisco
Theresia Laksmana
Postgraduate Program in
Periodontology, University of Southern
California
Gregory Le
U.S. Army Captain, Fort Irwin
Jenny Liang
AEGD, U.S. Navy, Camp Pendleton
Allan Pang
GPR, Sepulveda VA Medical Center,
Los Angeles
Celine Pham
Michelle Ray
Private Practice
Bindya Reddy
Private Practice
John Rezaei
Prosthodontics, Loma Linda University
Lorie Rivero
Private Practice
Susana Verbis
Private Practice
Jennifer Kang
Staff Dentist, U.S. Army, Fort Gordon
CANADA
Gurfateh Sandhu
Private Practice, Ontario
Matthew Downey
AEGD, Lutheran Medical Center,
Honolulu
COLORADO
ILLINOIS
Lauren Gulka
Postgraduate Program in Pediatrics,
Children’s Hospital, Denver
Aleksandr Lutskiy
Private Practice
Matthew Mower
AEGD, U.S. Military
Stephanie Nelms
Private Practice, Fort Collins
Young Stebbins-Han
Postgraduate Program in Orthodontics,
University of Colorado
Jade-Lin Wong
AEGD, Fort Carson
CONNECTICUT
Claudia Maiolo
Postgraduate Program in Pediatrics/
MPH, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Amanda Peer
University of Connecticut
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Matthew Stratmeyer
AEGD, Bolling Air Force Base
FLORIDA
Eric Appelin
GPR, Malcolm Randall VA Hospital,
Gainesville
Warren Jones
Private Practice, South Florida
Claudia Martinez
National Health Science Corps Scholar
Gregory Pette
Periodontology/M.S., Nova
Southeastern University
Austin Webb
Private Practice, Gainesville
GEORGIA
Charles Chung
Private Practice, Atlanta
Miles Cone
Prosthodontics, U.S. Army, Augusta
Fields Farrior
Private Practice, Atlanta
GERMANY
Susannah Mitchell
U.S. Army
HAWAII
Sumit Chawla
GPR, Illinois Masonic Hospital
Kelly Wojcicki
GPR, Evanston Northwestern Hospital
Sahand Zomorrodian
Prosthodontics, University of Illinois
at Chicago
INDIANA
Hemjeet Bedi
GPR, Indiana University
MASSACHUSETTS
Jonathan Albaugh
AEGD, Lutheran Medical Center, Boston
Zeina Armoush
Boston University
Nastela Babo
Private Practice
Marjorie Baptiste
Periodontology, Tufts University School
of Dental Medicine
Patricia Benton
GPR, Boston University
Heidi Birnbaum
Private Practice, Wellesley
Maranda Bliss
Private Practice
Daniel Callahan
GPR, University of Massachusetts,
Worcester
Caroline Ceneviz
Faculty, Tufts University School of
Dental Medicine
Guimy Cesar
Private Practice
David Chang
Postgraduate Program in Oral Surgery,
Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine
Eunis Choi
Kelly Dezura
Oral Surgery Fellowship, Boston
Medical Center
Katayoon Dorosti
Medicine
Susana Ferreira
Faculty, Tufts University School of
Dental Medicine
Gaganpreet Gill
Private Practice
Joyce Gitangu
Private Practice, Boston
Winna Goldman
Postgraduate Program in Endodontics/
M.S., Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine
Sophana Hem
Prosthodontics, Tufts University School
of Dental Medicine
Tony Hill
Private Practice, Amherst
Jennifer Ji-Min Hong
Postgraduate Program in Endodontics,
Harvard University
Matthew Horan
Public Health
Sarah Hoye
Private Practice, Douglas
Sookyung Jun
GPR, Cambridge Health Alliance/
Harvard University
Yoon Henry Kang
Private Practice
Daniel Kazachkov
Private Practice
Jin Kim
Private Practice
Arathi Kumble
Private Practice
Jung Ho Lee
Private Practice
Cindy Leung
Medicine
Nancy Machemer
Private Practice
Britta Magnuson
Private Practice
Shawn Marsh
Oral Surgery Fellowship,
Massachusetts General Hospital
Lindsey McElligott
Private Practice
Zuzana Mendez
Private Practice
Nicholas Miller
Private Practice
Kanchan Pande
Private Practice
Jae Yeon Park
Private Practice
Lily Parsi
Private Practice
Bhumi Patel
Private Practice
Parita Patel
Shivani Patel
Private Practice
Aparna Pathak
Private Practice
Bradford Pinkos
Private Practice
Kerith Rankin
Private Practice
Michelle Roberts
Medicine
Vijitha Sanam
Private Practice
Moataz Shaban
Private Practice
Ninaz Shiva
Private Practice
SeungHee Song
Private Practice
Sarah Stipho
Periodontology, Tufts University School
of Dental Medicine
Leyla Tabesh
Private Practice
Aphrodite Tantiras
Private Practice
Chuanjun Wu
Private Practice
Tae Rim Yoon
Medicine
Nermine Zaki
Private Practice
MICHIGAN
Joffre Martin
Private Practice
MISSOURI
Suveetha Kavidass
GPR, St. John’s Mercy Hospital,
St. Louis
NORTH CAROLINA
Colby Cockrell
Private Practice, Wilmington
Adam DiVincenzo
GPR, Navy Dental Clinic, Camp Lejeune
Timothy Swing
Private Practice
Jeffrey West
Private Practice
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Matthew Anderson
Community Health Center, Portsmouth
Melissa Dennison
Private Practice
NEW YORK
Jennifer Blair
Montefiore Medical Center
Jason Chao
GPR, Lutheran Medical Center,
Brooklyn
Sanjeet Chaudhary
GPR, Montefiore Medical Center
Sun Hae Choi
GPR, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Calley Christie
GPR, Mary Immaculate Hospital,
Jamaica
C L A S S O F 20 0 8 D I S T RI BUT I ON
FLORIDA 2%
MIDWEST 5%
MOUNTAIN STATES 6%
INTERNATIONAL 1%
SOUTH 12%
NEW ENGLAND 39%
Kathrina Delima
GPR, Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn
Amit Dogra
GPR, Flushing Hospital Medical Center
Alison Gomes
GPR, SUNY Upstate Medical Center
Dilshan Gunawardena
Postgraduate Program in Oral Surgery,
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Andrew Han
Periodontology, Columbia University
Amy Honig
New York University
Ann Hua
Angela Ishak
AEGD, Lutheran Medical Center,
Brooklyn
Kanchi Kapadia
Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn
Benjamin Karabell
Min Jung Kim
AEGD, Columbia University
DongJin Lee
GPR, New York Presbyterian, Cornell
University
Elizabeth Lee
John Lee
GPR, Brooklyn Hospital Center
Susan Liem
GPR, New York Hospital, Queens
Jordan Lissauer
GPR, Coler-Goldwater Memorial
Hospital, New York City
Alexander Moheban
GPR, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Quan Nghiem
Uchenna Nweze
GPR, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
Anthony Palumbo
Periodontology, State University of New
York, Stony Brook
Ameeta Sachdev
GPR, Our Lady of Mercy Medical
Center, Bronx
Arun Singh
GPR, New York Hospital, Queens
Jennifer Woods
AEGD, Lutheran Medical Center
OHIO
Lily Lee
Private Practice
Ryan Murphy
AEGD, U.S. Air Force, Wright Patterson
Air Force Base, Dayton
WEST COAST 16%
OREGON
Paul Brooks Noland
Private Practice, Portland
Rebecca Seppala
Private Practice, Portland
PENNSYLVANIA
Janice Choi
Private Practice, Philadephia
Marty Montgomery
Temple University
Keyur Patoliya
Private Practice
RHODE ISLAND
Seth Bozarth
GPR, Navy Dental Clinic, Newport
John Cabrera
AEGD, Providence VA Medical Center
Teresa Moniz
GPR, Rhode Island Hospital,
Providence
Jordana Werba
Private Practice
TEXAS
Carmen Brambila
Private Practice
Sukhman Chahal
GPR, University of Texas, San Antonio
Renee Crittendon
Private Practice, Houston
Kyle Griffith
AEGD, U.S. Army, Fort Hood, Killeen
Susan Henson
Neerav Jayaswal
Private Practice, Dallas
John Park
Joaquin Sanchez
Private Practice
Erin Weston
Private Practice
VIRGINIA
Tyler Burningham
Private Practice
Michael Hull
Private Practice
WASHINGTON
Christopher Helley
Prosthodontics, University of
Washington
Chang-Hyun Na
Private Practice, Seattle
WISCONSIN
Anne Riebau
AEGD, Milwaukee VA Medical Center
MID ATLANTIC 19%
SOURCE: Data reported by 155 members of the D.M.D Class of 2008 and the 18 members
of the Dental International Class who graduated in May 2008.
ON CAMPUS
FACULTY NOTES
GENERAL DENTISTRY
JAKE CHEN, professor and director of the
Division of Oral Biology, has been awarded a
research grant from the International Team for
Implantology for a study on his hypothesis that
bone marrow-derived stem cells are capable
of migrating to dental implantation sites and
participating in bone-healing processes. He
also will examine the role of Satb2, a newly
discovered osteogenic transcription factor that
promotes bone formation through enhancing
the differentiation of bone-forming cells. The
co-investigator for the project is TERRENCE
GRIFFIN, chair of the department of periodontology. Their work may provide novel insights
into cellular and molecular mechanisms of
bone-healing processes after dental implants
are installed and facilitate the development
of approaches to recruit osteoprogenitor cells
and to accelerate formation and mineralization
at the dental implant surface.
Presentations:
■ “The Roles of Zoledronic Acid in Bone
Healing and Osteoblast Functions,” Jin Zhang,
Qisheng Tu and Jake Chen, American Society
for Bone and Mineral Research annual meeting, Montreal, Canada, September 2008.
(Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow in Chen’s lab,
also won a travel award from the Endocrine
Fellows Foundation for this oral health-related
work.)
■ “Bone Marrow Stromal Cells and Osterix
Contributing to Osseointegration of Dental
Implants,” Beiyun Xu, Jin Zhang, Erika Brewer,
Qisheng Tu, Marco Wieland and Jake Chen,
American Society for Bone and Mineral
Research annual meeting, Montreal, Canada,
September 2008.
■ “Adiponectin Inhibits Osteoclast Formation
Via akt Signaling Pathway,” Q. Tu, J. Zhang,
B. Xu, E. Brewer and J. Chen, American
Society for Bone and Mineral Research,
Montreal, Canada, September 2008.
■ “Satb2 Overexpression Promotes Osteoblast
Differentiation and Enhances Regeneration
of Bone Defects,” Erika Brewer, Jin Zhang,
Qisheng Tu, Jean Tang, and Jake Chen,
American Society for Bone and Mineral
Research, Montreal, Canada, September
2008.
■ “Bisphosphonate-induced Changes in
Bone Wound Healing Processes,” Jin Zhang,
Qisheng Tu and Jake Chen, symposium of
International Association for Biomedical
Research, Forsyth Institute, Boston, November
2008. (Presentation won third place in the
poster competition).
Publications:
■ “Pheonotypic Analysis of Dlx5
Overexpression in Postnatal Bone,” J. Zhang,
J. Zhu, P. Valverde, L. Li, J. Zhang, S. Pageau,
Q. Tu, R. Nishimura, T. Yoneda, P. Yang and J.
Chen, Journal of Dental Research, 87:45–50,
2008.
■ “Systemically Transplanted Bone Marrow
Stromal Cells Contributing to Bone Tissue
Regeneration,” S. Li, Q. Tu, J. Zhang, G. Stein,
J. Lian, P.S. Yang and J. Chen, Journal of Cell
Physiology, 215(1):204–9, 2008.
■ “Overexpression of Bone Sialoprotein Leads
to an Uncoupling of Bone Formation and Bone
Resorption in Mice,” P. Valverde, J. Zhang,
A. Fix, J. Zhu, W. Ma, Q. Tu and J. Chen,
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research,
23:1775–1788, 2008.
■ “Haploinsufficiency of Runx2 Results in
Decrease in Bone Formation,” Qisheng Tu,
Jin Zhang, Jeff Paz, Katherine Wade and Jake
Chen, Journal of Cell Physiology, 217:40–7,
October 2008.
■ “Expression of Osterix in Mechanical
Stress-induced Osteogenic Differentiation of
Periodontal Ligament Cells in vitro,” Y. Zhao,
C. Wang, S. Li, H. Song, F. Wei, K. Pan, K.
Zhu, P. Yang, Q. Tu and J. Chen, European
Journal of Oral Sciences, 116(3):199–206,
2008.
