[{"id":3393,"date":"2023-06-02T08:42:13","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T12:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3393"},"modified":"2023-06-02T08:43:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T12:43:30","slug":"celebrating-pride-at-vcu-school-of-dentistry-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/06\/02\/celebrating-pride-at-vcu-school-of-dentistry-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating PRIDE at VCU School of Dentistry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em><sup>Contributed by Carlos S. Smith, DDS, MDiv, FACD, associate dean of inclusive excellence, ethics and community engagement. <\/sup><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continuing on our path towards a more inclusive School of Dentistry, we wanted to take a moment and reflect upon PRIDE Month and the recognition of our LGBTQ+ community members\u2014patients, students, staff, and faculty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pride is a beacon of hope, lighting the way for future generations to live in a world free from discrimination and bias. It empowers us to create change, challenge norms, and forge a path towards a more inclusive and accepting society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Not sure of next steps? Check out these resources&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em>&#8211; Here are a few resources we should all be familiar with to better care for our patients and to understand the lived experience of our LGBT+ friends and colleagues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41406-020-0172-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ten&nbsp; Things Dental Students Can Do To Support LGBT+ Patients<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.lighthouse.lgbt\/lgbtq-affirming-dentist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5 Reasons an LGBT+ Affirming Dentist Can Make All the Difference<\/a><\/li><li>From the ADA New Dentist Blog &#8211;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/newdentistblog.ada.org\/pride-50th-anniversary-five-ways-you-can-be-a-better-ally-dentist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Five ways you can be a better ally dentist<\/a><\/li><li>From the ADA New Dentist Blog &#8211;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/newdentistblog.ada.org\/lgbtq-equality-is-on-the-rise-its-time-for-dentistry-to-catch-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LGBTQ equality is on the rise; it\u2019s time for dentistry to catch up<\/a><\/li><li>Visit the VCU Health Sciences Diversity podcast on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dhsd.vcu.edu\/podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The PIPELINE podcast<\/em><\/a>, entitled &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1RA1p_mY0Xw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A is for Ally<\/a>&#8221; featuring Sander Jennings, TV personality (from the TLC reality series &#8220;I Am Jazz&#8221;) and LGBTQIAA+ and transgender rights advocate.<\/li><li>Inclusive of ALL: Improving Care for LGBT+ Patients &#8211; we invite you to view webinars from our past Inclusive Excellence Weeks focusing on the LGBT+ communities.<\/li><li>Trauma Informed Care and the Health Needs of the LGBTQ+ Community, with speaker and VCU graduate Melissa-Irene Jackson, M.S.W., from Virginia Planned Parenthood. View&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kbB2QXy74tc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li><li>Inclusive of ALL: Improving Care for LGBT+ Patients with Dr. Steve Crossman, former Associate Professor &amp; Vice Chair, Clinical Operations and Family Medicine Education, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health at the VCU School of Medicine. View&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Gc3UjQoB9FM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Want more information on pronouns?<\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prideinpractice.org\/articles\/transgender-pronouns-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gender Pronouns: A Provider\u2019s Guide to Referring to Transgender Patients<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/journalofethics.ama-assn.org\/article\/pronouns-and-advocacy-medicine\/2020-03\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pronouns and Advocacy in Medicine<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/2021\/02\/19\/gender-pronouns-doctors-patients-medical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The inclusivity trap? Asking patients for their pronouns helps us treat them \u2014 unless they shut down<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by Carlos S. Smith, DDS, MDiv, FACD, associate dean of inclusive excellence, ethics and community engagement. Continuing on our path towards a more inclusive School of Dentistry, we wanted to take a moment and reflect upon PRIDE Month and the recognition of our LGBTQ+ community members\u2014patients, students, staff, and faculty. Pride is a beacon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1382,"featured_media":3394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3373,"date":"2023-05-12T14:09:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3373"},"modified":"2023-05-17T10:54:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T14:54:47","slug":"class-of-2023-military-scholarships-provide-a-path-to-dentistry-for-four-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/05\/12\/class-of-2023-military-scholarships-provide-a-path-to-dentistry-for-four-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2023: Military scholarships provide a path to dentistry for four graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The U.S. Military Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) is a unique opportunity for individuals interested in careers in health care who would also like to serve their country. This year, VCU School of Dentistry has four graduating dental students who have made a year-for-year commitment to service in exchange for education. Read on to learn about their experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/Alix-Kloster-web.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3375\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Alix Schneider<\/strong><br>Hometown: Norfolk, VA<br>Undergraduate: Sewanee College in Tennessee<br>Branch of service: Army<br>Plans after graduation: Completing a one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, WA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What got you interested in oral health?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing up, I was in orthodontics for 10 years and had full jaw surgery. I actually always loved going to the dentist. I had a fantastic pediatric dentist, they were actually the first person I shadowed when I decided I wanted to pursue dentistry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In college, I majored in international and global relations and planned to go into the shipping industry in some fashion. After graduating, I considered a master\u2019s degree in that field but decided I wanted to go to law school. But, after taking the LSAT I thought who would want to do that?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was in a dental appointment after college getting some work done and it just hit me. I realized, I can totally do this. After that, honestly, I just went after it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually I realized that the connection to patients really appealed to me. I also liked having a tangible skill that I could build throughout my career, something that I could take with me anywhere while still being able to interact with people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Were you always interested in military service?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m from Norfolk, a huge Navy town. I always knew I wanted to go into the military and it was a way to pay for college. I have family in medicine and others who are harbor pilots with connections to the Navy. I joke that I chose the Army out of spite. I didn\u2019t really want to go into private practice and deal with the business aspects of it, so the military was appealing. I also liked that it was a bigger, more collaborative environment with a lot of colleagues who could give input on my work as I go.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What have you liked most about your time at VCU?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was more of a non-traditional candidate and did all of my prerequisites in a bit of a piecemeal fashion as I was working after college. When I was applying to dental schools, I came to VCU to meet with an admissions counselor. I talked to Lindsay Smith and she suggested I do the <a href=\"https:\/\/medschool.vcu.edu\/education\/graduate\/certificate-programs\/cert\/\">Pre-medical Graduate Health Sciences Certificate (CERT) program<\/a>. I completed it and then went on to complete a master\u2019s degree at VCU. Through it all, I met several of the faculty here. When it came down to deciding between the schools to which I had been accepted, I chose VCU because I had really good experiences and it was already familiar.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What did you like most about your education?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I really liked being able to connect with the patients and provide more oral health education than they might get in other settings due to the longer appointment times. A lot of our patients don\u2019t have much exposure to oral health care, and we have an opportunity to teach them and make a difference. When I came to dental school, I didn\u2019t even know how to floss my teeth properly. So, if I didn\u2019t know that as a pre-dental student, how can I expect my patients to know?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Was there an experience that stood out to you most?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, I had my daughter in my third year, so that definitely stands out. I actually took one of my exams after I started going into labor. The doctor told me I probably needed to go into the hospital soon and offered to write a note, but I figured I would never get it done if I didn\u2019t do it then. I remember coming home with my daughter and listening to lectures while I was feeding her or when she was napping. My husband would watch her when I had to go into school for tests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve always been bad about neglecting myself and blindly pursuing goals with no concern for life balance. But, after having a kid, I had to learn how to balance my education and caring for her. She taught me the need for boundaries and how to prioritize different parts of my life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/Nicole-Manfrini-RS-Web.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3376\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Nicole Manfrini\u00a0<\/strong><br>Hometown: Miami, FL<br>Undergraduate: University of Miami<br>Branch of service: Air Force<br>Plans after graduation: Completing a one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Air Force Base Travis in Fairfield, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you consider the Health Professions Scholarship Program?