DEAN’S MESSAGE
Spring & Summer 2009 Volume 25, Number 1
Thank You
e did it!
Because of your generosity and the
hard work of our development staff
and many volunteers, the School of Dentistry
raised more than $38.1 million as a part of the
University’s Michigan Difference Campaign.
At our Campaign Finale celebration in the
Sindecuse Atrium in November, we announced
we had raised more than $37 million. However,
since the campaign officially ended December 31,
2008, that amount increased.
Rich Fetchiet, Jeff Freshcorn, Marty Bailey,
Thalia Jaimez, and others in our Office of
Development are to be commended for their
hard work along with chair, Dr. Jay Werschky,
and the other members of the School’s Michigan
Difference Campaign committee. Working
together we were able to raise an amount that
was 109 percent of our $35 million goal.
Yes, we as a School succeeded. But you did
too.
The generosity of thousands of donors will
enable our School to provide financial assistance
for student scholarships, faculty support, facility
improvements, research support, and program
support in the years ahead.
Thank you for your gifts and your continued
confidence in our School and its future.
Sincerely,
Peter J. Polverini, Dean
DentalUM magazine is published twice a year by the
University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
Mail letters and updates to: Jerry Mastey, Editor, School of
Dentistry, Room G532, 1011 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor,
MI 48109-1078. Or you may send your updates via email
to: jmastey@umich.edu.
Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Polverini
Director of Communications . . . . . . Sharon Grayden
Director of External Relations and
Continuing Dental Education . . . . . . Richard Fetchiet
Writer & Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerry Mastey
Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Jung
Contributing Photographers . . . . . . . . Per Kjeldsen,
Jerry Mastey, Anne Gwozdek
Member publication of the American
Association of Dental Editors
The Regents of the University:
Julia Donovan Darlow, Laurence B. Deitch, Denise Ilitch,
Olivia P. Maynard, Andrea Fischer Newman, Andrew C.
Richner, S. Martin Taylor, Katherine E. White, Mary Sue
Coleman, ex officio.
University of Michigan School of Dentistry
Alumni Society Board of Governors
Terms Expire 2009:
Charles Caldwell, ‘77, Grand Rapids, MI
Daniel Edwards, ‘97, Ann Arbor, MI
Gary Hubbard, ‘78, Okemos, MI
Metodi Pogoncheff, ‘76, Lansing, MI
Janet Souder Wilson, ‘73, DH, Northville, MI
Terms Expire 2010:
Samuel Bander, ’81, Grand Rapids, MI
Kerry Kaysserian, ’81, Traverse City, MI
Jerry Booth, ’61 DDS, ’64 MS, Jackson, MI
Josephine Weeden, ’96 DDS, ‘99 MS, Saline, MI (Chair)
Kathleen Early Burk, ’77 DH, Lakeland, MI
Terms Expire 2011:
Jemma Allor, ‘00 DH, Mt. Clemens, MI
Sondra Moore Gunn, ‘78 DDS, ‘80 MS, Ann Arbor, MI
George Yellich, ‘72 DDS, ‘77 MS, Los Gatos, CA
Michael Cerminaro, ‘86 DDS, Muskegon , MI
John McMahon, ‘82 DDS, Grand Rapids, MI
Student Representative: Jamie Luria (D4)
Ex Officio Members:
Peter Polverini, Dean
Janet Souder Wilson, ‘73, DH, Northville, MI
Alumni Association Liaison
Steve C. Grafton , Executive Director, Alumni Assoc.
Richard R. Fetchiet, Director of External Relations and
Continuing Dental Education
The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer,
complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination
and affirmative action. The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of equal
opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status in employment,
educational programs and activities, and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may
be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity, and Title IX/Section
504/ADA Coordinator, Office of Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services
Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, (734) 763-0235, TTY (734) 647-1388.
For other University of Michigan information call (734) 764-1817.
Copyright © 2009 The Regents of the University of Michigan
contents:

Read more DentalUM on our

new Web site at www.dent.umich.edu
1 FEATURES
COVER STORY
1 GOAL REACHED...
GOAL SURPASSED
School raises $38.1 million in
Michigan Difference Campaign

5 Homecoming Weekend
Our biggest turnout ever

5 11 Reaching Out in Kenya

Students gain insights
into the oral health needs of
children and adults abroad

13 Giving Kids A Smile

Faculty and student volunteers
provide free dental care to
area children

PROFILES

11 21 Faculty
Dr. Russell Taichman
24 Alumnus
Dr. George Sayre
28 Susan Pritzel Retires
On the cover: 36 years as teacher, mentor,
The University of Michigan celebrated the
conclusion of its successful Michigan Difference
friend
campaign last November at Hill Auditorium. In
addition to U-M President Mary Sue Coleman,

Regents, and the University’s campaign committee,
joining the celebration were Dean Peter Polverini
DEPARTMENTS
and Dr. William Lawler, Jr., a member of the School 3 Development
of Dentistry’s campaign committee who carried the
5 Alumni Relations
24
School’s flag into Hill Auditorium.

Photos: Jerry Mastey and Per Kjeldsen

9 Students
15 Department Update
19 Faculty
26 Research
28 Dental Hygiene
 Campaign an
Overwhelming
Success
Jerry Mastey

he ambitious goal was surpassed.

During the Campaign Finale celebration at the School of
Dentistry on November 14, the School’s Michigan Difference
Campaign Committee announced that $37,225,000 had been raised
since the “quiet phase” of University-wide fundraising campaign
began in July 2000. By the time the campaign counting officially
ended December 31, 2008, the amount surpassed $38.1 million. Per Kjeldsen

The funds raised by the School of Dentistry were 109 Dr. Charles and Mrs. Dee Kelly proudly display
percent of the School’s goal of $35 million. Gifts will be used their Michigan Difference School of Dentistry
scarves at the University’s campaign finale
for student scholarships, faculty support, program support, celebration at Hill Auditorium.
facility improvements, research support, and school/department
discretionary support. $35 Million Goal…$38.1 Million Raised
Major benefactors and many members of the School’s fundraising • Student Scholarships:
committee and their spouses attended the Campaign Finale $10 million goal…$10.4 million raised
celebration held in the Sindecuse Atrium. Dean Peter Polverini • Faculty Support: $7 million goal…
praised the School’s alumni and friends for their generosity and $6.6 million raised
complimented the development staff for their hard work. • Program Support: $5 million goal…
When planning began about nine years ago, Richard Fetchiet, $5.5 million raised
director of external relations, said the School set what he described • Improved Facilities: $5 million goal…
as “an extremely ambitious goal.” He noted that a feasibility study $5.1 million raised
conducted by an independent fundraising-consulting firm suggested • Research Support: $3 million goal…
$3.2 million raised
a goal of approximately $25 million. “However, the enthusiasm of
• School/Dept. Discretionary Support:
the School’s fundraising committee, combined with the commitment
$5 million goal…$7.3 million raised
demonstrated by our fundraising team, led us to the stretch goal of
$35 million,” he said.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

11
 Jerry Mastey

As the U-M Fanfare Band played The Victors on one of the balconies
overlooking the Sindecuse Atrium, a banner was lowered showing
the amount the School of Dentistry raised during The Michigan
Difference Campaign. The final amount surpassed $38.1 million.