■ “Targeted Overexpression of BSP in
Osteoclasts Promotes Bone Metastasis of
Breast Cancer Cells,” Q. Tu, J. Zhang, A. Fix,
E. Brewer, Y. Li, Zhi-yuan Zhang and J. Chen,
Journal of Cell Physiology, 218:135–45, 2008.
WILLIAM LOBEL, D72, assistant clinical
professor
Presentations:
■ Lectures and hands-on continuing education courses on techniques for impressioning
complete and implant-retained overdentures,
with JOSEPH MASSAD, adjunct professor of
prosthodontics and operative dentistry, 149th
annual American Dental Association meeting,
San Antonio, Texas, October 17–18, 2008.
■ “Predictable Complete Denture Therapy,”
Scottsdale Center for Dentistry, Scottsdale,
Ariz., July 30, 31 and August 1, 2008.
■ “New and Improved One Appointment
Definitive Impression Making,” 16th Alexandria
International Dental Congress, Alexandria,
Egypt, October 28, 2008.
Publication:
■ “Complete Denture Prosthodontics: Modern
Approaches to Old Concerns,” Joseph
Massad, David Cagna and William Lobel,
Inside Dentistry, 48:84–93, September 2008.
ERIC WEINSTOCK, D00, DG02, assistant clinical professor, was inducted into the American
College of Dentists during the annual meeting
of the American Dental Association last fall in
San Antonio, Texas.
PROM OTION S
DAVID PAUL, D89, to associate professor.
SAMUEL SHAMES, D75, to associate clinical
professor.
ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL
PATHOLOGY
ADDY ALT-HOLLAND, assistant professor
Presentations:
■ “Investigating Cancer Progression of Cells
in 3D Matrix with Non-Invasive Fluorescent
Imaging,” J. Xylas, A. Alt-Holland, J.A. Garlick
and I. Georgakoudi, Biomedical Engineering
Society annual meeting, St. Louis, Mo.,
October 2008, and Tufts University Cancer
Research Day, October, 17, 2008.
■ “RalA Suppresses Invasion by RasTransformed Keratinocytes in a Bioengineered
Human Tissue Model of Squamous Cell
Carcinoma,” A. Sowalsky, A. Alt-Holland,
Y. Shamis, J.A. Garlick and L. Feig, Tufts
University Cancer Research Day, October 17,
2008.
■ “Loss of E-cadherin-mediated Cell-Cell
Adhesion Induces the Transition from
Precancer to Squamous Cell Carcinoma
through Activation of FAK and Src Kinases,”
A. Alt-Holland, Y. Szwec-Levin, D. Green and J.
Garlick, Tufts University Cancer Research Day,
October, 17, 2008.
■ “Reverting the Aggressive Behavior of
Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Silencing of
FAK and Src Kinases Normalizes Human
3D Bioengineered Tissues Comprised of
E-cadherin-deficient Tumor Cells,” A. AltHolland, Y. Szwec-Levine, A. Sowalsky, L. Feig
and J. Garlick, 5th International Association
for Biomedical & Medical Research, the
Forsyth Institute, Boston, November 20, 2008.
GAVEL MEDAL HONORS WORK OF WILKINS AND JOHANSEN
Esther Wilkins, D49, DG66, clinical professor of periodontology,
done it all in her career,’ ” said Mina Nicolle Ulaszek Benjamin,
was honored with the 2008 Gavel Medal during the 15th annual
who received the 2008 Esther Wilkins Future Leader Award from
Dr. J. Murray Gavel Clinical Research Lecture, held November 3
the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.
at the Forsyth Institute. Dean Emeritus Erling
Wilkins’ involvement with the Forsyth
Johansen, D49, received the medal posthubegan in 1938, when she enrolled in the
mously, and Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, acForsyth School for Dental Hygienists
cepted it on behalf of Tufts University School
(now part of the Massachusetts College
of Dental Medicine.
of Pharmacy and Health Sciences) after
The Gavel Medal “commemorates the
graduating from Simmons College. She
then went to work for Frank Willis, D13, in
achievements of a medical or dental researcher, educator or practitioner who has made lastManchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. She decided
a dental degree would be the logical next
ing and innovative contributions to mankind.”
Gavel, D23, H64, who died in 1999 and was
step, and enrolled at Tufts. Wilkins was the
first director of the dental hygiene program
a longtime faculty member at Tufts, served as
at the University of Washington School of
dean of the dental school from 1962 to 1963
Dentistry in Seattle.
and was involved with the Forsyth Institute for
Johansen, who died on February 29,
more than 30 years.
2008,
in his native Norway, was the longestWilkins is the author of Clinical Practice
The Gavel Medal, awarded postserving
dean of Tufts University School of
of the Dental Hygienist (Lippincott Williams &
humously to Dean Emeritus Erling
Johansen, is on permanent display in
Dental Medicine. He was appointed to the
Wilkins), which is known as the “bible of denthe Becker Alumni Center.
post on January 1, 1979, and retired on
tal hygiene.” The tenth edition was published
July 1, 1995, exactly 50 years to the day
on February 1, and it has been translated into
he
arrived
at
Tufts
as
a first-year dental student.
Japanese, Italian, Korean, Portuguese and French Canadian.
His pioneering research in preventive dentistry led to the devel“As a student reading chapter after chapter [of the book], I said to
opment of an oral health management system for patients with
myself, ‘Who is this woman, Dr. Esther Wilkins, a dental hygienhead and neck cancers.
ist, a dentist and a periodontist? This is a woman who must have
Publications:
■ “E-cadherin Suppression Directs Cytoskeletal
Rearrangement and Intraepithelial Tumor Cell
Migration in 3D Human Skin Equivalents,”
Addy Alt-Holland, Yulia Shamis, Kathleen
N. Riley, Teresa M. DesRochers, Norbert
E. Fusenig, Ira M. Herman and Jonathan A.
Garlick, Journal of Investigative Dermatology,
128(10):2498–507, October 2008.
■ “The Many Microenvironments of Squamous
Cell Carcinoma Progression,” Addy Alt-Holland
and Jonathan Garlick, International Journal of
Cancer (in press).
CHRISTOPHE EGLES, assistant professor, will
give an invited presentation on the work of
Tufts’ Center for Integrated Tissue Engineering
at the Society for In Vitro Biology’s 2009
meeting in Charleston, S.C., June 6–10.
JONATHAN GARLICK, professor and head
of the Division of Cancer Biology and Tissue
Engineering, will team with colleagues
from Tufts’ schools of Arts & Sciences and
Engineering and the university chaplain to
offer a University Seminar titled “Stem
Cells and Society: The Future of Global and
Personal Health” in Spring 2010. Founded
a year ago by Provost Jamshed Bharucha, the
University Seminars bring together faculty
and students from all Tufts’ schools for
interdisciplinary courses that link scholarship
to civic engagement by focusing on issues
of national or global importance. Garlick will
develop and teach the seminar with Sheldon
Krimsky, professor of urban and environmental
policy and planning; David Kaplan, professor
and chair of biomedical engineering; and the
Rev. David O’Leary, university chaplain and
professor of religion. The seminar will provide
a dynamic forum for students to explore how
societies and individuals can balance their
desire for progress in personal health with
their respect for religious, cultural and societal
views that impact the application of human
stem cells. Garlick was one of 12 panelists
selected to participate in an NIH Round Table
Discussion on the new NIH funding program
known as “Transformative R01s,” which will
allow creative, out-of-the-box projects to be
supported in any area of research that falls
within the NIH mission, including 3-D tissue
models, one of Garlick’s areas of expertise.
The roundtable panel included 12 scientists
with broad experience in the area of in vitro
engineered tissues who provided perspective
on strategies to illuminate potential transformative research in this field. Garlick was
selected to serve as chair of the Technologies
and Resources Component of Tufts Clinical
and Translational Sciences Institute and was
appointed a faculty member in the Master’s
in Biomedical Sciences Program at Tufts
ON CAMPUS
School of Medicine. He has been appointed
to the scientific advisory boards of the Boston
Biomedical Research Institute in Watertown,
Mass., and of the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences
Institute in Springfield, Mass. Garlick is also
serving as an associated faculty member
of the Institute for Clinical Research and
Health Policy Studies at Tufts Medical Center.
TERESA DESROCHERS, a Ph.D. student in
Garlick’s laboratory, has been awarded a
Sackler Biomedical Travel Fellowship, which
provides $500 to travel to a scientific meeting. MARK CARLSON, a postdoctoral fellow
in Garlick’s lab, has been awarded a Tufts
TEACRS (Training in Education and Critical
Research Skills) Fellowship, which gives
postdocs the opportunity to conduct high-level
research across multiple schools at Tufts and
gain teaching skills.
Grants:
■ “Generation of 3D Tissues Using Existing
Cell Lines,” American Type Culture Collection
Inc., $186,594.
■ “Elastin Damage, Repair and Evaluation of
Selected Agents for Elastin Modulation in 3D
Human Tissue Models,” Johnson & Johnson
Inc., $50,000.
■ “Evaluation of New Human Skin Equivalent
Grafts,” Organogenesis Inc., $10,000.
■ “Cell Bank Test in 3D,” Organogenesis Inc.,
$10,000.
■ “3D Human Skin Equivalents to Model
Dandruff,” Proctor & Gamble Inc., $50,000.
■ “Development of Novel 3D Tissue Models for
Screening,” Proctor & Gamble Inc., $75,000.
Presentations:
■ “Human Engineered Tissues for Cancer
Discovery and Drug Development,” Tufts
University Cancer Research Day, October 2008.
■ “3D Tissue Models of Elastin Biology and
UV Response,” Johnson & Johnson Inc.,
September 2008.
■ “Engineered Human Tissue Models of Oral
Squamous Cell Carcinoma,” Tufts Dental
School, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Rounds, October 2008.
■ “Postgraduate Course in Adult and
Embryonic Stem Cells,” University of Siena
Dental School, November 2008.
MICHAEL HALL, assistant professor,
conducted an oral cancer screening at the
Norfolk Adult Day Health Center in Norwood,
Mass., on November 1.
MICHAEL A. KAHN, professor and chair, and
MICHAEL HALL, assistant professor, were
oral cancer screeners at the 2nd annual Walk
the Rock for Oral Cancer Awareness, held
September 21 in Plymouth, Mass.
Presentations:
■ “Embracing Technology to Save Lives:
A Review of Oral Cancer Screening Techniques
and New Technologies,” AGD Mastership
Program, Ohio State University School of
Dentistry, Columbus, Ohio, October 3, 2008.
■ “Clinical Cases of Chronic Lip Licking
and Papillary Squamous Cell Carcinoma,”
Eastern Society of Teachers of Oral Pathology,
Columbus, Ohio, October 4, 2008.
■ “Management of Common Oral Soft Tissue
Lesions,” Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine, October 29, 2008.
■ “Top 10 Oral Soft Tissue Lesions,” Gentle
Communications, Waltham, Mass., October
30, 2008.
■ “Top 10 Soft Tissue Oral Pathology,”
TriCounty Dental Study Club, Saugus, Mass.,
November 6, 2008.
■ “Early Detection of Oral Cancer: Screening
and Adjunctive Diagnostic Aids,” New England
Dental Society, Waltham, Mass., November 8,
2008.
■ “Oral Cancer Early Detection System,” EDIC
webinar, Westborough, Mass., November 25,
2008.
■ “Bisphosphonate-related Osteonecrosis of
the Jaws Update,” Charles River Dental Study
Club, Wellesley, Mass., December 2, 2008.
Publication:
■ “Oral Cancer: A Prosthodontic Diagnosis,”
M.A. Siegel, M.A. Kahn and M.J. Palazzolo,
Journal of Prosthodontics, 1–8, 2008 (bound
version in press).
LYNN SOLOMON, associate professor, was
elected to the Executive Council of the
American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial
Pathology (AAOMP) at its 62nd annual meeting
in San Francisco. As a member of the
committee, she contributed five cases, exam
questions and answers, and a literature review for the Continuing Competency Assurance
Program of the AAOMP. Solomon attended
the AAOMP Executive Council meeting on
November 1 in Chicago.
Presentations:
■ “After the Diagnosis: Management of Oral
Cancer,” Massachusetts Dental Society
continuing education course, Southborough,
Mass., September 18, 2008.
■ Three clinical cases, Western Society of
Teachers of Oral Pathology, Playa Del Carmen,
Quintana Roo, Mexico, September 21–23,
2008.
■ “Management of Common Soft Tissue Oral
Lesions,” co-presenter with Michael Kahn,
professor and chair, Tufts University School of
Dental Medicine continuing education course,
October 17, 2008.
■ “BRONJ: Separating Fact from Fiction,”
Norfolk Parkway Study Club, Dedham, Mass.,
November 5, 2008.
Publications:
■ “Plasma Cell Mucositis of the Oral Cavity:
Report of a Case and Review of the
Literature,” L.W. Solomon, R.O. Wein, I.