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was born in Argentina and moved to Miami with my family when I was six years old. My sister went to medical school and applied for the Air Force HPSP, so she was a big influence on my decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of my mentors in undergrad was a dentist in the Air Force. He liked that you could give the best care possible and not have to worry about the financial aspect with your patients. Not having to deal with insurance or limit the care you provide really stood out to me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Did you always want to pursue dentistry?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had a lot of ortho treatment in high school. I was applying to colleges wanting to pursue a degree in advertising, but late in my senior year I realized that dentistry was something I wanted to pursue. I started shadowing a lot in undergrad. I liked that it was tangible, it was medicine. You don\u2019t just prescribe a medication and hope it works, you literally get to see the difference you make. It\u2019s hands-on and artistic. There\u2019s also a lot of interaction, and I like to talk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I ended up double majoring in advertising and microbiology. I figured, maybe I could advertise for my own practice one day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you choose VCU?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My pre-dental advisor and my mentor in undergrad both loved VCU. My mentor went to VCU in the 60\u2019s. They both talked about the culture and the atmosphere of the school. So, I ended up applying and felt the same thing when I interviewed. It was very welcoming, and a lot of the other schools weren\u2019t. Other interviews felt like an interrogation, like they were trying to catch you slipping up. Here, it was much more relaxed. They asked about my application, research and other stuff, but they wanted to get to know me personally and treated me like a person.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What was the most challenging aspect of your education?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think the hardest part is separating your personal and professional life. It\u2019s hard to turn off your brain from the dental world because all of my friends are dental students, so it\u2019s what we end up talking about outside of school. It can also be difficult juggling all the responsibilities and playing the role of dentist, assistant and admin. You schedule your patients and give them your Google number, but you have to set boundaries because if you text or contact them after hours they will expect you to be available 24-7.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What was the best part of your experience at VCU?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For me, it\u2019s been giving back to patients, especially the big Hispanic community we have here. A lot of them have never had a dentist that speaks their language, so how can they expect to know what treatment they\u2019re getting or what they need? I like to learn about different people\u2019s backgrounds when educating them. They\u2019ve struggled to get to where they are now. It\u2019s not that they don\u2019t care about their oral health, they just don\u2019t know about it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The prosthodontic cases are also really rewarding. One of my first patients needed dentures and I treated her over the course of two years. This past month, she sent me a picture of herself smiling at a party. And she was like, \u201cYou\u2019re the reason I\u2019m smiling. I never thought I would ever smile like this.\u201d It was a beautiful thing, because when I first met her she was going through a lot in her personal life and I was able to see her blossom.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/Colin-Smith-RS-web.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3377\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Colin Smith\u00a0<br><\/strong>Hometown: Midlothian, VA<br>Undergraduate: Virginia Military Institute<br>Branch of service: Army<br>Plans after graduation: Completing a one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, WA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you interested in the military?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I always knew I wanted to be in the military. I went to an all-boys military Catholic high school. My brother went to VMI. We weren\u2019t very disciplined growing up, but I saw how the school changed him as a person. It seemed like he could just get up in front of a group of people and be a natural leader, and it inspired me to follow in his footsteps. I joined the Reserve Officers&#8217; Training Corps (ROTC) for the Army, and I was actually planning on being a tanker after graduation. But, right before they slotted us, I decided that I wanted to do something with my chemistry degree. So, I applied to dental school and was like, if I get in, I get in. Well, I got in and they switched me from my existing scholarship to the HPSP.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you choose dentistry?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, my dad works for Zimmer Biomet, a big implant company. He knows a lot of dentists in the Richmond area and was able to connect me with a really good doctor for shadowing. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dentist. I was that kid that had to be dragged in kicking and screaming. But, through shadowing, I saw the connection with the patients and how everyone was enjoying their appointments. I thought it would be a cool way to conquer my fear and give back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m still terrified of the dentist, but I\u2019m getting there.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you consider VCU?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VCU was actually the only school I applied to. VMI didn\u2019t have a pre-dental track. I was on a pre-med track and Dr. Susie Goolsby, who was VCU faculty at the time, came to Washington and Lee University, which is right down the street from VMI. I was the only one who signed up. I was in uniform and nervous, but she said that I had a good shot at getting in and encouraged me to go ahead and apply. I thought, what the heck, I\u2019ll give it my best shot and go for it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What was the best part about your experience at VCU?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Definitely meeting my wife. She\u2019s a student here as well and we got married about a month ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides that, seeing the patients\u2019 reactions and also just kind of being an outlet for patients is really rewarding. A lot of people will say, \u201cI\u2019ve gone everywhere and nobody accepts my insurance. I can\u2019t afford it.\u201d It\u2019s a really good feeling, being able to offer those patients an option and seeing how much it means to them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The flip side is also the hardest part. It\u2019s tough presenting a treatment option that would provide the best outcome but the patient can\u2019t do it for financial or other reasons. Seeing their disappointment, it really gets to me on some days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How have you evolved since you started school?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it really taught me how to better take care of myself and lead a healthier lifestyle. At VMI, it was a lot of staying up late studying, waking up early to work out or have uniform inspection. No matter how tired I was I would just power through it. Here, coming into the clinic, I realize how much it affects my performance. I don\u2019t want to come in tired and be off my game\u2013it could affect a patient\u2019s outcome. I started paying more attention to getting rest, eating a good breakfast and showing up prepared.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Is there a particular experience that stands out for you?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it was delivering my first dentures to a patient. She wrote a letter of appreciation and the school got permission to share it and took a picture of us together. She\u2019s a really special person, she has a special needs daughter and has never been able to take care of herself. I just saw her again after a year and a half and she was just as ecstatic as she ever was. It was my first exposure to treating a patient, my first denture delivery. The dentures turned out beautifully and she couldn\u2019t have been happier. I thought, this is amazing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/Joseph-Volant-Web.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3378\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Joseph Volant<\/strong><br>Hometown: Fairfield, VA<br>Undergraduate: Christopher Newport University<br>Branch of service: Navy<br>Plans after graduation: One-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Did you always want to pursue a career in oral health?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s funny, my siblings and I hated going to the dentist due to some bad experiences we had when we were younger. So growing up, I never really expected to be interested in dentistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I went to Christopher Newport University where I studied cellular biology. I thought I wanted to do surgery, but I started shadowing in a hospital and was really taken aback at the amount of burnout.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I ended up shadowing a dentist during college. Every patient that he had was so relaxed and laughing during their appointment. I think shadowing this doctor made me realize what compassionate care looked like. I also realized I could still pursue surgery but also develop these relationships. I liked the idea of being the kind of provider that I didn\u2019t have growing up.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What got you interested in joining the military?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My dad was in the Army when I was growing up, so he will always be a big role model for me. I actually wanted to be a pilot before I got interested in surgery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After deciding on dentistry, what I liked about the military was it gives you an opportunity as a provider to do the treatment that provides the best outcome for the patient regardless of cost. In the civilian world, you sometimes have to make compromises based on financial resources or insurance or some other outside factor. The military was appealing because it gave me the financial support in dental school but also will allow me to provide the best care possible professionally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you choose VCU?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I went on a dental mission trip to Jamaica as an undergrad. There were students from a couple of different schools. I got to assist and watch them work, and there was a big difference in the clinical abilities of the students from VCU. These same students also welcomed me like family and were so encouraging to me in my journey to dental school. That, for me, was probably the biggest factor in my decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s been your favorite part of your education?