Fall happenings
Welcome Mary Pettiette, D.D.S., associate dean for admissions
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Pettiette, D.D.S., as associate dean for admissions and professor of endodontics. She will begin her duties in November. I want to thank the search committee, chaired by Clara Spatafore, D.D.S., M.S., for its diligent and thorough work in conducting a national search for this most important role in our school.
Dr. Pettiette most recently served as associate dean of admissions and student life at the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry in Chapel Hill. She is a board-certified endodontist, an educator and a leader. Committed to advancing dental education, Dr. Pettiette is passionate about recruiting the best students for the dental profession.
She earned her D.D.S. degree and Certificate of Endodontics from Louisiana State University. After completing her endodontic training, Dr. Pettiette held a part-time faculty position at LSU while engaged in private practice in New Orleans. She joined the UNC Adams School of Dentistry faculty in the Department of Endodontics in 1990.
At UNC, she provided endodontic education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. After a return to private practice, she resumed her position on the endodontic faculty at UNC where she served as the associate clinical professor in the Department of Endodontics until becoming assistant dean of admissions and pre-doctoral education. Prior to her VCU arrival, she served as associate dean of admissions and student life.
Dr. Pettiette is active at the state and national levels of endodontic governing bodies. She served as president of the North Carolina State Endodontic Society, a member of the board of directors for the American Association of Endodontists and a trustee on the board of the AAE Foundation. Currently, she is president of the AAE Foundation Board (2018-2020).
Dr. Pettiette is an active researcher and recipient of external grant funding. Her interests focus on biologic implications of endodontic practice. Her study showing a relationship between statins and pulp chamber calcification received considerable attention and led to a podcast interview by the Journal of Endodontics. Her latest research “MicroRNA Expression Profiles in External Cervical Resorption” was featured on the front cover of the September 2019 issue of the same journal.
Please be sure to give her a warm VCU School of Dentistry welcome in November.
Stanford clinical train-the-trainer program participants recognized
I’m happy to recognize Michelle McGregor, director of our dental hygiene program, and Sharon Lanning, D.D.S., of our periodontics division of general practice, as participants in The Stanford School of Medicine’s Train-the-Trainer Program for Clinical Teaching.
This program, created in 1986, offers career development opportunities for individual faculty participants and a mechanism for institutional advancement. The 1-month training provides background knowledge and leadership skills required to deliver a series of seven 2-hour seminars. The training is a non-prescriptive approach for improving clinical teaching.
Michelle McGregor completed a pilot program in the spring and received her certificate in clinical teaching. Dr. Lanning is a member of the fall program brought to VCU as part of the university’s Vision by Design education initiative.
We look forward to our faculty members bringing that education back to our school and improving our clinical teaching.
Students present research at Pierre Fauchard Academy breakfast
From cleaning 3D printed orthodontic aligners to preventing bur stick injuries, our students are breaking new ground through innovative research.
Here’s a brief snapshot of their work:
Five of our dental students presented their research at the annual Pierre Fauchard Academy breakfast at the VDA meeting in Richmond last month.
Payton Cook – The Effectiveness of Different Cleaning Methods on Removing Residual Material from 3D Printed Orthodontic Aligners
Nischal Dalal – Dimensional Accuracy of Stereolithography Implant Surgical Guides at 50 and 100 μm layer printing
Dan-Kanh Dao/Maria Jividen – Secured Bur Block and Protective Handpiece Shield
Charles Phillips – Identifying Oral Health Priorities, Use of Services, and Inclusive Understanding of Oral Health Providers among the LGBT Community
We applaud our students’ research and wish them much success in their efforts.
Additionally, thanks go to our faculty presenters at the VDA meeting: Omar Abubaker, D.M.D., Ph.D., professor and S. Elmer Bear Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Dean DeLuke, D.D.S., M.B.A., professor and director of the oral and maxillofacial surgery pre-doc surgical program and Sonali Rathore, D.D.S., M.S., assistant professor, oral diagnostic sciences. Thank you for all that you do to promote oral health and education.
Awards and recognitions
The American College of Dentists named Tonya Spangler, a D4 student, the 2019 outstanding student award winner and Rick Archer, D.D.S., M.S., associate professor and associate dean of clinical education, outstanding dental faculty member.
Congratulations to you all for your contributions to the VCU School of Dentistry.
Heart Walk raises more than $3,000
The School of Dentistry and VCU Dental Care raised $3,260 through the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk on October 5. Thank you to all who contributed, who walked, who help organize the event and who supported these efforts in every way. Together, we helped fight heart disease and stroke.
“Thank you” goes a long way
Imagine getting this many thank you notes for a gift you gave. It’s quite a stack isn’t it? That’s the stack of student thank you cards in my office. Each recipient of a general scholarship here at the school hand wrote their heartfelt thanks for generous acts of kindness. Scholarships help students meet many needs as they make their way along the path to becoming a dental professional.
Your gifts matter. Thank you.
Publications
If you haven’t taken a look at the latest Dentistry magazine and our special Giving Issue, make sure to visit our website.
The Dental Fill-In
Be sure to follow the school on social media including our YouTube channel where you’ll find current and past entries of The Dental Fill-In.
Categories Deans blog