Rosenwald and N. Laver, Oral Surgery, Oral
Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology &
Endodontics, 106(6):853–860, 2008.
■ “Cytokeratin 8, a Potential Marker for Early
Oral Cancer Detection,” J. Frustino, R. Cheney,
R. Sammarco, L. Solomon, M. Reid and
M. Sullivan, Journal of Dental Research
(Special Issue A):0768, 2008
(www.dentalresearch.org).
■ “A Clinico-pathologic Correlation (Extramedullary Plasmacytoma),” N. Demetriades,
R.K.M. Prabhudev, N. Pokrovskaya, L.W.
Solomon and K.A. Shastri, Journal of the
Massachusetts Dental Society, 57(3):56–58,
Fall 2008.
ORAL AND
MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY
CONSTANTINOS LASKARIDES, DG03,
assistant professor, gave a lunch-andlearn presentation on “Distant Bone Graft
Harvesting for Implant Placement in the
Ambulatory Outpatient Setting” at the 90th
annual meeting of the American Association of
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in Seattle in
September 2008.
MARIA PAPAGEORGE, D82, DG86, G89,
professor and chair, hosted an alumni
reception at the 89th annual meeting of the
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgeons in Seattle, Wash., on September
18, 2008. She presented a lecture on
“Zygoma Implants: A Surgical Alternative for
Reconstruction of the Atrophic Maxilla” to a
EMERITUS REDUX
S. Walter Askinas, left, Tufts Dental School’s executive dean emeritus and
professor of restorative dentistry emeritus, was named the first professor emeritus at Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
on December 7. Mark Gonthier, right, associate dean for admissions and
student affairs, represented Tufts at the event and spoke about Askinas’
legacy as one of the dental school’s most beloved teachers. Also attending
the event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was Saulius Drukteinis, A95, D99, assistant professor of periodontology at Nova.
At Tufts, Askinas served as professor and chair of restorative dentistry
from 1985 to 1997, and as executive dean from 1995 to 1997. Upon his
retirement, an endowed Senior Award, the Dr. Walter Askinas Senior Prize
Fund for Integrity and Citizenship, was established in his honor. Askinas
joined the Nova faculty as chair of the department of restorative dentistry
after leaving Tufts.
meeting of the Academy of Dental Science at
the Harvard Club on October 1, 2008, and on
“Dental Disease As a Risk Factor for Systemic
Diseases” to the Tufts Medical Center Board
of Directors on October 28, 2008.
MORTON ROSENBERG, D74, professor and
director of anesthesia and pain control, contributed to a chapter titled “Neural Blockade
of Oral and Circumoral Structures” in the
fourth edition of the classic reference text
on anesthesia, Neural Blockade in Clinical
Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins, 2009). Daniel Carr,
adjunct professor of anesthesiology at Tufts
School of Medicine, is one of the editors of
the book.
Presentations:
■ “Nitrous Oxide-Oxygen Certification Course,”
continuing education, Tufts University School
of Dental Medicine, November 7–8, 2008.
■ “Enteral (Oral) Sedation for the General
Dentist,” continuing education, Tufts University
School of Dental Medicine, November 21–22,
2008.
■ “Sedation Review,” dental residency programs, U.S. Army, Fort Lewis, Augusta, Ga.
■ “Update and Review of the ADA Sedation
Guidelines,” Eastern Dental Insurance Co.,
Westborough, Mass.
■ “Enteral Sedation Update,” American Dental
Society of Anesthesiology, Charleston, S.C.,
and “Beta Testing ADA Emergency Airway
Course,” University of South Carolina Medical
Center, Charleston, S.C.
■ “High Fidelity Human Simulation for Medical/
Anesthetic Emergencies,” annual meeting of the
Surgeons, Seattle, Wash., September 2008.
■ “Anesthesia Potpourri: Politics and
Pediatrics,” New Jersey Society of Dental
Anesthesiology.
■ “Certification Course in Nitrous Oxide and
Local Anesthesia,” Virginia Commonwealth
University School of Dentistry, Richmond, Va.
■ “Anesthesia Update,” Phoenix Society of
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and Arizona
Society of Dental Anesthesiology, Scottsdale,
Ariz.
KALPAKAM SHASTRI, DG05, assistant professor, presented a continuing education course
on “Surgical Complications in the Office” at
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine on
November 5, 2008, and attended the 14th
annual Northeast Regional Postgraduate
Dental Implant Symposium at the University of
Pittsburgh on October 17, 2008.
Departmental Presentations:
Vitro Biomechanical Evaluation of the
Use of Conventional and Locking Miniplate/
Screw System for Sagittal Split Ramus
Osteotomy,” Osvaldo Magra-Filho, M.B.
Papageorge, K. Shastri and Paulo Domingos
Ribeiro Jr., 89th annual meeting of the
■ “In
Surgeons, Seattle, Wash., September 2008.
■ “In Vitro Biomechanical Evaluation of the
Use of Conventional and Locking Miniplate/
Screw system with 4 or 7 Holes for the
Treatment of Mandibular Angle Fractures,”
Paulo Domingos Ribeiro Jr., M.B. Papageorge,
K. Shastri and Osvaldo Magra-Filho, 89th
annual meeting of the American Association
of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Seattle,
Wash., September 2008.
■ “Frequency of Presentation and Risk Profile
for Human Papilloma Virus in Oropharyngeal
and Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell
Carcinoma,” James Kraus, Daniel Oreadi,
Richard Wein, Nora Laver and Maria
Papageorge, Tufts University Cancer Research
Day, October 17, 2008.
■ “Quality of Life in Patients with Resected
and Reconstructed Mandibles,” Maria
Papageorge, Kalpakam Shastri, Robert
Chapman and Daniel Oreadi, Tufts University
Cancer Research Day, October 17, 2008.
■ “In-office Cranial and Tibia Bone Grafting
for Bilateral Maxillary Sinus Augmentation,”
M. Lucca and J. Hendi, 14th annual Northeast
Regional Postgraduate Dental Implant
Symposium, University of Pittsburgh, October
17, 2008.
■ “Anatomical Changes Following SARPE
Procedure,” W.S. McKenzie, A. Naimi, L. Suri
and M. Papageorge, Greater New York Dental
Meeting, November 2008.
ON CAMPUS
Departmental Publications:
■ “Perioperative Management of a Patient
with Short Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase
Deficiency: A Case Report,” J. Kraus, D.
Oreadi, K. Shastri and M.B. Rosenberg,
Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,
66:2164–2165, 2008.
■ “Clinico-pathologic Correlation
(Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma),” A. Naimi
and M.B. Papageorge, Journal of the
Massachusetts Dental Society, 57(2):36–38,
2008.
■ “Clinico-pathologic Correlation (Extramedullary Plasmacytoma),” N. Demetriades, R.K.
Prabhudev, N. Pokrovskaya, L. Solomon and K.
Shastri, Journal of the Massachusetts Dental
Society, 57 (3):56–58, 2008.
O RTH O DO N TIC S
BARRY BRISS, D66, DG70, D95P, DG97P,
professor and chair, attended the inaugural
meeting of the Joint Cephalometrics Experts
Group, of which he is a member, at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland,
Ohio, on November 21–23, 2008. The group’s
mission is to map out a plan for the transition from 2D cephalometrics to 3D cone
beam imaging for assessment of orthodontic
outcomes as well as diagnosis and treatment
planning.
LESLIE A. WILL, professor and director of the
advanced education program in orthodontics,
became the president of the Northeastern
Society of Orthodontics in September 2008.
She was also appointed a site visitor by
the Council on Dental Accreditation of the
American Dental Association.
Presentations:
■ “Enhancing Patient Care with Cone Beam
CT,” Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo, Japan, September 29, 2008.
■ Nine lectures on growth and development
and orthognathic surgery, visiting professor, Department of Orthodontics, Khon Kaen
University, Khon Kaen, Thailand, October 2008.
■ “A New Cephalometric Analysis” and
“Analyzing the Transverse Dimension Using
Cone Beam CT,” Department of Orthodontics,
University of Pennsylvania.
Publication:
■ “Mandibular Arch Form: The Relationship between Dental and Basal Anatomy,” V. Ronay,
ASSOCIATE DEAN STEPS DOWN
After 20 years of service to Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, David Russell,
D87, MPH02, stepped down as associate dean for clinical affairs on November 15.
Russell had been a part of the Tufts Dental community since 1983, when he
enrolled as a first-year student. He joined the part-time faculty in 1988 as a clinical
instructor in restorative dentistry and was promoted to assistant clinical professor in
1990. He became a member
of the full-time faculty in 1992
David Russell
and was promoted to associate
professor in 2001. He was appointed assistant dean in 1995
and promoted to associate dean
in 2002.
A gifted teacher, one of
Russell’s earliest achievements
was the establishment of the
Preceptor Program, in which students having difficulty in the clinic
are given one-on-one supervision
until their skills and speed improve. The program became a national model and was recognized
by the American Dental Education
Association.
Russell also helped implement the school’s Group Practice
System, and coordinated its
transition from 10 practices to eight practices. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Health
Policy Fellow in the office of U.S. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch during the 1999–00 academic
year. He was a key member of the school’s accreditation self-study committees in
1994, 2001 and 2008.
He maintains a part-time faculty appointment at the school as course director for
Oral Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.
R.M. Miner, L.A. Will and K. Arai, American
Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial
Orthopedics, 134:430–438, 2008.
PED IATRIC D ENTISTRY
CHEEN LOO, DG10, assistant professor
Publication:
■ “The Caries Experience and Behavior
of Dental Patients with Autism Spectrum
Disorder,” C.Y. Loo, R.M. Graham and C.V.
Hughes, Journal of the American Dental
Association, 139(11):1518–24, November
2008.
PERIOD ONTO LOGY
TIMOTHY J. HEMPTON, associate clinical professor and assistant director of postdoctoral
periodontology
Presentations:
■ “Implant Therapy and the RDH” and “Crown
Lengthening Workshop,” American Dental
Association annual meeting, San Antonio,
Texas, October 2008.
■ “Contemporary Periodontology for the General
Dentist,” New England Academy of General
Dentistry, Leominster, Mass., September 2008.
■ “Crown Lenghtening Workshop,” University of
Washington School of Dentistry, Seattle, Wash.,
December 2008.
1999 FILE PHOTO: MARK MORELLI
AIDEE HERMAN, associate clinical
professor, was inducted as a fellow of
the American College of Dentists at the
American Dental Association meeting in
San Antonio, Texas, in October. She was
also selected as one of the 100 most
influential Hispanics in Massachusetts by
El Planeta Poderometro.
WALTER H. MEINZER II, DG82, assistant
clinical professor, has been awarded
diplomate status by the American Board
of Periodontology.
PROSTHODONTICS AND
OP ER ATI V E DE N TISTRY
NATHAN S. BIRNBAUM, associate clinical
professor, and HEIDI BIRNBAUM AARONSON,
D08, clinical instructor, had their article,
“Dental Impressions Using 3D Digital
Scanners: Virtual Becomes Reality,” published
in the October 2008 issue of the Compendium
of Continuing Education in Dentistry. Birnbaum
was inducted into the American College of
Dentists during the annual meeting of the
American Dental Association last fall in San
Antonio, Texas.
AMIT SACHDEO, assistant professor, has
been selected to be a manuscript reviewer
for the Journal of Dental Research, the official
publication of the International and American
Associations for Dental Research.
AARON SHEINFELD, assistant professor,
was elected chair of Tufts Dental Associates
and as such is a voting member of the
Executive Faculty Committee.
Division of Postgraduate Prosthodontics
faculty members named as new diplomates
of the American Board of Prosthodontics are
YONG JEONG KIM, MARIO GATTI, TAKAYOSHI
SUDA, GIANLUCA PANIZ, HAMILTON LE and
MOFTA ELGHADi.
P U BL I C H E A LTH A N D
CO MMU N I TY S E RVIC E
KANCHAN GANDA, professor and director
of medicine, is the author of Dentist’s Guide
to Medical Conditions and Complications,
published by Wiley-Blackwell in October 2008.
It is her first book. She is a recipient of a
Ryan White CARE Act Dental Reimbursement
Program Grant from the Department of Health
and Human Services.
Presentations:
■ “Medical Updates for Dentistry: Antibiotics
and Premedication,” Merrimack Valley District
Dental Society, September 2008.
■ “Medicine in Dentistry,” Norfolk South
District Medical Society, Needham, Mass.,
October 2008.
NATALIE HAGEL, assistant professor and
director of school-based programs, was
elected secretary of the Oral Health Section
of the American Association of Public Health.