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seeing patients react when you complete treatment. People have a huge connection to their smile, and it means a lot to see them happy with your work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In particular, I got to do some work on my sister last year. We both had some dental work done by a provider we had growing up that was not ideal. Getting to fix that was really impactful for both of us. I felt like I was correcting some wrongs that we had gone through when we were younger. It also made me realize the personal growth I\u2019ve had progressing through school and stepping into the clinic. I shared a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/CkuB7BgONue\/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\">video of her reaction<\/a> on my Instagram account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What advice do you have for others interested in a similar path?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My advice for anyone interested in following a similar path would be to always take steps toward your goals even if you don&#8217;t feel ready. If you wait for the perfect moment to start working toward something, the moment will never come. It&#8217;s better to just get started on your journey and embrace all the mistakes, pitfalls and lessons that will help you grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Military Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) is a unique opportunity for individuals interested in careers in health care who would also like to serve their country. This year, VCU School of Dentistry has four graduating dental students who have made a year-for-year commitment to service in exchange for education. Read on to learn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1382,"featured_media":3380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3364,"date":"2023-05-12T14:01:12","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3364"},"modified":"2023-05-16T10:04:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T14:04:01","slug":"class-of-2023-youngest-in-her-class-destiney-coles-aspires-to-inspire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/05\/12\/class-of-2023-youngest-in-her-class-destiney-coles-aspires-to-inspire\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2023: Youngest in her class, Destiney Coles aspires to inspire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Destiney Coles is the youngest graduate of the Dental Hygiene Class of 2023 at VCU School of Dentistry. At just 20 years old, Coles graduates this week with a bachelor\u2019s degree at an age when most of her peers typically start the program.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis week, I accepted an award from the school for clinical excellence and professionalism. Of everything I\u2019ve accomplished in the program, I\u2019m most proud of my personal and professional development,\u201d said Coles. \u201cI\u2019m thankful for my amazing faculty who worked with me throughout these past few years. I feel like this award is proof that I\u2019m growing and progressing to be a better version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/Coles-Award-RS-web.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3366\" \/><figcaption><sup><em>Coles accepts the Irene E. Newman Award at the Senior Awards Ceremony<\/em>.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Coles\u2019 path wasn\u2019t easy, but her challenges made her all the more determined to succeed. At Lakeland High School in Suffolk, VA, she sought out opportunities to get ahead. She took advantage of a biomedical sciences program in ninth grade, signed up for advanced placement courses and enrolled in an associate&#8217;s degree program for first-generation college students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy the time I was 15, I was pretty much an adult,\u201d said Coles, who recounts growing up with her grandparents in Suffolk, VA. \u201cI wasn\u2019t very connected to my parents and we didn\u2019t have much growing up, but I was determined to not be defined by my circumstances and become someone that others could look up to.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of care-free summers and hanging out with friends, Coles focused on her studies and completing the courses she needed for her associate\u2019s degree. Having always been interested in dentistry, she decided to pursue a career in dental hygiene and started checking out schools.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI toured VCU three times, but I knew it was the place for me the first time I visited,\u201d she said. \u201cI actually worked in an occupational therapy office on the MCV Campus and started communicating with dental hygiene students. They helped me learn more about the program and even gave me advice on my application.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After high school, Coles moved to Richmond and enrolled in anatomy and microbiology courses at VCU to fulfill the requirements for the Dental Hygiene program. Once she was accepted and started her courses and clinical training, she immediately fell in love with the work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSchool hasn\u2019t been easy, but I never viewed it as difficult because it was always what I wanted to do. The most challenging part has been balancing life, paying my bills and being away from my grandparents,\u201d she said. \u201cI try to talk to my grandmother every week, not about school but just about life.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/Coles-Mock-Board-web.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3367\" \/><figcaption><sup><em>Coles completes the school&#8217;s mock board exam in preparation for her upcoming dental hygiene board exam. <\/em><\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Life on her own was an adjustment. Coles missed her connection with her grandparents, and she stayed busy working as a server in order to pay the bills while she completed her education. She suffered the loss of her great grandmother during her first year, but also developed a close relationship with faculty members LaTesha McLee, M.S.D.H., R.D.H., and Heather Tuthill, M.P.H., B.S.D.H., R.D.H.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMs. McLee and Ms. Tuthill have been like my mothers away from home. They\u2019ve always seen the best in me even when I didn\u2019t see it myself,\u201d said Coles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coles recalls a day when she was with members of her class picking up trash at Belle Isle as part of a community service project. She slipped on a wet rock and hit her head, requiring her to go to the hospital and stay for monitoring.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMs. McLee came and sat with me. It meant the world to me because I had never been to the hospital alone before,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VCU School of Dentistry is known for its commitment to service, and Coles became heavily involved in efforts to help the community. She signed up for educational events at local schools, volunteered for Mission of Mercy projects and became one of the volunteer coordinators for the school\u2019s involvement in CARITAS, a local homeless shelter at which students in VCU\u2019s Health Sciences schools volunteer to provide medical, dental and other services to those in need.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coles empathizes with many of her patients. In them, she sees some of the same struggles that her family and members of her community faced when she was growing up in Suffolk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe serve a lot of minorities at CARITAS, and many of them struggle with alcohol and substance abuse,\u201d said Coles, who works with her dental hygiene classmates to conduct oral health checks and cancer screenings for the residents. \u201cSometimes you can\u2019t get to your family, but it\u2019s a beautiful thing to be able to help others and connect them with additional resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coles describes the connection she experiences with her patients as her favorite part of her education. In particular, an experience during an external rotation at Lynchburg Free Health Clinic stood out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI had a patient, he was a smoker and mentioned how he just wanted his teeth to be back to normal. I gave him some advice and at the end of his cleaning he thanked me and said, \u2018I can finally smile again, and now I can show my daughter my beautiful smile,\u2019\u201d said Coles. \u201cI cried, after his appointment of course. I\u2019m not sure how often those experiences happen outside of a public health setting.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coles is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority at VCU focused on community service.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1004\" height=\"751\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/DH-HSA.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3368\" \/><figcaption><sup><em>Coles and her dental hygiene classmates provide educational instruction to students at a local high school. <\/em><\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lot of people think that the two campuses at VCU can\u2019t collaborate, but I\u2019m proof that you can be in the health sciences and still be engaged with the Monroe Park Campus,\u201d said Coles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After graduation, Coles plans to work for a temp agency in the Tidewater area for a while in order to try different environments and kinds of practices before relocating to Northern Virginia. Eventually, she wants to go back to school. Her experience in the Dental Hygiene program opened her eyes to the possibility of teaching.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn five to seven years, I\u2019d like to get my master\u2019s degree in public health or education, in order to eventually become a dental hygiene instructor,\u201d said Coles. \u201cI like to inspire others, and the faculty have said I\u2019m really good at teaching. It\u2019s definitely something I hadn\u2019t considered when I started the dental hygiene program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked if she had any advice for others who might be on a similar career path, Coles replied: \u201cI would just say to take advantage of opportunities and not let where you come from define you, there might be a better version of yourself that you just can\u2019t see yet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Destiney Coles is the youngest graduate of the Dental Hygiene Class of 2023 at VCU School of Dentistry. At just 20 years old, Coles graduates this week with a bachelor\u2019s degree at an age when most of her peers typically start the program.