“I am truly blessed and fortunate size of the proposed goal, we decided The School of Dentistry’s
to be surrounded by such a great to shoot for $35 million. Who said Campaign Committee
team in our Alumni Relations and dentists aren’t goal oriented?”
Jay Werschky, chair
Development Office that includes Werschky praised the School’s Eli Berger
Jeff Freshcorn, Marty Bailey, Thalia campaign committee and thanked Michael Cerminaro
Jaimez, and Carrie Towns,” Fetchiet Dean Peter Polverini, the professional Gary Dwight
Bruce Foote
said. “Their tireless efforts made this development staff, and donors for
Timothy Gietzen
campaign an overwhelming success.” their support and efforts. “I hope Sondra Moore Gunn
The School’s campaign chairman, you depart with a sense of pride for Allan Jacobs
Dr. Jay Werschky (DDS 1976, Flint, our School, personal satisfaction Darnell Kaigler, Sr.
Charles Kelly
MI), spoke about both amounts in for your level of participation, and G. Peter Kelly
his closing remarks at the School’s wonderment for the future of the Mary Dolores Kelly
c e l e b ra t i o n o f t h e c a m p a i g n . profession,” Werschky said. William Lawler, Jr.
“Remember how it took our breath (more on the web) Arnold Morawa
Karl Schettenhelm, Jr.
away when a goal of $25 million Richard Shick
was suggested?,” he said. “But after Stanley Smith
spirited discussions and thoughtful Reggie VanderVeen
Connie Verhagen
deliberations, and undaunted by the