CATHERINE HAYES, D87, professor and
chair, is serving as vice president of the
American Board of Dental Public Health and
chair of the Data Safety and Monitoring Board
for the Practice Based Research Networks
funded by the National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research. She is also the
independent monitor overseeing the reform
of the Mass Health dental program for children
eligible for Medicaid’s child health component,
known as the Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program.
Publications:
■ “Prospective Study of 5-year Caries
Increment among Children Receiving
Comprehensive Dental Care in the New
England Children’s Amalgam Trial,” N.
Maserejian, M. Tavares, C. Hayes, J. Soncini
and F. Trachtenberg, Community Dentistry
and Oral Epidemiology, September 2008.
■ “Rural and Urban Disparities in Caries
Prevalence in Children with Unmet Dental
Needs: The New England Children’s Amalgam
Trial,” N. Maserejian, M. Tavares, C. Hayes, J.
Soncini and F. Trachtenberg, Journal of Public
Health Dentistry, 68(1), 2008.
■ “Oral Health Disparities in Children of
Immigrants,” Journal of Public Health
Dentistry, N. Maserejian, F. Trachtenberg,
C. Hayes and M. Tavares, 68(1), 2008.
■ “Dental Caries Experience at Enrollment and
during Follow-up in the New England Children’s
Amalgam Trial,” F. Trachtenberg, J. Soncini, M.
Tavares, C. Hayes and N. Maserejian, Pediatric
Dentistry, 5:388–92, 2008.
CAROLE A. PALMER, N69, G69, professor
and head of the Division of Nutrition and
Oral Health, gave a lecture on “Patient
Communications: Interviewing and Counseling” to the New Hampshire Technical Institute
dental hygiene program on December 10,
2008. On December 16, she was a guest on
“Your Health Matters,” a radio program on
WKXL 1450 in Concord, N.H. The topic was
“Nutrition and Oral Health.”
Publication:
■ “Nutrition in Sjögren’s Syndrome,” C. Palmer
and M. Singh, a book chapter in Nutrition and
Rheumatic Disease (Humana Press, 2008).
ATHENA S. PAPAS, J67, professor and head
of public health research/oral medicine, is
the principal investigator for a multi-center
NIDCR-funded clinical study titled “Prevention
of Adult Caries.”
Presentations:
■ “Oral Care in Sjögren’s Syndrome: More
Than Just Managing Your Dry Mouth,”
Boston chapter of the Sjögren’s Syndrome
Support Group, September 27, 2008.
■ “Diagnosis and Treatment of Sjögren’s,”
Tufts Medical Center Rheumatology Grand
Rounds, October 2, 2008.
■ “Xerostomia, Primary Sjögren’s and Oral
Medicine Issues in Other Rheumatic
Conditions,” Massachusetts General Hospital
Rheumatology Grand Rounds, November 25,
2008.
MEDHA SINGH, DG04, DG05, assistant
professor, was accepted to the 2008–09
Massachusetts Dental Society Leadership
Institute. She also completed six weeks of
volunteer tutor training at the adult education program of the Boston Chinatown
Neighborhood Center.
Publication:
■ “The Effect of an Omega-3 Supplement on
Dry Mouth and Dry Eye in Sjögren’s Patients,”
M. Singh, A.S. Papas and J.P. Gilbard, Oral
Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral
Radiology and Endodontics, Volume 106,
Issue 3, Page e7, September 2008.
WANDA WRIGHT, assistant professor, gave
a presentation on “Careers in Public Health”
to Tufts undergraduates on the Medford/
Somerville campus on November 17, 2008.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
THE WIDER WORLD OF TUFTS
“We are asking the question of how biological
shape is determined,” says Michael Levin.
“Why do organisms look the way they look?”
caption_fl
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9pts from photo edges
Grow Your Own
Tufts biologist’s work could affect treatments for everything from
loss of body parts to cancer by Helene Ragovin
I
n the world where michael levin’s vision has come to life,
people who lose a limb in an accident are able to re-grow it. Birth
defects can be repaired in the womb. Cancer cells are detected and
rendered harmless before they become tumors. Any number of other
diseases are conquered as cells are altered and adjusted.
It sounds like fantasy. But it’s not, as researchers at Tufts’ Center for
Regenerative and Developmental Biology take their studies in innovative and
largely unexplored directions. While clinical applications are years away, Levin’s
lab is making significant discoveries by seeking the universal principles governing the control of biological growth and formation.
“The applications are fairly broad; they touch on almost every problem of interest to us in medicine and biology,” says Levin, A92, a professor of biology who
arrived at Tufts in November. Previously, he worked at the Forsyth Institute in
Boston and was an associate professor of developmental biology at the Harvard
School of Dental Medicine.
“We are asking the question of how biological shape is determined,”
Levin says. “Why do organisms look the way they look?” His work focuses on
embryonic asymmetry, biomedical control
of regeneration and information storage in
cells and organs.
All animals and plants develop from single cells into complex, three-dimensional
objects. If researchers can understand what
drives that process and what signals the cells
send to each other to enable them to assume
these shapes, then we can take advantage of
those signals to change or modulate the
shapes, Levin says.
Thus, scientists could be able to detect
and repair errors in fetal development, curing birth defects. Or when someone loses a
body part, “if you know how it was shaped
in the first place, you can re-create it,” Levin
says. This approach ultimately extends to
a solution to the problem of aging, as failing tissues and organs could be replaced
through regeneration.
The research also applies to cancer treatment. “Cancer can be looked at, in part, as a
disease of geometry,” Levin says. “The tissue
has escaped the normally tight morphogenetic control of the organism; you have a
tumor rather than a nicely patterned structure.” Being able to take command of that
“shaping process” and correct it could stop
the growth of tumors.
The potential significance of this unconventional approach has not gone unnoticed
in the scientific world. In 2004, the journal
Nature deemed Levin’s work “a milestone in
developmental biology in the last century.”
While the majority of researchers in the
field right now are focusing on stem cells
and biochemical factors that function in
specific contexts, Levin works on natural
bioelectrical signals and the systems-level
properties that allow these biophysical
mechanisms to create the appropriate complex structure, stop when it is complete and
maintain it against injuries during life.
“All cells, not just nerve cells, use bioelectrical signals to communicate pattern
information to each other,” Levin says. “We
have suspected for a long time that this is
important.” Levin and his colleagues have
made progress in understanding how electrical signals are involved in pattern formation, “and how you can tweak those signals
artificially to get them to do what you want
them to do.”
In other words, it’s a “whole new set of
control knobs on the cells that we can use
to get them to behave,” he says.
A spectacular example of this occurred
during an experiment led by Levin’s colleague, Dany Adams, in which a tadpole
was able to regenerate its tail at a point in
its development when it normally would
not have been able to do so.
“It was a ‘eureka’ moment,” says Adams,
who came to Tufts with Levin from the
Forsyth Institute. “What we seem to have
found was the ‘on-off switch’—it turned
on not just the process of making a tail,
but the regulation of that process. It made
the tail the right size. Then it stopped.”
An underlying theme for all his work,
Levin says, is how biological systems store
and process information.
And that comes in at least two aspects,
he says. The first, as seen in the tadpole
experiment, is morphological, concerning shape and how organisms encode
three-dimensional patterning during
development.
The other involves information learned
during an organism’s lifetime—memories.
“We have unique way of approaching that
as well,” he says. For that work, the lab
looks at flatworms, which have impressive
powers of regeneration—they can actually
regenerate their brain, or a portion of it—
and are also capable of learning.
“We can look at what happens to the
memories when the brain is regenerated,”
Levin says. “We’re looking to learn at a
very deep and fundamental level what it
means to hold memories.”
And that question—the relationship
between brain tissue and cognitive function—has many implications, not just in
the philosophical sense but for basic medicine. For example, there is talk among
medical researchers of finding a way to use
stem cells to replace damaged brain cells in
those with degenerative brain disease.
What will it mean to have existing brain
cells replaced by “fresh” stem cells in terms
of an individual’s memories or personality? “Would it still be the same individual?”
Levin wonders. Because memory and behavior can go awry when brain tissue is
damaged “doesn’t mean that’s where the
memories were,” he says. “That’s the sort of
thing our work can shed some light on.”
THE BIG BUILD
Game-changing facilities construction and renovation projects
are taking place on all three Tufts campuses
C
onstruction crews are not
an unusual sight at Tufts these
days, with new buildings, additions and renovations under
way on all three campuses. Following is a
list of current construction projects:
M ED FORD/
SOM ERVILLE CAM PUS
Packard Hall. The interior and exterior
of this building, constructed in 1856 as a
dormitory for 26 students, are being completely restored; plans also call for an elevator to provide improved accessibility. “The
slate roof is about 50 percent in place now,
and work has begun on a very small addition that will accommodate the elevator
and a set of stairs,” says John Roberto, vice
president for facilities. Completion is set
for mid-March.
Tisch Library Roof Garden. This project will provide a new roof, an accessible
entrance plaza, and the creation of an artistic garden/meditation space with seating areas, landscaping and mosaic tile. The
installation of granite and masonry on the
roof that will create those seating areas is
under way.
51 Winthrop. The interior renovation
of the former Sacred Heart Church, which
Tufts purchased after the Archdiocese of
Boston closed it, will create a large, multipurpose function space, including seating
for 175 to 200 for dining and other events.
“Work is under way on the exterior for the
new front entrance with a handicappedaccessible ramp,” says Roberto. Demolition
on the inside is substantially complete, and
crews are beginning interior finish work.
BOSTON CAMPUS
Dental School Vertical Expansion. This proj-
ect, which will add five floors and 95,000
square feet to the 10-story building at One
Packard Hall on the Academic Quad
is being completely renovated, below.
Construction is well under way to add five
floors and 95,000 square feet to the 10story dental school at One Kneeland Street
on the Boston campus, right.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Kneeland Street, is well under way. The
building is essentially enclosed now, except
for one corner stairwell, and the interior
fit-out has begun. The expansion of One
Kneeland Street, which opened in 1972, will
create more teaching and research space, a
continuing education suite, and offices and
meeting rooms. The project is scheduled to
be completed in November 2009. (See related story, page 29).
Sackler Campus Center. The project involves the complete interior renovation of
the basement and six of the Sackler Center’s
eight floors. It is planned as a three-phase
project. The project is currently in phase
two. A new café, Food 4 Thought, which occupies most of the fourth floor of the Hirsh
Health Sciences Library, opened in October.
Renovations are ongoing for the eighthfloor administrative offices, classrooms and
study rooms. Phase I saw the construction
of space for new “learning communities”
at the medical school—seven students and
their advisor in each group—a configuration that will ensure personal attention for
students and build a sense of community.
The Class of 2012 is the first to begin their
studies in the learning communities, which
are housed on the second and third floors
of the Sackler Center. Painted with vibrant
colors and equipped with comfy chairs, TVs
and kitchenettes, the communities provide
space for classes, group study, mentoring
and socializing. The final phase of the project, which will entail a major renovation of
the first floor and the basement, is set to be
completed by August 2009.
Clinical Skills and Simulation Center.
This brand-new 9,000-square-foot facility,
which opened last fall on the third floor
of 35 Kneeland Street, adds yet another
high-tech dimension to the clinical educational program at Tufts School of Medicine.
Using computerized mannequins, students
TIME TO SERVE
In the cover story of the September 22, 2008, issue
of Time magazine, “21 Ways to Serve America,” Tufts
President Lawrence S. Bacow joined the likes of Colin
Powell and Arnold Schwarzenegger in penning suggestions for improving the country.
In his article, “Get Your College Involved,” Bacow
wrote that colleges and universities “have a special
responsibility to educate the next generation of active,
engaged citizens” and encourage them to get involved in public service.
He argued that to “address this nation’s major challenges, we need people
across the political spectrum to serve in government, to run for office and to
work to build stronger, more vibrant communities.”
Bacow outlined the efforts Tufts has made to encourage graduates to pursue
service careers, focusing on the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, believed
to be the first university-wide program of its kind in the country. The program,
called LRAP, received more than 400 applications for assistance this year. Tufts
Dental alums submitted 31 applications, 25 of which were funded.
“Helping young people pursue their passion for service is one of the best
investments our society can make,” Bacow wrote.
are able to refine their clinical and physical
diagnosis skills, practice commonly performed procedures, and learn how to care
for acutely ill patients as part of a team. The
12 patient exam rooms and three simulation rooms are outfitted with video and
audio equipment so faculty can observe
students interacting with standardized patients from observation rooms equipped
with computer monitors.
Green Space. A former parking lot adjacent to the Jaharis Center on Harrison
Avenue is being converted into open green
space for the Boston campus community.
“It’s going to have some seating areas, some
grass, some landscaping, a place for folks
to come and relax, sit and enjoy lunch, or
congregate in an informal manner,” says
Roberto.