&nbsp; \u201cThis week, I accepted an award from the school for clinical excellence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1382,"featured_media":3365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3358,"date":"2023-05-11T15:45:22","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T19:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3358"},"modified":"2023-05-11T15:55:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T19:55:52","slug":"2023-senior-awards-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/05\/11\/2023-senior-awards-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Senior Awards Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An annual tradition during graduation week at VCU School of Dentistry, the Senior Awards Ceremony recognizes students who went above and beyond what was expected of them during their time at the school. This year, 54 awards were given honoring students in our Doctorate of Dental Surgery and Dental Hygiene programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/echo360.org\/media\/e25ad007-4799-4343-8df6-1e7c66e4a29f\/public\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">View a recording of the event<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/s\/aHBqjADm6X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">View photos from the event<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please join us in congratulating the following winners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Division of Dental Hygiene<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Irene E. Newman Award<\/strong><br>Destiney Coles<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Hufriedy Golden Scaler Award<\/strong><br>Kelly Vaughan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Community Dental Hygiene Award<\/strong><br>Mary Claryns Truz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Clinical Dental Hygiene Award<\/strong><br>Marissa Balducci<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Colgate Oral Pharmaceutical STAR Award<\/strong><br>Hannah Coley<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Perseverance Award<\/strong><br>Carrie McKinney<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Great Richmond Dental Hygiene Association Award<\/strong><br>Samantha Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Sigma Phi Alpha Honorary Fraternity Inductees<\/strong><br>Marissa Balducci<br>Logan Rainey<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Outstanding SCADHA Member of the Year<\/strong><br>Katarina Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Virginia Dental Hygienists\u2019 Association Award<\/strong><br>Hannah Coley<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Association of Public Health Dentistry \u2013 Dental Hygiene Award<\/strong><br>Marshall Dixon<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Dental Public Health Policy &amp; Community Outreach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Mission of Mercy Awards of Excellence<\/strong><br>DH Volunteers &#8211; Marshall Dixon &amp; Kelly Vaughan<br>DDS Volunteers &#8211; Carrington Bailey, Firas Sabti, Lindsey Putnam, Bethany Wolpin and Anne Rowe<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Brian D. Stone Memorial Award<\/strong><br>Saleh Smadi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Academic Affairs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Association of Women Dentists Elenor J. Bushee Senior Dental Student Award<\/strong><br>Christina Gordon<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>ASDA Award of Excellence<\/strong><br>Quinnie Phan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>International College of Dentists\u2019 Humanitarian Award<\/strong><br>Najah Lewter<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>International College of Dentists\u2019 Leadership Award<\/strong><br>Joshua McKoy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Endodontics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Association of Endodontists Award<\/strong><br>Alix Kloster Schneider<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of General Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Academy of Dental Materials Awards<\/strong><br>Saleh Smadi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Special Care Dentistry Association Award<\/strong><br>Amanda Tran<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Academy of General Dentistry Senior Student Award<\/strong><br>Colin Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Academy of Operative Dentistry Award<\/strong><br>Marshall Adzima<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry Award<\/strong><br>Zhanna Ali<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Association of Public Health Dentistry \u2013 Dental Student Award<\/strong><br>Saleh Smadi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Academy of Equilibration Society Award<\/strong><br>Melissa Anne Hart<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Dr. Francis Merrill Foster, Sr. Award<\/strong><br>Jessica McBride<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Quintessence Award for Clinical Restorative Dentistry<\/strong><br>Nicole Manfrini<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>International Digital Dentistry Academy Senior Student Award<\/strong><br>Jina Zrik<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Oliver Wendell Clough Award<\/strong><br>Marko Ilich<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Pierre Fauchard Senior Student Award<\/strong><br>Quinnie Phan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Excellence in Urgent Care Award<\/strong><br>Ronny Khalek<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Oral Diagnostic Sciences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Oral Medicine Award<\/strong><br>Saleh Smadi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Orofacial Pain Award<\/strong><br>Krishna Goradia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Oral &amp; Maxillofacial Pathology Award<\/strong><br>Joanna Scott<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Oral &amp; Maxillofacial Radiology<\/strong><br>Brett Siegel<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Oral Surgery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Osseointegration Award<\/strong><br>Saleh Smadi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Oral &amp; Maxillofacial Surgeons Dental Implant Award<\/strong><br>Mohamed Nada<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>International Congress of Oral Implantologists\u2019 Student Achievement Award<\/strong><br>Vlad Shukruta<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Daniel M. Laskin Oral &amp; Maxillofacial Surgery Senior Student Award<\/strong><br>Joshua McKoy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Dental Society of Anesthesiology Horace C. Wells Award<\/strong><br>Jessica McBride<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Oral &amp; Maxillofacial Surgeons Dental Student Award<\/strong><br>Stuart Hentz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Orthodontics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Association of Orthodontists Award<\/strong><br>Nam Ha<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Pediatric Dentistry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Award<\/strong><br>Amanda Tran<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Periodontics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>F.B. Wiebusch Award for Excellence in Periodontics<\/strong><br>Marko Ilich<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Quintessence Award for Clinical Achievement in Periodontics<\/strong><br>Joanna Scott<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Periodontology Award<\/strong><br>Matthew Brewer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Department of Prosthodontics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American Academy of Implant Dentistry Award<\/strong><br>Latifa Alfahdli<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>H. Edwin Semler Award<\/strong><br>Brett Siegel<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Southeastern Academy of Prosthodontics<\/strong><br>Quinnie Phan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Whipmix\/Hanau Prosthodontics Award<\/strong><br>Adriana Martinez<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>J. Marvin Reynolds Excellence in Prosthodontics Award<\/strong><br>Richard Truong<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Hugh Douglas Jr. Award<\/strong><br>Marko Ilich<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>American College of Prosthodontics Achievement Award<\/strong><br>Zhanna Ali<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Philips Institute for Oral Health Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Quintessence Award for Research Achievement<\/strong><br>Christina Gordon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An annual tradition during graduation week at VCU School of Dentistry, the Senior Awards Ceremony recognizes students who went above and beyond what was expected of them during their time at the school. This year, 54 awards were given honoring students in our Doctorate of Dental Surgery and Dental Hygiene programs. Please join us in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1382,"featured_media":3362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3387,"date":"2023-05-10T10:11:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T14:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2023-05-24T10:13:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T14:13:05","slug":"class-of-2023-from-rural-jordan-to-top-dental-student-saleh-smadi-is-dedicated-to-caring-for-those-most-in-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/05\/10\/class-of-2023-from-rural-jordan-to-top-dental-student-saleh-smadi-is-dedicated-to-caring-for-those-most-in-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2023: From rural Jordan to top dental student, Saleh Smadi is dedicated to caring for those most in need"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/news.vcu.edu\/contact\/trani\">Olivia Trani<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saleh Smadi had known for some time that he wanted to work in health care. When he was a child growing up in Jordan, he had fractured his tooth while playing outside. The broken tooth caused him unimaginable pain, and his parents had to drive him more than an hour to visit the closest dentist. The ordeal made a lasting impression, later inspiring him to pursue a career where he could provide the same kind of relief from pain that he had experienced.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Smadi was 18 years old, he decided to move from Jordan to the United States to receive a college education and become a healthcare professional. He is now graduating with a D.D.S. at <a href=\"https:\/\/dentistry.vcu.edu\/\">Virginia Commonwealth University\u2019s School of Dentistry<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI grew up in a rural area where there weren\u2019t a lot of educational opportunities. At that time, none of my family members had attended college or graduated from high school,\u201d Smadi said. \u201cI knew I wanted to be different and make a change, even if it is a small one, and that desire led me to move to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smadi\u2019s journey in higher education began in New York City, where he attended the College of Staten Island. While he was motivated to advance his studies, the transition was not without its challenges. He was living thousands of miles away from his family, did not know the language or the area, and held various jobs to support himself in school, including working as a taxi driver, grocery store attendant and tutor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these challenges, Smadi worked incredibly hard in school, in part due to the support of a close friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI met my friend Mohamed Al Sharif, who I call my brother, during my undergraduate years in New York,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is my closest friend who supported me throughout my journey and kept me motivated in school. He is someone I can always depend on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smadi graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology and plans to become a dentist. He was accepted into multiple dental schools and ultimately chose VCU\u2019s School of Dentistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI love the area and the people here,\u201d he said. \u201cVCU was the first school I interviewed, and when I got the phone call about being accepted into the program, I was overjoyed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"1591\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/05\/092A3783-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3389\" \/><figcaption>Smadi (center) pictured with Awab A. Abdulmajeed, D.D.S., (left) and Aous A. Abdulmajeed, D.D.S, Ph.D. (right), two of his mentors at the VCU School of Dentistry. (John Wallace School of Dentistry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At VCU, Smadi continued to excel in his studies, often spending time after classes and on the weekends to perfect his understanding of the material. He held the highest grades of his class in his second, third and fourth years of school, and tutored many of his classmates in their coursework. Outside of his classes, he was involved in research projects on various topics, including oral cancer, appliances for sleep apnea, dental prosthetics, erbium laser technology and other cutting-edge dental material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smadi also dedicated much of his time to honing his skills in the school\u2019s pre-doctoral student clinic. By the end of his first semester, he had completed more procedures than any student in his class.