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

22
 DEVELOPMENT
Photo courtesy of Dr. Daniel Balbach
Helping Dr. Robert Aldrich (left) celebrate his 85th birthday last fall
were his wife, Katie (second from left), Barbara Balbach (second from
right) and Dr. Daniel Balbach.
Aldrich Orthodontics Scholarship
Fund Established
“He was an important part of my life and my career,” said
Dr. Daniel Balbach (DDS 1961, MS orthodontics 1965) as he
talked about Dr. Robert Aldrich, who taught orthodontics at
the U-M School of Dentistry for more than twenty years.
“He was my teacher, my mentor, the partner I worked with
in our private practice, and friend, so I thought it was fitting to
create a scholarship in Bob’s name,” Balbach said. The Robert
G. Aldrich Graduate Orthodontics Endowed Scholarship Fund
will help U-M orthodontics residents meet some of the costs
of their education.
Balbach said he was honored when Aldrich asked him to
become a partner in his private practice. “I was finishing my
orthodontics studies at the time and was surprised he asked
me. As a student, I knew of Bob’s high expectations and
standards and knew I had to live up to them in the classroom
and later in our practice,” said Balbach who retired in 2003
after working with Aldrich for 38 years.
One of Aldrich’s sons, Rob, said the family was surprised
and honored when Balbach discussed his idea with the family
last fall. Rob Aldrich said he has made a commitment to the
scholarship fund as have his two sisters, Mary West and Jane
Bohne, and his brother, Raymond.
“Dad had a tremendous impact on us growing up, and
you could see and feel that very same thing when he was with
his students, his colleagues, and his patients,” Rob Aldrich
said. “He loved what he did. I remember him telling my two
sisters, other brother, and myself, ‘Do something you love and
33
everything will fall into place.’ It was great advice.”
Describing his father as “a lifelong learner,” Rob Aldrich
recalled his father preparing to lecture in Paris, France in the
1970s.
“He decided to give the lecture in French. When I asked
him why he was doing that, he said because he wanted to make
it easier for people to understand what he was saying. That
was typical of dad. He was always trying to make life easier
for others, even if he had to do something new,” he said.
Balbach and Aldrich said they want students who receive
the scholarship to have that same passion for learning,
excellence, and commitment to service. The first scholarship
will be awarded around the beginning of the 2010 academic
year.
Roahen Establishes Scholarship for
Dental Students Who Served
in Armed Forces
“He took a chance on me, and for that, I am, and always
have been, eternally grateful,” said Dr. Jay Roahen (DDS 1976)
as he explained why he and his wife, Kathy, have established a
dental scholarship with priority for students who have served
or are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Recalling the decision to admit him in 1972 that was
made by Dr. Donald Strachan, the School’s dean of admissions,
Roahen thought his chances of being accepted at the U-M
School of Dentistry “were right between slim and don’t
even think about it,” because he was an out of state resident
who applied six years after graduating from college and four
years after serving with the U.S. Navy, including a year in
Vietnam.
When he was accepted for admission, Roahen said “I took
a silent vow to do my very best because I did not want to let
Dr. Strachan down,” he said. “There were several Vietnam
veterans in my class, and I’m proud to say none of us let him
down.”
After graduation, Roahen, who was on a Navy scholarship,
returned to the Navy, and later earned a master’s degree in
orthodontics at the University of Oregon.
His experiences in the Navy made a lasting impression
on Roahen. “I had a unique opportunity to evaluate the
capabilities and competence of dentists who were trained in
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
 Photo courtesy of Dr. Jay Roahen
Kathy and Dr. Jay Roahen
other dental schools,” he said. “Over time, I realized that the
dental education I received at Michigan was definitely of the
highest caliber.”
Roahen, who retired from the Navy in 1993 and last July
after 15 years in private practice in Annapolis, Maryland, said
the $100,000 scholarship he and his wife have established “is
our way of giving back in a meaningful way to the U-M School
of Dentistry.” Their gift was matched with $50,000 from U-M
President Mary Sue Coleman’s Donor Challenge program.
Roahen said he still maintains frequent contact with some
of his former classmates, including several he traveled with
on the canals of France last summer. [DentalUM, Fall 2008,
page 48.]
Duff Scholarship Gift to Help
Periodontics Residents
“He was a teacher at heart whether he was with his
patients, other dentists, or his own staff,” said Sheree Duff
(DH 1980) of her late husband, Dr. Benson Duff (DDS 1980,
MS periodontics 1988), who passed away in March 2008 at
age 54. “He would be thrilled to know a student in Michigan’s
periodontics program would have an opportunity to further
their education and use that education to help others,” she
added. Dr. Duff also earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan
and was a member of the Dean’s Faculty and the Michigan
Periodontal Alumni Board.
Her $60,000 gift to the Benson Duff Graduate Periodontics
Memorial Scholarship was matched with $30,000 from
U-M President Mary Sue Coleman’s Donor Challenge. This
contribution will be added to funds donated by family, friends,
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
Photo courtesy of Sheree Duff
The first fully funded endowment for periodontics graduate students
at the School of Dentistry has become reality with a scholarship
established by Sheree Duff on behalf of her late husband, Dr. Benson
Duff.
and colleagues to reach the $100,000 minimum needed to
establish the endowment for the periodontics department.
This is the first fully funded endowment for graduate student
support in periodontics at Michigan.
The criteria to be a recipient of the Duff Scholarship is
straightforward — a graduate student must be working for a
master’s degree in the School’s periodontics program. Duff
said she hopes a recipient of the first award will be announced
before the start of the new academic year in August.
Duff said her husband’s passion for dentistry was fueled
by the late Dr. Billy Smith. “Billy was his mentor and his idol,”
she said. “Both had the charisma that gave them this great
ability to relate to patients.”
That charisma even changed her life.
Duff said she initially planned to become an accountant
when her future husband asked her to be his patient for his
first dental cleaning. “I was so awed by the dental school, the
people there, and Ben’s love for dentistry that I later took his
advice to heart and switched gears,” she said with a laugh. “I
enrolled in the dental hygiene program, earned my degree.
In fact, both of us were thrilled to participate in the same
graduation ceremony in 1980. Both of us influenced the
direction of each other’s career.” Sheree Duff is associate dean
of the Dental Science Programs at Baker College in Auburn
Hills, Michigan.
44
 ALUMNI RELATIONS