G RAFTON CA M P US
Agnes Varis Campus Center Auditorium. The
addition to the new campus center at the
Cummings School will include a 173-seat
auditorium, equipped with state-of-the-art
acoustics, lighting and audio-visual electronics, and a continuing education facility.
“The ability to hold campus-wide meetings,
national and international meetings, and
community hearings on our campus will
broaden our impact on society and academic life, while bringing faculty, students, staff
and the local community closer together,”
says Andrew Hoffman, associate professor of clinical sciences. “The exterior of the
building and the masonry are substantially
complete,” Roberto says. Completion is
scheduled for February 2009.
New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory. The exterior and site work for this
facility, which will allow researchers to focus
their work on emerging infectious diseases
and food- and waterborne illnesses, are
substantially complete, and the mechanical
systems have been installed. “Then there
will be a period when the systems will be
commissioned, meaning they will be operated to ensure all the mechanical, electrical
and plumbing systems are running as designed,” Roberto says. The construction is
being funded with some $20 million from
the National Institutes of Health.
The new laboratory is scheduled to be
dedicated on March 30.
PROVIDING THE MEANS FOR EXCELLENCE
B E YO N D B O U N D A R I E S
Teaching Meets Patient Care
To help students where they work, two postdoctoral alums fund new operatories by Deborah Blagg
“
I
think of operatories as the place where students really go
about their business,” says Maurice “Jack” Belden, D76, DG78, E05P,
D09P, whose $50,000 gift to the Beyond Boundaries campaign will
help build a new orthodontics operatory as part of the expansion
project that will add five floors to the dental school. An orthodontist
with a thriving practice in northernmost Maine, Belden, a longtime supporter
of the school, saw the opportunity to fund an operatory as a way to help others
acquire the experience and skills that have brought him satisfaction over his
30-year career.
After majoring in math as an undergrad“If you talk
uate at the University of Vermont and workwith anyone
ing for six years in the computer industry,
in dentistry,
you find they
Belden decided to mirror his father-in-law,
know Tufts’
the late George Gales, D47, DG49, and purreputation,”
sue a career as an orthodontist. “This aspect
says Jack
of dental medicine appealed to me because
Belden.
something so positive comes out of it,” he
says. “I watched my father-in-law work and
saw how enjoyable it was to have an impact
on patients’ lives. I love to see my patients
smile.”
A friend and Tufts Dental classmate from
Maine persuaded Belden to base his practice
in the far-northern part of the state, where
orthodontists are few and far between. “My
patients often drive a hundred miles or more
for appointments,” says Belden, who has offices in Presque Isle, Fort Kent, Madawaska
and Houlton, and sees patients from both
sides of the border with Canada. “If you
look at my Presque Isle office on a map,”
he notes, “the province of New Brunswick
is twelve miles to my right, and
to the left through the woods is
Quebec.”
Although he lives 400 miles
north of Boston, Belden returns to Tufts periodically and
keeps in close touch with developments at the school, where
his daughter, Amanda, is a
fourth-year student. As a member of the Tufts Association of
Orthodontists, he also enjoys
regular contact with faculty
and fellow graduates. “Because
ortho is a small program, the
faculty and alumni are a tightknit group,” he says. “We get together whenever we can to share ideas and
keep current on the latest developments in
practice.” Belden views the school’s expansion as important for Tufts and for dental
education. “If you talk with anyone in dentistry, you find they know Tufts’ reputation,”
he says. “The school sets a standard in this
field, and having a facility that is as outstanding as the teaching that goes on there
is really important.”
Operatories in the new postdoctoral clinic will reflect the careful planning and attention to functionality that are the hallmarks
of the expansion project. When four postgraduate programs move to the new 12th
“Through their passion, hard work,
commitment and respect for students, the
professors at Tufts demonstrate that learning
is a lifelong process,” says Lino Calvani.
PHOTO: MATTHEW MARGOLIN (BOTTOM)
B E YO N D B O U N D A R I E S
and 13th floors at One Kneeland Street, their
collective square footage will double, says
Executive Associate Dean Joseph Castellana.
The new space, he says, “will invite collaboration and information-sharing.”
Rather than retrofitting operatories to fit
an existing floor plan, Castellana says the architects “are working with a clean slate. They
can design and position workstations that
are comfortable and functional for patients,
students and faculty and have the flexibility
to accommodate new technologies.”
Pasquale “Lino” Calvani, DG91, a clinical
faculty member who received his postgraduate training in prosthodontics, believes the
school’s emphasis on the future has helped
maintain its international reputation for excellence. “We know there will always be ways
to improve and get better. Our strength is
our commitment to providing a high standard of care for our patients and respect for
our students,” says Calvani, who is president of the Italy chapter of the Tufts Dental
Alumni Association and is a generous donor
to the Beyond Boundaries campaign.
Calvani hopes his gift of $50,000 to support an operatory for the prosthodontics
program will inspire others to appreciate
the connection between enhanced facilities and the dental school’s core mission
of teaching and patient care. “Plans for the
new addition are spectacular,” says Calvani,
who practices in Rome and travels to Tufts
every three or four months to teach. “But
the most exciting aspect is that the improvements will help us become even better
at teaching and patient care.”
Calvani says that teaching at Tufts is “one
PARTNERS FOR PROGRESS
For two decades A-dec has been an important institutional partner of the School
of Dental Medicine. Last year, the company was selected to equip more than
70 new operatories that will be constructed as part of the project that is adding
five floors to One Kneeland Street. A-dec, a supplier of dental chairs, lights,
cabinets, delivery systems, handpieces and sterilization systems, has also provided a gift-in-kind of seven full operatories that will be installed in the research
clinic on the new 14th floor. Last September, Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80,
Executive Associate Dean A. Joseph Castellana and Susan Peecher of University
Advancement toured the A-dec plant in Newburg, Oregon. Here, A-dec founder
Ken Austin shows Norris, far left, and Castellana an equipment prototype that
launched the company in 1966.
of the most gratifying aspects” of a career
that has followed a family tradition. During
his childhood in Italy with his dentist-mother and his father, a pediatrician, he says he
“understood that I could never be an architect or an astronaut. In our family we didn’t
have lunches or dinners. We had professional
meetings.” He chose prosthodontics because
he has always loved to “paint, shape, create,
develop and assemble things. Prosthetic science requires dexterity and practical skills as
well as knowledge of all dental disciplines,”
he notes. “I love that challenge.”
Calvani’s career choice also was influenced by former Tufts faculty member
Michele Gaillard, DG76, DI77, one of a long
list of current and former faculty—including
Gino Passamonti, D58; Lloyd Miller, A54,
D58; Maurice Martel; William Heggerick,
DG73; Paul Cammarata, D79, DG81; Francis
Ursoleo; Tom Vergo; Van Zissi, D62, DG67;
Julian Osorio; Ken Malament; Konstantinos
Michalakis, DG93; and Hiroshi Hirayama,
DG90, DI93, DG94—whom he credits with
making Tufts School of Dental Medicine a
center for “learning opportunities.”
“In the same way that many of us born
outside the country see America as a land
of opportunity,” Calvani says, “through
their passion, hard work, commitment and
respect for students, the professors at Tufts
demonstrate that learning is a lifelong process that helps you grow as a human being
and as a professional.”
In his own teaching, Calvani says, “I follow the wisdom of Socrates, who said that
teaching is beautiful, because when you
communicate your knowledge, you are giving the best of yourself.” When he is at Tufts,
Calvani says, “I always spend long days and
weekends at the school, and I am thrilled
when I see students absorbing new knowledge like sponges.
“Along with providing superb instruction in dental skills, this institution is able to
engender enthusiasm, dedication and excitement for the profession,” he says. “I know I
am a better person because of what I learned
here, and I am proud to be able to invest,
through my teaching and financial support,
in the lives and careers of future generations
of Tufts dentists.”
PHOTO: RICHARD RAY
Steve O’Loughlin, Kathy O’Loughlin, D81, a university
trustee; Lorenzo Lepore, A74, D77, A03P, A05P; and
Nelida Lepore, A03P, A05P
Barry Briss, D66, DG70, D95P, DG97P,
professor and chair of orthodontics; James
Kane III, D04, DG06; Krista Kane, D04;
David Pereira; and Jauna Souza, D07
Toast to Tufts
Lisa Vouras
and George
Mantikas,
both D89
Karen Bejian
and Alex
Bejian, D85
nearly 250 alumni, faculty and friends
gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common for a celebration as Tufts University
School of Dental Medicine expressed its
appreciation to its generous volunteers and
donors at the annual Toast to Tufts event on
September 5, 2008.
Guest arrived to a slideshow presentation,
streaming photos documenting the progress of the school’s expansion project. John
Ficarelli, D73, D10P, and Jess Kane, D74,
DG76, G78, DG79, D04P, DG06P, thanked
the group for their philanthropy and volunteerism. Each volunteer wore a Jumbo pin
in recognition of his or her efforts. Provost
Jamshed Bharucha brought greetings from
the university administration and praised the
dental school community and Dean Lonnie
H. Norris, DG80, for their accomplishments
over the last year. Guests also watched a video
about the importance of annual giving at
Tufts. To view the video, go to dental.tufts.
edu/giveback.
Also during the event, Thomas F. Winkler
III, A62, D66, D10P, a university trustee
and chair of the dental school’s Board of
Overseers, received the Dean’s Medal (see
story, page 36).
TOP OF THE WORLD
A tour of the expansion project at One Kneeland Street was a highlight
of the School of Dental Medicine’s Campus Visit on September 4–5,
2008. Twenty friends and alumni of the school also had an opportunity to spend time with residents in the postgraduate clinics and hear
an address on leadership by Jack Connors Jr., chair emeritus of Hill,
Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos Inc. From left: Lisa Emirzian, D82,
and her husband, Vincent Mariano, D82, DG84; Janis Moriarty, D94;
William Sellers, A56, D60, J84P, a dental school overseer; and Jean
Fiore, with Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, on the rooftop of the school.
PHOTOS: TIFFANY KNIGHT (TOP); BETHANY VERSOY (BOTTOM)
CONNECTED
WIDER WORLD OF TUFTS
U
AN
LU
IV
MENRIS INTEYWN
S E WSTAYING
S THE
A Remarkable Place and Time
the tufts university school of dental
Medicine Alumni Association continues to be
strong and vigorous, and I have the privilege of
serving as your president during this exciting time
for our school.
Tufts continues to attract record numbers of extremely qualified candidates even as the number of
dental school applications nationwide seems to be
slowing. Our students are enthusiastic about their
education and look forward to successful careers.
Our faculty continues to provide the foundation
for an exceptional dental education with a stellar reputation worldwide.
Dean Lonnie Norris is a respected and motivational leader, and the university
is indeed fortunate to have him. Dr. Norris looks to the alumni association for
support so that his vision for the school can be realized. Your participation in
this effort has been remarkable and continues to be vital to the success of Tufts
Dental School.
The vertical expansion project to add five floors to One Kneeland Street is on
schedule, and interior construction will be ongoing throughout the winter. This
expanded facility will allow Tufts Dental School to maintain its position as the
best dental school in the world.
During my tenure as president of your
alumni association I have had the opportunity to meet many alumni from all over the
country. I look forward to meeting many
more of you and encourage you to continue
in your dedicated support of Tufts Dental
School.
Yours truly,
John Ficarelli, D73
President, Tufts University
LOOKING FOR AN ASSOCIATE?
THE TUFTS ALUMNI ASSOCIATES PROGRAM (TAAP)
assists recent dental school graduates in finding associateships with practicing alumni/ae. A
continuing effort of the Dental Alumni Association
and the Alumni Office, the program is a unique
PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY
Name ...............................................................................................
Year of Graduation ................................... Telephone ..........................
Mailing Address ................................................................................
way to continue the Tufts experience for both
City/State/Zip .................................................................................
job-seekers and dental alumni/ae practitioners.
1. I am seeking a Tufts dental alum to work in my office:
full-time
As one of the many benefits of attending Tufts
part-time
University School of Dental Medicine, the alumni
2. What is the nature of your practice? (e.g. general practice, mostly
network serves as a means of introduction and
adults, prosthodontics)? ....................................................................
communication with alumni/ae who are looking
........................................................................................................
for associates. Those who have been involved
3. Additional comments: ...................................................................
recognize that this program creates mutually
........................................................................................................
beneficial relationships.
........................................................................................................
To place a Tufts graduate in your office, fill out the form above and mail it to
the Tufts University Dental Alumni Association, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111. For more
information, contact the Office of Dental Alumni Relations at 617.636.6773 or fax 617.636.4052.
Mail to: Tufts University
136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111
PHOTO: TRAVIS DOVE
CALENDAR
2009 Commencement
ceremonies take place on
Sunday May 17.