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt the beginning of the program, you are assigned a few patients to provide dental work. The work was slow at the beginning, but then all of a sudden, my patients would refer me to their family members,\u201d he said. \u201cIt made me so happy to know that they were pleased with my work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smadi credits his success in school to a number of faculty members, including Aous A. Abdulmajeed, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Awab A. Abdulmajeed, D.D.S.; and Sarah H. Glass, D.D.S, who taught him new techniques, made complex topics more accessible, and further fueled his passion for dentistry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat is something I really love about the VCU School of Dentistry. My professors were always supportive whenever I showed an interest in learning more about a specific procedure or topic,\u201d Smadi said. \u201cThey encouraged me to work hard and have helped me grow my skills exponentially. In dentistry, it\u2019s relatively easy to do a certain procedure satisfactorily, but it\u2019s hard to do it ideally. My mentors always strive to provide ideal dental care, and it\u2019s a work ethic that I want to mirror in my own practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking back at his time at VCU, Smadi is most grateful for having the chance to improve his skills while also serving communities in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since his second year in dental school, he worked as a student project coordinator for Missions of Mercy, an initiative to provide dental care for the uninsured and underserved populations of Virginia. Through this position, he helped organize and attend events that collectively treated thousands of people across the state. Additionally, during the height of the pandemic, Smadi joined a volunteer group of students who helped administer COVID-19 vaccines in the Richmond area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy focus has always been towards the humanitarian aspect of health care, and I was very honored to be able to help my local community. These opportunities really solidified my love for dentistry,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After graduation, Smadi will begin working as a dentist at a free clinic in rural Virginia, where he will continue to play a part in giving dental care to underserved communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat motivated me in school was the thought that I\u2019m making a difference in people\u2019s lives, whether through relieving someone\u2019s pain or boosting their self-esteem,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really amazing to be in a place where I could help those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saleh Smadi had known for some time that he wanted to work in health care. When he was a child growing up in Jordan, he had fractured his tooth while playing outside. The broken tooth caused him unimaginable pain, and his parents had to drive him more than an hour to visit the closest dentist. The ordeal made a lasting impression, later inspiring him to pursue a career where he could provide the same kind of relief from pain that he had experienced. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1593,"featured_media":3388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1593"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3349,"date":"2023-04-19T10:43:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T14:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3349"},"modified":"2023-04-19T13:49:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T17:49:58","slug":"vcu-school-of-dentistry-names-dr-carlos-smith-associate-dean-for-inclusive-excellence-ethics-and-community-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/19\/vcu-school-of-dentistry-names-dr-carlos-smith-associate-dean-for-inclusive-excellence-ethics-and-community-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Carlos Smith named associate dean for inclusive excellence, ethics and community engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/dentistry.vcu.edu\" target=\"_blank\">VCU School of Dentistry<\/a> has named Carlos S. Smith, D.D.S., M.Div., F.A.C.D., as the inaugural associate dean for inclusive excellence, ethics, and community engagement, effective April 24.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2020, Smith, an associate professor in the Department of Dental Public Health and Policy, has served as the VCU School of Dentistry\u2019s first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, while also serving as the School\u2019s director of the Ethics Curriculum. In this work, Smith has led schoolwide efforts in shaping a culture of inclusion and addressing issues related to diversity, cultural sensitivity, and health equity across the curriculum, as well as faculty development and student belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his new role, Smith will lead a comprehensive and integrated strategy to ensure inclusive excellence is a hallmark of all VCU School of Dentistry stakeholder experiences, including patients, students, staff and faculty. He will also be responsible for expanding the school\u2019s community engagement efforts with various community organizations and patient groups, and leading important initiatives aimed at improving access to care.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis role aligns closely with the priorities outlined in our new <a href=\"https:\/\/dentistry.vcu.edu\/about\/strategicplan\/\">five-year strategic plan<\/a>, impacting not only our efforts to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for our students, faculty and staff, but also focusing resources on improving the experiences of our patients daily,\u201d said Lyndon Cooper, D.D.S., Ph.D., dean of VCU School of Dentistry. \u201cDr. Smith is uniquely qualified to lead transformation within dental education and the profession, and we will all benefit from his success in these endeavors.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smith is nationally recognized for his expertise and leadership in ethics, professionalism, and diversity in dental education. Most recently, he garnered the inaugural <a href=\"https:\/\/news.vcu.edu\/article\/2023\/03\/carlos-smith-wins-inaugural-american-dental-education-association-faculty-leadership-award\">American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Faculty Leadership Award<\/a>, and he is the sole dentist appointed to the newly established <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cvshealth.com\/news\/company-news\/cvs-health-launches-national-health-equity-advisory-board.html\">CVS Health National Health Equity Advisory Board<\/a>. Smith is a sought-after lecturer and has provided keynote and seminar presentations for the National Dental Association, American Dental Association, American College of Dentists, ADEA, Virginia Health Catalyst, Virginia Dental Association, dental schools, hospital systems and oral health advocacy groups.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of a large, urban university with a premiere academic health system, Smith works closely with colleagues throughout VCU and VCU Health to support institutional commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and health care. Last year, he chaired the VCU Office of Health Equity\u2019s inaugural History and Health; Racial Equity Symposium, and he is often called upon to serve on a variety of committees and initiatives, such as the university\u2019s recent Land Acknowledgement Task Force. Smith is also an affiliate faculty with the <a href=\"https:\/\/icubed.vcu.edu\/\">VCU Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation<\/a>, having co-led a team across academic disciplines that secured a small grant from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&amp;U) to serve as thought partners to develop a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.vcu.edu\/article\/2022\/02\/vcu-to-help-develop-a-racial-healing-toolkit-for-colleges-and-universities\">Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Campus Climate Assessment Toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of only 12 faculty nationwide to be directly appointed to the ADEA Collaborative on Dental Education Climate Assessment, Smith also served as a co-author on a groundbreaking study on dental school organizational climate and culture that has led to the dental education-wide climate assessment survey, collecting baseline data on diversity, equity and inclusion at U.S. and Canadian dental schools and allied dental programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am elated to take on this new role and help bring Dean Cooper\u2019s vision of VCU School of Dentistry as a clinical and teaching environment where everyone feels they truly belong to fruition,\u201d said Smith. \u201cI am particularly excited to grow our DEI infrastructure and team, aligning our ethics curriculum and organizational values directly to mitigating issues of access to care and championing our community engagement efforts with collaborative partnerships and patient demographic groups, both across the commonwealth and specifically in the Richmond metropolitan area.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In August, Smith begins his term as president of the American Society for Dental Ethics and is a member of the board of directors of the Academy for Professionalism in Healthcare, a national organization committed to ensuring professionalism across health professions disciplines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEnsuring an understanding of our ethical commitments to health equity and access to care, is key for me. Thus, I\u2019m excited to lead that work and understanding on a larger scale,\u201d said Smith.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After nearly a decade in public health and private practice, Smith joined VCU in 2015 as an assistant professor in the Department of General Practice and has served in a variety of roles including group practice leader, course director, and faculty in both clinical and preclinical courses. An ordained clergy, Smith also completed clinical pastoral education at Duke Medical Center, providing care and crisis management to families of cardiac pediatric patients. He served in pastoral ministry, with varied roles such as associate pastor, young adults pastor, and college pastor, with a key emphasis on holistic young adult development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VCU School of Dentistry has named Carlos S. Smith, D.D.S., M.Div., F.A.C.D., as the inaugural associate dean for inclusive excellence, ethics, and community engagement, effective April 24. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1382,"featured_media":3350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diversity-equity-and-inclusion","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3323,"date":"2023-04-12T15:38:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3323"},"modified":"2023-04-12T15:39:08","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:39:08","slug":"predoc-update-for-endodontics-alumni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/12\/predoc-update-for-endodontics-alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Predoc update for Endodontics alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/Ana-Andrada.png\" alt=\"Dr. Ana Andrada\" class=\"wp-image-3346\" \/><figcaption>Ana Andrada <br>D.D.S., D.M.Sc. <br>Director of predoctoral endodontics <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We had a very productive year at the predoctoral clinic during the 2022-2023 academic year. I kept myself busy revising and improving the curriculum, planning new activities, and mentoring students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The curriculum restructuring allows the second and third year students to have more endodontic experiences earlier in their education, improving their critical thinking. Those experiences are only possible when we work as a team. Having novice students in the clinic means more time explaining basic concepts and techniques. Shout out to our amazing predoctoral instructors Dr. Amber Ather, Dr. Bruce Justman, and Dr. James Heffernan whose commitment and dedication are essential for the success of our students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New and interactive activities were planned with D3 students to review concepts, materials, and techniques. The class enjoyed learning as they played games of Jeopardy and Kahoots. Food and prizes were provided for these extracurricular activities which made for a fun and healthy competition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"435.894238114357\" height=\"326.10186219215393\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/KH8eKMOCb-5-VPap-NtTKfbFli9FRugdVxbNLwX3aR6hBP5N-YTYxS60jy4lREEUPFhOiIHu40TIK-dzyNu-6FizXVSlzuRclhgubgWbjHPXbEAEvakn6l1Dqinap7TUUj8pEAfy-_Tsr_Nd5SGByyo\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"387\" height=\"289.7663217782974\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/dzNobGPXED38YJdCiE7Fe5n0uMebKw3Q5Dh7H5rAcNfAE7LydpRaY9KrVCSECE2aA11tkt112n8qchiQLSFww9NbFQCISvvUuTnNYn9CxIyi1cVzUfxhu7dR9pZAP4eVo8iAZA16CBJtCgiVfWC3Nds\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/SpZN658J6TfEZhL4e2BI-BDhfiH4gHNzNxA9fv9EobRCZdEwgl7CzGE8WEaUGaVR5Smvqt2fGO15hE4YQOhFPk46HfVOzwJkrGczzti1E9da_J6RdDiXY1qvMAU6uyrF9YPMi4ux3PtWSX-DEKxHQs4\" alt=\"\" width=\"-86\" height=\"-64\" \/><figcaption>Above, example of Jeopardy categories and Dr. Andrada with the winning team. Below:, the Kahoot game, a student favorite.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">A major goal of our department is to guide and mentor students to discover their potential and so that they can succeed in all aspects of their careers. Ben Kordsmeier (D3) and Shree Patel (D3) mentored by Dr. Andrada, and Suraj Kandalam (D2) mentored by Dr. Myers, have completed the ADEA Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program (ADCFP), where they were able to explore and learn about life and experiences as dental faculty. We are very proud to have had Shree and Suraj represent VCU SoD at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adea.org\/2023\/About\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023 ADEA Annual Session in Portland<\/a>. All three students presented their posters at VCU Research Day in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><br><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"305\" height=\"228.31827628612518\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/oABPzc0JqhevyFwrxEDa5bztVAOvMYCIHhfcS84JbU0JeY6UHa8vFaYzy8ofvjxW3RQzeFqHbHPQ0_zJQE4nMNna6oAZcHr-HQCaLND_X-c4tzz0C3pO6TwPeRcNxPhas2H5aknfKunXkcmMXjGxeLs\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Suraj Kandalam (D2) with his poster presentation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/4FX6nubxPDIuDxZnHMJalyeEtCAcEDNsPlUmYL82OctMpE8pzJc_zHkRRWomujTKoEaVAtKtbiBIBmCAh9ajVB06LWlJhUK5iNYLxtIgtoD9lXi1DqPUx_L0dktci8Bb-b-9bkA8uV2Ns33xZzq2dec\" alt=\"\" width=\"479\" height=\"639\" \/><figcaption>Dr. Ana Andrada with Shree Patel (D3) at the 2023 ADEA Annual Session.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"430\" height=\"279\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/c1jMCTGnoEjU_RipIunkCn3iybHZrtAO1AH9p4ibJ9lWx8PSWsInX7dnEJyYuEmpTSuQiqYWLq3Nh4dtpiHTk4uazOo9GLANG9iW3TPR3jIYd3g7lVIWQWXklvQ9Ns5KrfMbFe15tVydaem_xCUPrEg\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Ben Kordsmeier&#8217;s (D3) poster presentation at VCU SoD Research Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our Endodontic Senior Selective course is getting stronger each year with extra clinical cases being performed and CE and hands-on workshops being offered. We are grateful to our Affiliate Faculty (Dr. Richard Sedwick, Dr. Deepika Ganesh, Dr. Kenneth Yuth, and Dr. Enrique Oltra) who complement our team bringing their expertise along with tips and tricks from a private practice standpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/yIttrysl7F6atGH9bjpkathH8kZh_Xu_5ucf0yQWn57Fwe0b6dX96a4JsjLp0fHwQ6h428yUTfb7tuuItYIdybfR8wLGZ-FS8ib9thlOFumAdrue2ZRmJ6inzLcMg9ZyEzf_dYSTRm2ziaxn8SJDJmA\" alt=\"CE compliments of Dentsply. D4 senior selects and faculty.\" width=\"715\" height=\"536\" \/><figcaption>Dr. Ather, Dr. Justman, Dr. Andrada, and Dr. Heffernan accompanying the D4 senior selects to CE provided by Denstply featuring Dr. Karl Woodmansey.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There is still a lot of work to be done and improvements to be made, but we are heading in the right direction to make the VCU Endodontics predoctoral program the best in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We had a very productive year at the predoctoral clinic during the 2022-2023 academic year. I kept myself busy revising and improving the curriculum, planning new activities, and mentoring students. The curriculum restructuring allows the second and third year students to have more endodontic experiences earlier in their education, improving their critical thinking. Those experiences [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-3323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-endodontics","tag-vcu-school-of-dentistry-department-of-endodontics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3325,"date":"2023-04-12T15:15:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3325"},"modified":"2023-04-12T15:15:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:15:26","slug":"research-news-for-endodontics-alumni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/12\/research-news-for-endodontics-alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Research news for Endodontics alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/Kg9er9_VO3WldJKYP7Z8K2TQqi8AJ_l29_5k2Y9q9iuatbfuTl2ZRMOIKe9xmwtEQoMdnLr4KQbmzRrq6_34r5SyQx8ct37WBRX5W0fj1BsogE8o9p4bzwlDzAwzURZPFb5HAr5xgINXHe0TkVo148s\" alt=\"Amber Ather\" \/><figcaption>Amber Ather, B.D.S., M.D.S., D.D.S., M.S., assistant professor and director of research in the Department of Endodontics<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Hello everyone. I have been working with residents on research projects focusing on root canal morphology. These include radiographic and CBCT analysis of three-rooted premolar anatomy and the association of the portal of exit of missed MB2 canals with apical periodontitis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ongoing research projects are directed towards vital pulp therapy. I am currently a part of a joint collaboration between the AAPD and the AAE, wherein a comprehensive meta-analysis is being performed to develop a guideline for vital pulp therapy for permanent teeth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am also involved in a survey wherein trends and protocols for vital pulp therapy will be gathered from several dental schools across different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My thanks to the VCU School of Dentistry for <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2022\/11\/21\/vcu-dentistry-faculty-members-earn-prestigious-diplomate-certifications\/\">sharing news of my board certification<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please contact me at athera@vcu.edu if you have any questions or suggestions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello everyone. I have been working with residents on research projects focusing on root canal morphology. These include radiographic and CBCT analysis of three-rooted premolar anatomy and the association of the portal of exit of missed MB2 canals with apical periodontitis.&nbsp; Ongoing research projects are directed towards vital pulp therapy. I am currently a part [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-3325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-endodontics","tag-vcu-school-of-dentistry-department-of-endodontics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3327,"date":"2023-04-12T15:13:28","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3327"},"modified":"2023-04-12T15:14:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:14:14","slug":"graduate-program-news-for-endodontics-alumni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/12\/graduate-program-news-for-endodontics-alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate program news for Endodontics alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-6b56KHjJISfR2wQAq4icuoD3WhCfXi3nT0CrYFFVV4fuQp_OosPWt9Vz_f0fpBxaxnLT_ixRplW5Q08Va-s7JgyOXItWn2L5qDHH9PaTc79Gw3pQH7CruyhXNcs2rUUtqlSkYuXUXV6yt3uB2t4Yg\" alt=\"Garry Myers\" width=\"234\" height=\"352\" \/><figcaption>Garry L. Myers, D.D.S.&nbsp;, M.S.<br>Endodontics graduate program director<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It always amazes me how quickly time passes before our eyes. It has been more than a year since our last alumni newsletter, so there is much to share with you. Dr. Clara Spatafore retired from her position in June 2022. Since her arrival in October 2014, she served as interim and permanent chair of both the Endodontics and Oral Diagnostic Sciences departments. During her last 18 months at VCU she served as the interim dean for the VCU School of Dentistry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all wish her the very best in her future pursuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>VCU and the AAE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April 2022, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Association of Endodontists<\/a> held its first in-person meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic. VCU faculty and residents attended where I was recognized as the program chair of the meeting and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/foundation\/2021\/11\/16\/a-born-mentor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Dr. Ana Andrada was recognized as the most recent recipient of the Foundation for Endodontics Educator Fellowship award. <\/a>Also in attendance were seven of our residents who either presented poster research presentations, table clinics, or served as session hosts for a few speakers at the meeting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>VCU Endodontics was again well represented in Phoenix!