MAR C H 8
MA RC H 1 4
M AY 1 7
Spring training with the Boston
Red Sox. Email dental-alumni@
tufts.edu or call 617.636.6772
for more information.
City of Palms Park
Fort Myers, Florida
Alumni reception in conjunction with the annual meeting of
the American Dental Education
Association
Phoenix, Arizona
Tufts University’s 153rd
Commencement
Academic Quad
Medford/Somerville campus
9 a.m.
M AY 1–3
A PRIL 7
MAR C H 1 0
Student/Alumni Networking
Session, sponsored by the
Dental Alumni Association for
second-, third- and fourth-year
students. Alumni volunteers are
needed. Email dental-alumni@
tufts.edu for more information.
Tufts School of Dental Medicine
One Kneeland Street, 7th floor
Boston, Massachusetts
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Greater New York Alumni Chapter
Spring Meeting
Penn Club
New York City
6 p.m.
Dental Homecoming and Reunion
Weekend
Tufts School of Dental Medicine
and Langham Hotel
M AY 2
A PRIL 3 0
Alumni reception in conjunction with the annual session
of the American Association of
Endodontists
Orlando, Florida
Alumni reception in conjunction with the annual session
of the American Association of
Orthodontists
For more information on
these and other events,
please contact the
Office of Dental
Alumni Relations at
617.636.6773 or email
[email protected].
M AY 11–14
Alumni reception in conjunction
with the spring meeting of the
California Dental Association
Anaheim, California
UN
A
LU
IV
MENRIS INTEYWN
SEWS
Happy Customers
Alumni say Tufts is the place to go for a dental education by Leslie Macmillan
A
survey of dental alumni who graduated in 2003 and
2006 found they were happy and engaged during their time
at Tufts. Not only was the response rate of 54.7 percent (the
industry standard is 30 percent) the highest since the survey
was initiated in 1996, but an overwhelming majority said they
would again choose Tufts for their dental education. More than 91 percent said
they would pursue the D.M.D. degree again, and of those, 94.4 percent said they
would enroll at Tufts Dental School. Sixty-four percent said that over time, they
have come to value their Tufts education even more.
The high response rate reflects the school’s efforts to increase participation
in the annual survey of recent graduates, says Mark Gonthier, associate dean
of admissions and student affairs, but it is primarily a referendum on student
satisfaction.
“If you look at the arc of time in dental education, there was a period during
the ’60s and ’70s when students in general found the dental school experience
challenging,” says Gonthier. Attitudes began to change when more emphasis was
put on the quality of interactions between students and faculty, he says.
For example, in the latest survey, 57 percent of alumni in the classes of D03
and D06 reported that they were mentored at Tufts by a dean, professor or
staff member. “This percentage has been rising slowly over the last seven years
that we’ve asked this question,” says Gonthier. “And the Class of 2006 reported
the highest level of mentoring to date—60.6 percent.” In addition, nearly 40
percent of the survey respondents said they were interested in teaching at the
dental school.
The survey gauges graduates’ impressions of how well their training prepared
them for practice by having them respond to 26 competency statements in areas
such as diagnosis and treatment planning, communicating with patients, using
various dental materials and how well prepared they were for licensure exams.
A L U M N I S U R V E Y R E S P O N S E R AT E S
0
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2006–07
YEAR OF SURVEY
54.7%
2005–06
43.8%
48.4%
10
26.3%
20
30.4%
40
30
46.8%
50
23.8%
PERCENTAGE RESPONDING
60
2007–08
Gonthier says the positive responses
are a reflection of the leadership of Dean
Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, who has headed
the school since 1996. “He’s really put
the emphasis on creating a more positive
experience.”
OTHER FIND I N G S I N C LUD E D :
■ 93 percent indicated that their preclinical education prepared them well to
provide patient care in the school clinics.
■ 69.3 percent noted that what they learned
in their basic science courses has been
helpful in the practice of dentistry.
Gonthier says the findings show that
“the linkages between areas of instruction
and practice are robust and effective.”
One particularly positive outcome,
Gonthier notes, has been recent graduates’
favorable responses when asked to assess
their preparation for determining career
options and their ability to manage and
market a dental practice. “In less than 10
years, the percentage of graduates reporting being prepared in practice management
rose from 25 percent of the Class of 1999
to 81 percent of the Class of 2006,” he says,
noting that this reflects the school’s efforts
to include practice management as a lecture,
seminar and elective offering throughout all
four years.
“In virtually all areas of academic and
clinical instruction,” he says, “our alumni
felt well prepared.”
For example, graduates said their education suitably prepped them for the
North East Regional Board licensure exam
(92.2%); the National Board Part I (86.6%)
and the National Board Part II (76.1%).
“We put a lot of energy into the survey,
and we take the results very seriously,” says
Gonthier. “We also would like older alums
to know how happy our recent graduates
are,” he says.
SOURCE: TUFTS OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH & EVALUATION
AWARDS
Team Gross Champions
(Score 70): Frank Coppola,
D64, D82P, J97P; Peter
McAllister, D82; Joseph
O’Donnell, DG74; and Gary
Warrington, D81
Team Net Champions
(Score 55): Jeff Blair, Sullivan
Schein Dental; Dave Cox,
Sybronendo; Al Dube, Solmetex;
and Tom Picone, 3M
Tennis Champion: Lee Wills
Thach, D98
THE 2008
SPONSORS
Clockwise from top left: The tourney gets under
way with a shotgun start; John Murphy, D81,
lines up his putt; May Mu, D81, taps one toward
the hole; and John Millette, D91, and Bernie Daly,
D71, watch as Peiman Mahdavi, D91, DG94,
takes his shot down the fairway.
Wide Open Nets $15,000
for Student Loan Fund
More than 80 alumni and friends of the School of Dental Medicine
participated in the 26th annual Wide Open Golf and Tennis
Tournament on September 22, 2008, at the Mount Pleasant Country
Club in Boylston, Mass. The tournament, which is supported by
alumni and corporate sponsors, raised $15,147 for the Dental
Student Loan Fund, bringing the 26-year cumulative total to
$258,183. The 2009 tournament will take place on September 23
at the Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, Mass.
PHOTOS: JOANIE TOBIN
Awards Dinner and Raffle
Sponsors ($6,000)
3M Unitek
Solmetex
Sullivan Schein Dental
Sybron Endo
Hole-in-One Sponsor
Wagner Motors
Standard Golf Foursome
($2,000)
Dental Associates of Walpole
Gentle Dental Associates
Rosen and Associates
Tee Hole Sponsors ($1,000)
Patterson Companies Inc.
Tufts Dentists of Medford and
Winchester
Gold Level Sponsors ($500)
Astra Tech Dental Implants
Barr and Barr Inc.
Glidewell Laboratories
Gene Greystone, E72, D75A
Ivoclar Vivadent
MDS Insurance Services Inc.
Silver Level Sponsors ($250)
Eastern Dental Insurance Co.
Hammond Pond Dental
Associates
Par Club ($100 and/or prizes)
Boris Bacunurschi, D06
Cherie Bishop, D94
Joseph DiPietro, D54, D81P,
A86P, D87P
Eagle Strategies
Clifton Grayer Jr., D75, DG78
Halfway Café
The Langham Hotel
Massachusetts Dental Society
Charles Millstein, D62, D10P
Janis Moriarty, D94
Mount Pleasant Country Club
Orinoco Restaurant
Nicholas Papapetros, D91
Prezza Restaurant
Proctor and Gamble/Oral-B
Seaport Hotel
Sports Auction for Charity
Sullivan Schein Dental
Tofigh Raayai, DG77, DI82
The Ritz-Carlton, Boston
Common
Tufts Health Sciences Campus
Bookstore
TUSDM Division of Continuing
Education
TUSDM Office of Development &
Alumni Relations
TUSDM Alumni Association
Executive Board
Ultradent Products
Wagner Motors
out&about
ALUMNI NEWS
ORAL SURGEONS
IN SEATTLE
More than 20 alumni and friends gathered
at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel on September
18, 2008, for an alumni reception in
conjunction with the annual meeting of
the American Association of Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgeons. Maria Papageorge,
D82, DG86, G89, professor and chair of
oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tufts,
hosted the reception.
FALL IN ’FRISCO
Mark Gonthier, associate dean
of admissions and student
affairs, joined 20 alumni and
friends for a reception at the
San Francisco Marriott last
September during the California
Dental Association’s fall meeting.
Steven Dugoni, D79, A08P, A12P,
serves as president of the Dental
Alumni Association’s California/
West Coast Chapter, which represents more than 800 alumni.
PROSTHODONTISTS IN OPRYLAND
More than 25 alumni and friends gathered at Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tenn.,
on October 30, 2008, for a reception held in conjunction with the annual meeting
of the American College of Prosthodontists.
Attendees included, from left: Moftah El-Ghadi, DG08; Hiroshi Hirayama, DG90, DI93,
DG94, professor and director of postgraduate prosthodontics; former prostho faculty
member Tom Vergo; Candice Zemnick, D02; Ann Vergo and Lino Calvani, DG91.
UPDATE IN THE BIG APPLE
The Greater New York Dental Alumni Chapter hosted its
fall meeting on December 2 at the Penn Club in New
York City. Andy Verdier, A96, D03, DG06, welcomed the
young alumni.The event featured a panel discussion with
Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, and associate deans
A. Joseph Castellana, Mark Gonthier and James Hanley,
D75A, DG79, who briefed alumni on how the school’s
expansion project will enhance dental education at Tufts.
The panel fielded questions about the project’s financing,
clinical enhancements and the student body.
More than 50 alumni attended the event, including, from
left: Maria Chartzoulakis, D04, DG08; Robert Berg, D03, the
chapter’s Young Alumni Chair; Michael Cafarella, D05; Dana
Marzocco, D05; and Caroline Barsoum, D05.
PERIO
RECEPTION
HEART OF TEXAS
A reception for alumni and friends was
held on October 17, 2008, in conjunction
with the American Dental Association’s
annual session in San Antonio, Texas.
More than 40 alumni and friends mingled
at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio. Dean
Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, welcomed the
group and spoke briefly on the progress
of the project that is building five floors
on top of the dental tower.
Perio reception attendees, from left: Ancy
Verdier, A96, D03, DG06; Etienne LaCrampe,
D03; and David Au-Yeung, D03.
Alumni and friends got together
in Seattle on September 8,
2008, for a reception, held
in conjunction with the annual
meeting of the American
Academy of Periodontology.
Guests enjoyed cocktails and
hors d’oeuvres while learning
about the new clinic at the
dental school from Terrence
Griffin, D71, DG75,
associate professor and
chair of periodontology.
MAINLY
ABOUT TUFTS
WE ARE FAMILY
The Office of Dental Development and Alumni Relations hosted the second annual
Tufts University Dental Legacy Reception at Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant in
Boston on August 25, 2008. All incoming and current students with a family relation to a dental alum were invited with their families. More than 80 students and
alumni gathered to celebrate the Tufts Dental family. Of the 171 students in the
Class of 2012, 40 have a relative who graduated from the school.
Back row, from left: Dean Lonnie H. Norris, DG80, M99P, A01P; William Fiore, D76,
DG78, E05P, D09P; David Fiore, E05, D09; Jeffrey Benecchi, D09; John Benecchi, D76,
D09P; Paul Cogliano, D76, D09P; and John Cogliano, D09; front row, from left: Amanda
Belden, D09; Mary Anne Fiore, E05P, D09P; Elizabeth Benecchi, D09P; and Rosemarie
Cogliano, D09P.
PHOTO: ALONSO NICHOLS (BOTTOM)
Paul Desjardins, D75A,
senior vice president of Wyeth
Pharmaceutical Consumer
Healthcare Division in Madison,
N.J., and a dental school overseer, and his wife, Catherine,
hosted a “friend-raising” alumni
gathering at their lakeside home
in Belgrade Lakes, Maine, last
August. Alumni and friends
in attendance included Philip
and Jamie Desjardins; George
Manter, D75, D10P; Doug
Laliberte, D09; Peter Laliberte,
D75A, D09P; Rebecca Parnell,
D09; Joseph Kenneally, D91;
Lisa Howard; Dean Lonnie H.
Norris, DG80, M99P, A01P;
Susan Manter, D10P; Maria Gove
Tringale, director of development
and alumni relations; and Donna
Norris, M99P, A01P.
ALUMNI NEWS
A Life of Service
A
fter more than 15 years of service to the tufts university
Dental Alumni Association, Norman Diamond, D57, DG64, A90P,
is stepping down as secretary of the Executive Board.