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/vaidcWPEAk19Iu-o-zBtvpr_N7zjJjVuRJRhVseDh7pBB5fR-HSi6WCDYfB8A1ujevYvhzSghVGeqKjyGwZndN4XDqEiG8phsuvGHI9EJVJaLOSmBP0hwa8Eqsg9gg02MR2nmIE6nFa0fZ7fTbrM_w\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20220428_084732.jpg\" width=\"734\" height=\"550\" \/><figcaption>Residents at AAE22: L to R \u2013 1<sup>st<\/sup> row Colton Fischer, Joe Vaughn, Christina Martin, Garry Myers; 2<sup>nd<\/sup> row Brian Hone, Jake DeGracie, Jing Ye.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I am honored to serve as general chair at the <a href=\"https:\/\/eventscribe.net\/2023\/aae23\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/eventscribe.net\/2023\/aae23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023 meeting in Chicago<\/a>, where for the first time, all four of our second year residents are giving oral presentations on their research projects. Our first year residents will again be giving table clinics. <strong>Please join us for the VCU Friends and Alumni Reception Thursday evening, May 4<\/strong>. We hope to see many of you there. It should be a great AAE Annual Session and I always look forward to seeing our VCU\/MCV alumni at this annual meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legacy Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>VCU Endodontics hosted our annual Legacy Day in March. Speakers Dr. Stefan Zweig (current AAE President) and Dr. Alan Gluskin (AAE Past President) both traveled to Richmond from California to provide an engaging program with some thought provoking presentations. With Dr. Gary Hartwell and I in attendance, there were four present and past AAE presidents together for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lectures covered topics such as \u201cSaving Teeth Through Endodontic Therapy,\u201d \u201cExploring the Riddles of Root Resorption,\u201d and \u201cWhat Knowledge, Skills and Behaviors Define Competency in Endodontics.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/reg.abcsignup.com\/reg\/event_page.aspx?ek=0017-0015-741E6D1497D7495E8F38CE09B48E2FE6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VCU School of Dentistry CE<\/a> Director Patrice Gray and CE Program Assistant and Social Media Coordinator Nicole Ilechie were invaluable in making this day a success \u2013 so, many thanks for their help and support!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/WltNpdTTgHLoSbjWh2Qh7s49FSjxwLRsNB0VuknojJshvTIJrfWRnyFqYetIIscWc3SbLvHqkEQ_K9E8RLWTmZK3eWmrEkYqWkxEoEaa3-zyqs8XPrAIzvlZGSfjs4uY69Tud1PV2wkEqqlBdUf1yA\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20230325_074757.jpg\" width=\"749\" height=\"562\" \/><figcaption>Legacy Day speakers L to R: Dr. Alan Gluskin (Pacific), Dr. Garry Myers (VCU), Dr. Stefan Zweig (USC)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spring 2024 marks the<\/strong> <strong>50<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong><strong> Anniversary of the VCU Graduate Endodontic Program!<\/strong> Plans are already in the works as to how we should recognize this milestone and combine it with Legacy Day. Once the date has been set, we&#8217;ll be sure to share this information with you so that we can celebrate this occasion together in Richmond. Watch for future updates!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>VCU Residency Program Update<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your residency program continues to receive more than 250 applications every year for only four slots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 2022 we said goodbye to three graduating residents as they set sail into their endodontic careers. <strong>Dr. Brian Hone<\/strong> (D.D.S. \u201813\/D, M.S. \u201822\/D) returned to Idaho to join the group practice that he once referred patients to as a general dentist. <strong>Dr. Christina Martin<\/strong> (M.S. \u201922\/D) journeyed down the road to Virginia Beach where she is currently in private practice. <strong>Dr. Abdullah Alawadhi<\/strong> (D.D.S. \u201915\/D, M.S. \u201822\/D) returned to his home country of Kuwait to practice endodontics after leaving his positive footprints around the campus of the VCU SoD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure to <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/12\/endodontics-residency-an-update-for-alumni\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/12\/endodontics-residency-an-update-for-alumni\/\">read about our current residents<\/a> in an update by this year\u2019s Chief Resident, Dr. Joe Vaughn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/tflnIOwYcNELtis9teTeWyYUFDlrIbuJZINJdjC6UdAt2r8zFwCM42nu-qE1MOF8gWrEWnRrzWNNWyWeL05K949AV7TN9TR5XZAI8PGfse96CTFhKqfaGoohQYj-eBbqMleJB4GhkpzCyMYow9vZxA\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20220609_154158.jpg\" \/><figcaption>Endo Resident Class of 2022: L to R Christina Martin, Abdullah Alawadhi, Brian Hone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Time marches on! Four new residents will be welcomed into the fold this summer. These incoming residents will continue to build on the solid foundation that you, our alumni, have established for them. <strong>Dr. Yasamin Mojarad<\/strong> (D.D.S. \u201822\/D) will be returning to the VCU School of Dentistry after spending a year in a Florida AEGD program. Dr. Shivali Bhatt will be coming to VCU from the San Francisco Bay area and she will continue the recent lineage of University of Pacific dental graduates to enter our program. Dr. Mudher Bahar completed dental school in Iraq in 2007 prior to coming to the U.S. where he received his D.D.S. in 2018 from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been practicing general dentistry since that time. And our fourth new resident is Dr. Triet Vuong. He completed dental school in 2015 at UC San Francisco, then an AEGD in Seattle and he has continued to work as a general dentist in the Seattle area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am really looking forward to this next class (<em>as I do every new class<\/em>) as this group will bring a nice blend of experience and enthusiasm to the VCU program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Finding time for fun<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the endodontic residents are kept busy when they&#8217;re with us, we do find time to have fun together. We always get together as a department during the holiday season, we host a dinner with the individuals invited for an in-person interview during the summer, and we do find time to get out and do some things together such as ax throwing and bowling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can be proud of the residents who have passed through this program over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/yKgbHKtaIoLbUFR0Olu8S7eMmkB3NKi1jueIFPoIUOWf_R8HTImnU_i3-Q5HmO6m3K-YCB8-mDdg_wAIVbl4uY-vl5Dy_2Tlq8Z5e-nfu9aSwfql04uCW77yEij1bYWjpy7eB-74c1XJbuJoWpO_zg\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20220827_163402.jpg\" width=\"733\" height=\"550\" \/><figcaption>Ax throwing! L to R: Jake DeGracie, Banks Lee, Will Rudnicki, Jing Ye, Colton Fischer, Garry Myers, Aziz Mallik, Rica Mackert, Joe Vaughn, Ryan Hediger and Asha Hediger.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/Yz8sCfWX47zbJXg5Ro0KZhFQLFJ3ZS7tdWN7ZnE2aDwXa8jfXUTSeTNUQHdqRcuVNLQfuh2fEDB1YgcnM5J3xNcr6Piy_m2ODYqLCRjQHlQ_PUYUHaFMck2StnL6nu2mxeTcIS-qwEWLEMB3v098wQ\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20230111_160419 (1).jpg\" width=\"739\" height=\"534\" \/><figcaption>Bowling! L to R: Ryan Hediger, Jake DeGracie, Banks Lee, Will Rudnicki, Jing Ye, Colton Fischer, Joe Vaughn, Front: Garry Myers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Endodontic Staff: the glue that holds us together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The glue that keeps our program together is our staff. Our department within the School of Dentistry has the BEST group of people working as our staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Haisten Bonner<\/strong> has provided great administrative support while doing the same for Oral Diagnostic Sciences. <\/li><li><strong>Ryan Brown<\/strong> oversees not only the graduate endodontic clinic, but also the Oral Medicine clinic and the Urgent Care clinic. <\/li><li><strong>Charity Hunter<\/strong> and <strong>Michelle Rideout<\/strong> are diligent schedulers of our patients that we see every day. With the increased Medicaid benefits for adult dental care in Virginia, our patient population has grown significantly keeping Charity and Michelle very busy. <\/li><li>And then we have our three chairside assistants \u2013 <strong>Stephanie Chin, Ian Kerr, and Vivian Kong<\/strong>. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All of our staff are dedicated to VCU Endodontics and they are a valuable resource for us all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/mjn3Dbv1JyYoTOSX9htDyZZm_eYJSZ0AiBX_oLF-ds5LU6yPpp_lK4lGa-SOYfQe2NcPIRvmntjPuCnZiRCmJyZnMPf6F90wYVxUku5G7d_oYhaBnUxAm16aoj-Y8vF-zYdbuFW7pRLDAdB39sjIfA\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20230216_134648.jpg\" \/><figcaption>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Endodontic staff members Michelle Rideout (L) and Charity Hunter  (R)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/5A6EOnL37kdH2d2kpsB4zKZtMndKz-ODV6XxBq60YYhM3znY5tSfGTtswxxNGN5-Dj0vnfYeOwN370Wug7zobbEz134TVmPzqGvSG0fe2w5agerstCcllVoKxFboadflPhanxWAT31MtIzodqRAoYg\" alt=\"C:\\Users\\gmyers3\\Downloads\\20221210_185727 (1).jpg\" \/><figcaption>Endodontic Holiday Party 2022. We Believe!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What lies ahead<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is truly an honor and a privilege to serve as the graduate endodontics program director at VCU. Dr. Schafer is a great department chair to work with and Dr. Ana Andrada, predoctoral director, and Dr. Amber Ather, director of research, have really helped define VCU Endodontics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Discussions about the construction a new dental school building are starting to come together, new faculty are being brought in to the school, and we have a new Dean leading the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The future looks promising!