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Brandeis
University, Diamond enrolled at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
He served in the U.S. Navy, and then returned to Tufts, earning a postgraduate
certificate in orthodontics in 1964. From 1965 to 2002, he ran a private practice in West Roxbury, Mass., while serving on the orthodontics faculty at Tufts,
where he currently is an associate clinical professor. The orthodontic residents
presented him with the 2008 Everett Shapiro Treatment Award, named in honor
of the former longtime faculty member.
Diamond has served Tufts and the dental school in countless ways—as a
founding member of Tufts Association of Orthodontists, reunion co-chair for
the Class of 1957, longtime member of the Dental M Club Executive Committee
and as a member of the alumni association’s Executive Board since 1993.
He is also a former president of the
Massachusetts Dental Society, which
presented him with its Dr. Frederick
Moynihan Memorial Award in 2007.
He has been involved with Yankee
Dental Congress since its inception
34 years ago.
Reflecting on his involvement
in the Dental Alumni Association,
Diamond says, “If you want to get
something done, do it yourself. If
you don’t, then don’t complain.
Norman
It’s important to be involved in the
Diamond
process.”
NEW TO TUFTS
Susan Ahearn has joined the Office of
Dental Development and Alumni Relations
as associate director for alumni relations.
Prior to coming to Tufts, she was an event
planner at the Wellesley College Club, the
alumni, faculty and staff club at Wellesley
College, for five years. She also worked for a
dozen years planning and organizing events
at Jillians Boston, an entertainment club near
Fenway Park. She earned a B.S. in business
from Skidmore College. Ahearn’s father,
Carl Perlmutter, D64, DG70, is a retired
orthodontist.
At Tufts, Ahearn works with the Dental
Alumni Association and its chapters, overseeing all local and regional alumni events,
including Homecoming & Reunion, and helping to manage more than 60 volunteers.
PAYING IT FORWARD
Share your pride, your affiliation and your support of Tufts University Dental Alumni Association by renewing your membership today.
Programs your dues support include:
■
One of the largest student scholarship loan funds
at Tufts Dental School
■
Tufts Dental Medicine, your award-winning alumni magazine
■
Alumni receptions at national dental meetings
■
Annual Homecoming and Reunion programs
■
Regional alumni chapters in California, New York,
Florida and Greece
■
Annual Wide Open Golf and Tennis Tournament
Annual dues are $75, and $85 for alumni in California,
Florida and New York, for July 2008–June 2009.
PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:
Tufts University Dental Alumni Association and mail to:
Tufts University Dental Alumni Association
136 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02111
To learn more about services and programs for Tufts Dental
alumni visit http://dental.tufts.edu/alumni.
PHOTO: JOANIE TOBIN (TOP)
CLASS NOTES
UNIVERSITY NEWS
REUNION 2009, MAY 1–3
D54
Richard A. Winer,
who passed away
in July 2008, was memorialized
by the Jewish Historical Society
of the North Shore with the first
Dr. Richard A. Winer Annual
Memorial Lecture Series on
November 23, 2008, during
the society’s annual meeting in
Marblehead, Mass. Winer was
fascinated by his Lithuanian
background, completed his
first family tree and was doing
research on a second volume before his death. The first speaker
in the annual lecture series was
Joel Ratner, Vilna District coordinator for the LitvakSIG Vilna
District Research Group from
1998 to 2006. Ratner has been
involved with the acquisition,
translation and distribution of the
entire 1858 Vilna City Revision
List, as well as other genealogical records for the Vilna District.
For more on LitvakSIG, go to
www.litvaksig.org.
D61
S. George Colt,
A57, DG70,
gave a presentation on “Site
Development in the Placement
of Dental Implants” at the 2nd
Global Hellenic Medical Network
conference that was organized
by the combined Ministries of
Health of Cyprus and Greece
last fall in Paphos, Cyprus.
Physicians and dentists from the
Diaspora with Greek ethnic roots
were invited to give presentations on their specialty areas.
The first conference of the Global
Hellenic Medical Network was
held on the Greek island of Kos
in June 2007, when Colt gave
a presentation on “The Impact
of Titanium Root Form Implants
in Dentistry Today.” Colt, a
diplomate of the American Board
of Prosthodontics, practices in
Boston.
ARMENIAN
SERVICE MEDAL
Vartan Ghugasian, A67, D72, DG74, was
awarded the St. Nersess Shnorhali (The Grateful)
Medal and Pontifical Encyclical by His Eminence
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, primate of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church, in recognition
of his humanitarian contributions and service to
the Armenian Church, community and Republic
of Armenia. It is one of the highest honors the
Armenian Church bestows on an individual. A
former clinical faculty member at Tufts Dental
School, Ghugasian was a founder of the Armenian
American Dental Society in 1976, and served as
its president from 1988 to 1994. A parishioner
of St. James Armenian Church in Watertown,
Mass., Ghugasian has provided dental care
to residents of the Armenian Nursing Home in
Jamaica Plain, Mass., assisted the victims of the
1988 earthquake in Armenia and was integral in
raising funds to build six pediatric dental clinics
in Armenia.
D62
Richard Ferraro
has been honored
by the Oral Health Foundation
for his role in establishing the
nation’s first dental clinic in a
community health center—a
concept that began in 1967 at
the Columbia Point Community
Health Center in Dorchester and
was quickly replicated across
the United States. Long before access to care became a
priority for the dental profession,
Ferraro was the first to provide
underserved communities with
comprehensive oral health services and emergency treatment
in what is now known as the
Geiger-Gibson Community Health
Center in Dorchester. The pioneering community health center
was founded in 1965 by Count
Gibson and Jack Geiger, both
Vartan Ghugasian with the St. Nersess
Medal and Pontifical Encyclical
faculty members at Tufts School
of Medicine, in response to
President Lyndon Johnson’s “War
on Poverty.” They established
a second community health
center in rural Mound Bayou,
Miss. Ferraro “not only provided
a model for providing critical,
comprehensive care but also
encouraged hundreds of dental
students and dentists to move
into urban communities to treat
vulnerable populations,” said
Dennis Leonard of Delta Dental
of Massachusetts, which funds
the Oral Health Foundation.
Ferraro was the first to incorporate oral health records into
medical records, establishing a
critical link between oral health
and overall health. U.S. Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.,
wrote, “It was Dr. Ferraro’s
compassion that drove him to
create the clinic in the face of
overwhelming odds. It was his
compassion that helped him see
that oral health is fundamental
to a person’s dignity and sense
of self-worth. Through the force
of Dr. Ferraro’s compassion and
conviction that health care is a
fundamental right for all people,
thousands of people today receive high quality dental care at
community health centers across
the country.”
D63
Art Hotchkiss
won the men’s
70-plus age group title at the
2007 World Senior Racquetball
Championships, held at New
Mexico Sports & Wellness in
Albuquerque, N.M.
ALUMNI NEWS
D66
Shepard Goldstein
completed his term
as president of the American
Association of Endodontists on
April 12, 2008.
D69
Bill Green and his
wife, Bonny, have
relocated to Vermont. Green
retired in September 2008 after
35 years as a practicing dentist
and community volunteer in
Manchester and Milford, N.H.
D70
William Mehan,
A01P, has been
elected a fellow of District 1
of the International College of
Dentists.
D71
Paul Danielson
has been elected
a fellow of District 1 of the
International College of Dentists.
D73
Gerald Maher
of Mahercor
Laboratories of South Weymouth,
Mass., has developed an
innovative mouth guard, the
Maher Mouth Guard, which helps
prevent concussions for athletes
participating in contact sports.
Maher, the team dentist for the
New England Patriots football
team for more than 25 years,
designed the patent-pending
mouth guard to allow players to
breathe, speak and drink with
ease.
Steven Tunick is serving as president of the New
York State Society of Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgeons, chair of
the Professional Liability Claims
Committee of the New York
County Dental Society, a member
of the New York County Dental
Society Board of Directors,
presiding chair of the Greater
New York Dental Meeting,
District 1 representative on
the Committee for Professional
Conduct and a delegate of the
American Association of Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgeons.
D74
Ira Cheifetz is serving as presidentelect of the American Association
of Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgeons for 2008–09.
D75
Samuel Shames
was inducted into
the American College of Dentists
at the annual meeting of the
American Dental Association in
San Antonio in October 2008.
D76
Jon Davis has been
elected a fellow
of District 1 of the International
College of Dentists.
DG76
Hilton
Israelson
is serving as president of the
7,500-member Texas Dental
Association for 2008–09. He is
the first foreign dental graduate to be elected to the position. Born in South Africa, he
received his bachelor of dental
science degree in 1973 from the
School of Dental Medicine at the
University of Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg and his postgraduate certificate in periodontics
from Tufts School of Dental
Medicine in 1976. A diplomate of the American Board of
Periodontology, Israelson previously served as president of the
Dallas County Dental Society. He
practices periodontics and implantology in Richardson, Texas,
and is an associate clinical
professor in the department of
periodontics at the Baylor College
of Dentistry.
T R AV E L T O E X T R AO R D I N A R Y P L AC E S W I T H E XC E P T I O N A L P E O P L E
TRAVEL-LEARN
Available
ONLINE:
our exciting new
line-up of 2009
destinations!
From the Baltic to Bora Bora, from Greece to Peru, our journeys feature intellectual inquiry with lectures and exploration.
There’s a perfect trip for every taste! Call Usha Sellers, Program Director, at 800-843-2586 for our brochure or visit our
website for itineraries.
w w w. t u f t s . e d u / a l u m n i / e d - t ra v e l - l e a r n . h t m l
D77
Clifford Salm is
the current general
chair of the Greater New York
Dental Meeting.
Franson K.S. Tom says
“aloha” and has recently opened
a cosmetic dentistry practice in
Las Vegas, doing implants and
Invisalign. He was appointed
founding chair of the Southern
Nevada Dentists Health and
Wellness Committee and received the 2008 Mentor of the
Year award from the Southern
Nevada Dental Society for his
work with the first-year program
at the University of Nevada–Las
Vegas School of Dental Medicine.
If you want to be in touch:
[email protected].
Richard Vachon, D10P, has
been elected a fellow of District
1 of the International College of
Dentists.
D78
Douglas Kinney and
his wife, Lyliane Van
Gijseghem, joined Tufts alumni
and friends at the Belgium Tufts
Alliance holiday party in Brussels
in December 2008.
D80
Tim Crowe, A75,
has relocated to
his downtown Chicago office.
He is accepting new patients for
maxillofacial plane film imaging,
TMJ therapy, implant surgery and
joint-based restorative dentistry.
To learn more, visit www.dentalmedicinechicago.com.
Larry Wolinsky has been appointed associate dean for academic programs and personnel at
the UCLA School of Dentistry.
DG82
Walter H.
Meinzer II
has been awarded diplomate
status by the American Board of
Periodontology. He has a private
practice in West Yarmouth,
Mass., and is an assistant clinical professor of periodontology at
Tufts School of Dental Medicine.
D85
Douglas Moll,
A81, DG91, has
been elected a fellow of District
1 of the International College of
Dentists.
D87
Michael Schneider
lives in California,
where he does dental makeovers
for the Style Network.
WE MEET AGAIN
Morton B. Rosenberg, D74, center, professor of oral and maxillofacial
surgery and director of anesthesia and pain control, had a chance to
catch up with Army dentists Kimberly Inouye, D05, and Ed Montoya,
D07, when they attended a continuing education course he gave at
Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga.
Development Committee for
the past two years. Remmes,
who lives in Saco, has offices in
Portland and Biddeford. His four
children attend Thornton.
D88
Paul Remmes,
DG90, has been
appointed to the Board of
Trustees at Thornton Academy
in Saco, Maine. He is a 1980
graduate of the private school
and has served on Thornton’s
D89
Lisa Vouras has
been elected
a District 1 fellow of the
D90
Bruce Doyle
bought his second
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Have you opened a practice? Gotten married? Changed jobs? Fulfilled a lifelong dream?
Keep your fellow alumni/ae up to date by filling out this form.
CHECK HERE IF ADDRESS IS NEW.
Send to:
Natalie Chassaigne
Tufts Dental Alumni Relations
136 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02111
email: [email protected]
fax: 617.636.4052
Name
Class
Street
City
State
Zip
Email address
practice in April 2007 in his
hometown of Stoneham, Mass.
His other office is located in
Avon, Mass. His wife, Jill, is a
part-time hygienist at both offices
as well as part-time faculty at the
Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene.
D91
Steven Brown
has been elected
a District 1 fellow of the
Paul Heroux has become
a partner at University Dental
Group in Worcester, Mass.
Nicholas Papapetros II has
been elected a District 1 fellow
Dentists.
D94
Cherie Bishop was
elected a guest
board member on the Board of
Trustees of the Massachusetts
Dental Society. She has been
an active member of MDS since
1995. She was chosen for the
2007–08 MDS Leadership
Institute and volunteers for the
Yankee Dental Congress.
ALUMNI NEWS
D95
Karl-Martin
Wiklund has been
Dentists.
D97
Arathi Tiruvur is
living in Saratoga,
Calif., where he opened a new
state-of-the-art practice. He has
two daughters, ages nine and
five.
D98
Lauren (Ratner)
Lazar and her
husband, Michael, welcomed a
son, Robert Andrew, on January
31, 2008. He joins big sisters
Caroline, 3, and Penelope, 2.
David Mitchell Singer, DG00,
has been elected a fellow of
District 1 of the International
College of Dentists.
D99
Alec Yen, DG03,
and Sylvia
Suaverdez, D06, welcomed a
daughter, Emily Alexia, on August
16, 2008.
D02
Carla Blain
opened a practice
in Westbury, N.Y. Blain dedicates
her spare time as a Nassau
County emergency medical volunteer and is an active member
of her local community. Visit her
website: www.westburydental.
com.
Mariela Lung-Compton was
married in 2005 to Kenneth
(Casey) Compton, who is a tax
attorney. In 2006, she took over
a busy practice in Lakeland, Fla.
Lung-Compton and her husband
are active with the Productive
Dentist Academy (www.productivedentist.com), and she is a
founding member of the Dental
Organization for Sleep Apnea
(www.apneadocs.com).
D03
Tracey Osborn
Pike opened a
practice in New Hampshire in
2005. Tom Montemurno, who
recently bought a practice in
Manchester, is joining her on
Friday afternoons for orthodontics. Fellow classmates John
Palazzo, Nii Lokko and Cheryl
Ogden are also practicing in New
Hampshire.
D04
Michael
Oppedisano was
profiled in the 2008 issue of
Childtimes, a publication of the
Children’s Medical Center in
Dallas, Texas, where Oppedisano
is a prosthodontist and pediatric
dentist.
D05
Petros Damoulis,
DG91, has been
Dentists.
Julia Rebecca Sivitz, DG08,
married Matthew Bieber on
November 1, 2008, at the RitzCarlton in Philadelphia.
D06
D07
Sylvia Suaverdez,
see D99.
Seema Chawla
and Joshua
Miranda were married in 2008.
Marcin Jarmoc and Christine
Rosato were married on June 8,
2008. Jarmoc is a second-year
postgraduate in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tufts, and
Rosato is in private practice.
IN MEMORIAM
Eugene J. Tillman, D37
August 16, 2008
Dover, Massachusetts
Henry E. Snell, A44, D48, A83P
December 11, 2008
Brookline, Massachusetts
Alvin B. Stone, D54
September 18, 2008
Delray Beach, Florida
Anthony M. Giambalvo, D58
November 18, 2008
Commack, New York
Paul Lazzaro, A37, D39
October 16, 2008
Largo, Florida
Alfred I. Dean, D49
November 15, 2008
Newtown, Pennsylvania
Richard A. Winer, D54
July 17, 2008
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Sigmund D. Fleck, D59
July 31, 2008
Richmond, Massachusetts
Marshall J. Brickell, D40
September 11, 2008
Stoughton, Massachusetts
Leslie M. Curtis, D51
June 27, 2008
Winchester, Massachusetts
Albert F. Allaire, D56, D83P
May 16, 2008
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Young H. Kim, D60
November 25, 2008
Weston, Massachusetts
James J. Mulligan, D42
June 20, 2008
Natick, Massachusetts
David Schreiber, D51
October 5, 2008
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Norman A. Freeman, DG56
October 1, 2008
Avon, Connecticut
Irving Carl Mayhew, D61
September 25, 2008
Gardiner, Maine
Norman Cetlin, D43B, DG48
November 20, 2008
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
C. Warren Brodrick, D52
November 2, 2008
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Clyde C. Lewis, D56
November 14, 2008
Stowe, Vermont
Harlan L. Goodwin Jr., D62
August 22, 2008
Rye, New Hampshire
James H. Siegel, D43B
June 15, 2008
Ashburn, Virginia
Paul M. Meymaris, D52
December 4, 2008
Yarmouthport, Massachusetts
Harold H. Hookway Jr., A54, D57
June 28, 2008
Acton, Massachusetts
Gerard A. Jernegan, D68
July 6, 2008
Braintree, Massachusetts
Albert E. Cangiano, D45, D86P
October 6, 2008
Medford, Massachusetts
Guy Guarnaccia, D54
June 20, 2008
Riverside, Connecticut
John E. Horton, D57
October 28, 2008
Columbus, Ohio
Sheryl A. Jacobson, D76
September 4, 2008
Providence, Rhode Island
CONTINUING EDUCATION
MAR C H 1 3 –14
A PRIL 17
M AY 13
Nitrous Oxide Certification Course
Drs. Morton B. Rosenberg
and C.S. Maller
The Biologic Imperatives of
Endodontics and Implantology:
Fashioning a Risk Assessment
Algorithm
Dr. Kenneth S. Serota
The Fully Integrated Digital Dental
Practice
Dr. Charles D. Samaras
MAR C H 1 8
Dental Update for the Entire
Team: Medical Emergencies
Dr. Morton B. Rosenberg
MAR C H 2 0
Cone Beam CT-guided Implant
Planning
Dr. Robert Angorn
MAR C H 2 1
New Advances in Implant
Overdentures: Happiness Through
Simplification
Dr. Allen L. Schneider
MAR C H 2 5
Pain and Anxiety Control for the
General Practitioner
Drs. Morton B. Rosenberg and
Michael Thompson
MAR C H 27
Six Clinical Habits of Highly
Effective Dentists
Dr. Brian B. Novy
A PRIL 18
Lasers in Periodontics and
Restorative Dentistry
Dr. Robert A. Convissar
A PRIL 2 2
Everyday Periodontics for the
General Dentist–Dental Hygienist
Team
Dr. Marty Nager
A PRIL 24
Recipes for Predictable Anterior
Esthetics
Dr. Gerard J. Chiche
Non-invasive Facial Cosmetic
Procedures
Dr. Constantinos Laskarides
Current Concepts, Issues
and Controversies in Clinical
Dentistry: Commonsense
Answers and Approaches for a
More Efficacious Dental Practice
Dr. Paul J. Vankevich
Legal Information Every Dentist
Needs to Know
Carol A. Coakley
MAY 6
AP R I L 4
Dental Update for the Entire
Team: Medical Emergencies
Dr. Morton B. Rosenberg
M AY 22
Prosthetic Updates for the 21st
Century
Dr. William Lobel
M AY 27
Implant Restorations in Everyday
Dentistry: Making Decisions
about Successful Use of Implants
Drs. Nopsaran Chaimattayompol,
Ali Muftu and Ekaterini Antonellou
DIVISION OF CONTINUING
EDUCATION
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE
One Kneeland Street
Boston, MA 02111
Telephone: 617.636.6629
Fax: 617.636.0800
Email: [email protected]
M AY 29
A PRIL 2 9
MAY 1
AP R I L 1
M AY 20
All Continuing Education courses
are held on Tufts University
School of Dental Medicine’s
Boston campus, unless otherwise noted. For more information
about these and other upcoming
courses, contact:
Crown Lengthening Workshop
Drs. Emilio Arguello and
Catherine Moshirfar
Full Arch Rehabilitations: How to
Create Complete Dentures – From
Basics to Current Standards
Dr. Lino Calvani
AP R I L 1 5
MAY 8
Treating Medical Emergencies in
the Dental Office
Dr. Robert R. Edwab
Technology and Implant Treatment
Planning
Dr. Jerome Haber
AP R I L 1 5
MAY 9
Oral Surgery Workshop for the
Dr. Robert R. Edwab
The Art and Science of Porcelain
Laminate Veneers
Drs. Alaaeddin Alwazzan and Yong
Jeong Kim
Management of the Medically
Compromised Dental Patient
Dr. Kanchan Ganda
M AY 29–3 0
Enteral (Oral) Sedation for the
Drs. Morton B. Rosenberg, C.S.
Maller and William A. MacDonnell
and Carol A. Coakley
JUNE 3
Risk Management: Record
Keeping and Informed Consent
Barry Regan
JUNE 5
Fourth Annual Oral Cancer
Symposium
Drs. Michael A. Kahn, Mark W.
Lingen, Brad K. Rodu and David
T.W. Wong and Brian R. Hill
JUNE 6
Real World Endo® Presents the
Endo-Restorative Continuum
Drs. Ken Koch and Lynne Brock
THE PEOPLE’S
PATHOLOGIST
HEAD OF THE CLASS
A
lmost by definition, pathology is one
of the more challenging classes on a dental student’s schedule. For 46 years, from
1932 to 1978, H. Spencer Glidden, A27,
M31, G62P, brought the subject to life for Tufts
dental students. Glidden, his former students recall,
never forgot the human stories behind the slides.
“About eighty-five percent of each lecture was
hard-core science—histology, cell biology, how
things go wrong,” says Paul J. Desjardins, D75A,
senior vice president of the Wyeth Consumer
Healthcare Division and an overseer to the dental
school. “But for the rest of the class, he told us about
the people behind the disease, and our fear of pathology disappeared.”
Unless, of course, the subject matter hit too close
to home. Jess Kane remembers attending a lecture
on skin lesions. Glidden showed slide after slide
of moles and markings, some of which were cancerous. After the lecture, Kane says, half the class
walked up to their professor and took their shirts
off, concerned about the moles and other blemishes on their torsos. “The guy had the patience of
a saint,” says Kane, D74, DG76, G78, DG79, D04P,
DG06P. “He examined every single one of his paranoid students.”
Glidden also had a dry sense of humor and
wasn’t afraid to use the gross-out factor to make his
lessons memorable. Desjardins still remembers a
lecture about a rare kind of tumor. Because ovaries
and teeth develop from the same primordial tissues,
ovarian tumors occasionally contain tooth-like calcifications. This concept so fascinated Desjardins’
class, that at the end of the course, they presented
Glidden with a plastic model of just such a tumor.
Embedded inside, the students had planted a tooth
from a typodont, complete with gold filling.
“Well, [Glidden] roared with laughter,” says
Desjardins. “He had the broadest smile. There was
a lot of humanity in this man.”
His students also remember him as equally
modest. “He never flaunted his credentials,” says
Kane. “He was never condescending, even though
he was obviously brilliant. He left a lasting impression on all the students he taught.”
Glidden was so understated that Kane recalls
seeing his professor making an appointment at the
Tufts dental clinic. Glidden, a physician, taught only
in the classroom, so he went unrecognized in the
clinic. “I had to step in and say, ‘Do you know who
this is?’ ” Kane says.
“I think he’d be very proud of the school today,”
Kane adds. “Like Dean [Lonnie] Norris, he was a
very warm person. I think they would have hit it
off.”
—Jacqueline Mitchell
Tell us about a memorable teacher during your time
at Tufts Dental School: [email protected].
PHOTO: 1951 EXPLORER YEARBOOK
2009 Wide Open Tournament
FRONT MATTER
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564 Clubhouse Drive
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Schedule of Events
A New Day
Ibtyhal Al-Amoudi, a third-year postgraduate
resident in pediatric dentistry, joined other
Tufts health sciences students, faculty and
staff in the Sackler Center café on the Boston
campus on January 20 to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s 44th
president. A native of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
Al-Amoudi is also pursuing a master of science
degree at the dental school. Behind her is
Preston Stephens, a manager in the dental
school’s clinical affairs division.
_____ golfers
@ $__________ each = $_________
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Golf Tournament
Lunch included
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Reception
4 p.m.
Awards Dinner
5 p.m.
_____ dinner only @ $__________ each = $_________
Registration Fees
Please mail this form and your check, payable to Tufts
University Dental Alumni Association, to Office of
Alumni Relations, Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111.
Golf Tournament
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Tennis Tournament
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_____ I will be unable to attend the 2009 WIDE OPEN,
but I’d be proud to be listed as a sponsor for my
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M A G A Z I N E O F T H E T U F T S U N I V E R S I T Y D E N TA L A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N
WINTER 2009 VOL. 13 NO. 1
OPEN
DENTAL MEDICINE
for the
564 Clubhouse Drive
SEUSS DOCTOR
Long before Horton heard a Who and the
Grinch tried to vanquish Christmas, Theodor
Geisel’s creatures populated national
magazines, hawked bug spray and taught
soldiers the do’s and don’ts of military
life. Charles Cohen, D87, knows thing one
and thing two about those early days of the
beloved children’s author. For more, turn
to page 10.
the Dental Alumni
Student Loan Fund
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
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BOSTON, MA
PERMIT NO. 1161
What 76 million baby boomers
mean for your practice
PLUS: MURDER HE WROTE
■
ECONOMIC GRIND
■
H A L F WAY T H E R E

can - Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

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