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Become a member of the Molar Club<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with many academic institutions around the country, budgets at VCU are tight and purchases of new technology for the teaching programs can be difficult. Compounded with efforts to construct a new building, our program relies on the financial and teaching support of our alumni. <em>Thank you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VCU Endodontics gratefully accepts your gifts to support the resident program through the<strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.support.vcu.edu\/give\/fund?fund=4546\" data-type=\"URL\" target=\"_blank\"> Molar Club Fund<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Molar Club is an unrestricted fund to help meet unexpected departmental and programmatic challenges and opportunities as they arise. Funding like this can make or break a first-rate endodontic residency program such as the one you benefitted from here at VCU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your financial help allows residents to &#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Get hands-on experience with new technology including a new laser<\/li><li>Travel and attend annual AAE meetings, special surgical courses, and educational programs<\/li><li>Learn from one of the most popular and relevant programs at the forefront of the endodontics specialty<\/li><li>Prepare for a lifelong career in the endodontics profession while honing their leadership skills<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your gift &#8212; equivalent to the fee for one molar-endo procedure &#8212; is all it takes.&nbsp;It is a small way to give back to the department that provided the residency education that <strong>you<\/strong> received here at VCU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope your situation allows you to give to the <strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.support.vcu.edu\/give\/?s=22#home\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.support.vcu.edu\/give\/?s=22#home\" target=\"_blank\">Molar Fund<\/a><\/strong> and support our residents. And for those who have made donations in the past, <em>know that these have been sincerely appreciated and put to good use<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I look forward to when our paths next cross and please, keep in touch! Email me at gmyers3@vcu.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It always amazes me how quickly time passes before our eyes. It has been more than a year since our last alumni newsletter, so there is much to share with you. Dr. Clara Spatafore retired from her position in June 2022. Since her arrival in October 2014, she served as interim and permanent chair of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-3327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-endodontics","tag-vcu-school-of-dentistry-department-of-endodontics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":3321,"date":"2023-04-12T15:10:03","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/?p=3321"},"modified":"2023-04-12T15:11:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:11:14","slug":"endodontics-residency-an-update-for-alumni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/2023\/04\/12\/endodontics-residency-an-update-for-alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Endodontics residency &#8211; an update for alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/Dr-Joe-Vaughn.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3342\" \/><figcaption>Dr. Joe Vaughn Chief Resident<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Hello, alumni! Hope this update finds you well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last July we welcomed three incoming first year residents who, along with Dr. Aziz Mallik, make up VCU Endo\u2019s Class of 2025. This has really been a great group of guys to work with. We\u2019ve all meshed well together and have made the resident room not only a place of learning, but we make sure to have some fun as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things are business as usual around the halls of Lyons. All eight of us are staying busy in clinic and balancing that with a healthy dose of classic literature seminars. Because first year residents transitioned to shorter appointments in January, we are now seeing three to four patients a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re always talking about how thankful we are to be a part of a program with such a great clinical reputation and chairs that are always filled with patients. We have a lot of pride in VCU and would put our experience up against any other program in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2592\" height=\"1944\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/08-first-day-of-new-scrub-color.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3341\" \/><figcaption>First day of a new scrub color. L to R: Rudnicki, Hediger, Lee, Vaughn, Ye, Mallik, DeGracie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The second year residents (Jake DeGracie, Colton Fischer, Jing Ye, and I) have finished our thesis projects. Despite our limited research experience, we all feel like we\u2019ve put together some nice projects. We\u2019re excited about sharing our work with the endodontics community, so if you\u2019re at <a href=\"https:\/\/eventscribe.net\/2023\/aae23\/\">AAE23<\/a> in May, come see what we\u2019ve been working on! We will all be participating in the Oral Research category. The first year residents will also be busy at this meeting, as they are putting together some nice table clinic presentations and are on the floor presenting during the conference as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We residents have been working hard, but we also have some fun too! Dr. Myers has been great at making sure we get out of Richmond every now and then to attend some great resident events. In June 2022 we attended the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dental.upenn.edu\/departments\/endodontics\/education\/microscope-training-center\/microsurgery-training-2\/\">Microsurgery course at Penn Endo<\/a> in Philadelphia. It was a great learning experience and served as a nice transition into second year, where we perform the majority of our surgical procedures. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/education-events\/apices\/\">August 2022<\/a>, residents attended the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/savingyourteeth\/albums\/72177720301894859\">APICES conference at the AAE in Chicago<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1086\" height=\"1448\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/06-at-Penn-course.jpg\" alt=\"at the Penn surgical course\" class=\"wp-image-3339\" \/><figcaption>At the Penn microsurgery course. L to R: Fischer, DeGracie, <strong>Dr. Christina Martin<\/strong> (MS \u201822\/D), Vaughn, Ye<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/04-APICES-at-the-bean.jpg\" alt=\"AT APICES at the Chicago bean\" class=\"wp-image-3337\" \/><figcaption>At the &#8220;bean&#8221; in Chicago for APICES  L to R: Colton Fischer, Banks Lee, Will Rudnicki, Ryan Hediger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some valuable continuing education topics at these conferences, but they also serve as great networking opportunities. If there\u2019s one thing we\u2019ve learned, it\u2019s that we should take great pride in being part of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/endodontics.vcu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">VCU family<\/a>. Our program continues to be one of the most impressive in the country, and this becomes evident from our conversations with other residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1086\" height=\"1448\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/03-2nd-years-at-Myers-xmas-party.jpg\" alt=\"holiday party at the Myers'\" class=\"wp-image-3336\" \/><figcaption>Holiday at the Myers&#8217;  L to R: Jing Ye, Jake DeGracie, Garry Myers, Colton Fischer, Joe Vaughn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We have some fun back here in Richmond as well. So far this year, we\u2019ve had group outings from rafting down the James and ax throwing, to the infamous Myers\u2019 Christmas Jeopardy game and a very competitive day of bowling.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1045\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/07-endo-halloween.jpg\" alt=\"halloween in the clinic\" class=\"wp-image-3340\" \/><figcaption>Halloween 2022: The Endo Files     L to R: Myers, Fischer, Vaughn, Rudnicki, Mallik, Hediger, DeGracie, Lee, Ye<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Proud to be a part of VCU and a soon-to-be VCU alum!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See you on the other side,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Joe Vaughn, chief resident<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Meet the Endo Resident Class of 2025<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Abdulaziz Mallik<\/strong> (D.D.S.\u201917\/D), grew up in Kuwait and attended VCU for dental school. After earning his D.D.S. degree, he completed the Kuwait Ministry of Health advanced education in general dentistry program and joined the Kuwait University Faculty of Dentistry as a clinical instructor. He is excited to be back in Richmond to continue his dental education in endodontics. Abdulaziz looks forward to enjoying the River City with his wife, Fajer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ryan Hediger<\/strong> grew up in Loveland, Colorado, and his love for science bloomed at Colorado State University where he graduated with honors in 2014. He earned his D.M.D. at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona, where he also enjoyed hiking, camping, and the endless outdoor opportunities the Southwest has to offer. From 2018 to 2022, he served in the United States Navy Dental Corps. He was first stationed in Virginia Beach where he met his wife, Asha. He went on to serve the dental needs of the Marine Corps Special Operations Unit, MARSOC Raiders in coastal North Carolina. He completed his time in service at Camp Pendleton, California, with his wife and 11-year old dog, Breck. Ryan is passionate about helping his patients save their teeth and overcoming the common fear of receiving root canal treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Banks Lee<\/strong>, originally from Manning, South Carolina, finished his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina. From there he received his DMD at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He was a HPSP Air Force recipient and did his first active duty tour in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with an AEGD residency. He was then stationed in Washington, D.C., to serve out the rest of his commitment, after which he moved to Richmond to start the graduate endodontic residency at VCU. In his free time, Banks enjoys hunting wild deer and turkeys, going down &#8216;rabbit holes&#8217; on various topics, and gamecock sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Will Rudnicki<\/strong>, D.D.S, grew up in rural north Louisiana and went to Texas Christian University (go Frogs!) for his undergraduate degrees. Then he studied at Texas A&amp;M College of Dentistry in Dallas. After graduating dental school in 2021, Will moved to Chicago for a General Practice Residency at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Will is very excited to explore Richmond and be a part of VCU\u2019s dental team!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello, alumni! Hope this update finds you well.&nbsp; Last July we welcomed three incoming first year residents who, along with Dr. Aziz Mallik, make up VCU Endo\u2019s Class of 2025. This has really been a great group of guys to work with. We\u2019ve all meshed well together and have made the resident room not only [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-3321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-endodontics","tag-vcu-school-of-dentistry-department-of-endodontics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/dentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]