HOME COMING
We e k e n d
“Our Biggest Turnout Ever”
great turnout.
Members of the Dental Class of 1958 and their
spouses nearly filled a School of Dentistry
lecture hall for the annual Emeritus Medallion
Ceremony during Homecoming Weekend
activities in early October. “This is our biggest
turnout ever,” said Richard Fetchiet, director of alumni
relations.
Forty-two emeritus alumni received medallions
commemorating the golden anniversary of their graduation
from dental school.
They also walked through the old preclinical laboratory
before settling in to the Dr. Roy Roberts Preclinical
Laboratory to see Dr. Merle Jaarda, associate professor of
dentistry, demonstrate how technology is being used in
the preclinical simulation lab to educate dental students
today.
The emeritus alumni were impressed.
“This clinic is wonderful,” said Dr. John McMahon.
“It’s a tremendous advance compared to when I was a
student. Having a monitor at each cubicle allowing each
student to see what an instructor is demonstrating seems
to make the education process so much more personal.”
First-year dental student Crystal Rosser, who was
Jerry Mastey
practicing a procedure during her lunch hour when alumni
and their spouses visited the preclinic lab, said she enjoyed
talking to McMahon and answering questions.
“They were intrigued, not just with the technology,
but with how we’re using the mannequin heads to learn
and practice various dental techniques,” she said.
After a class picture was taken in the lobby of the
Kellogg Building, the former classmates and their spouses
enjoyed reminiscing over lunch in the Sindecuse Atrium.

An emeritus alumnus takes a close look at his 50-year dental

class photo during Homecoming Weekend ceremonies at the
School of Dentistry.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

55
 Jerry Mastey Call Photography

(upper left) School of Dentistry alumni and their spouses jumped

Drs. Ash, Cheney Inducted Into Hall of Honor to their feet when the U-M Fanfare Band played The Victors at the
A ceremony was later held to celebrate the lives and Homecoming Gala Celebration.
achievements of two former faculty members, Dr. Major (above)The Emeritus Class of 1958 pause for their class reunion photo in
Ash and Dr. Edward Cheney, who were inducted into the the lobby of the Kellogg Building during Homecoming Weekend events
School’s Hall of Honor. at the School of Dentistry.
On behalf of other members of the family, Dr. George (below) Drs. Ronald Stegehuis (left) and Robert Campbell watch a
Ash (DDS 1975, MS 1977) accepted a replica of the plaque student practicing a procedure on a mannequin head in the Dr. Roy
honoring his late father. “This is a great honor you have Roberts Preclinical Laboratory.
Jerry Mastey
bestowed on our father,” he said. “And we thank you.”
Cyndy Cheney-Foley, daughter of the late Dr. Edward
Cheney, recalled some of her father’s days growing up in
Charlotte, Michigan, and, as she described it, “his absolute
passion about his chosen field of dentistry.” She said, “my
father truly developed his talents here at Michigan and
generously shared them with others.”
(more on the web)

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

66
 ALUMNI RELATIONS
Alumni Society
Please take a moment to vote
for the candidates who will serve
on the School of Dentistry’s
Alumni Society Board of
Governors. On the ballot on
this page, choose four dentists
and one dental hygienist who
will serve a three-year term
beginning in September. Then
clip and mail your ballot to
the School of Dentistry at the
address on the ballot. Envelopes
with ballots must be postmarked
by August 1, 2009.
BALLOT
Vote for 4 dentists:
Dr. James W. Clark
Dr. David O. Cramer
Dr. Michael Crete
Dr. John W. Farah
Dr. Leopold Klausner
Dr. Wayne Olsen
Dr. Metodi C. Pogoncheff *
Dr. Mark Powell
Dr. Scott Schultz
Vote for 1 hygienist:
Catherine Berard
Sheree Duff
* Incumbent
Envelope with ballot
must be postmarked by
August 1, 2009.
Please mail your ballot to:
University of Michigan
School of Dentistry
540 E. Liberty, Suite 204
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2210
77
Board of Governors
Catherine Berard (DH 1973) is past president of the Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association and the
Detroit District Dental Hygiene Society. She chairs the VDHA Governmental and Professional Affairs
Council, is a member of the Northern Virginia Community College Dental Hygiene Curriculum Advisory
Committee, and works in a multi-specialty group practice in Virginia.
Dr. James W. Clark earned a DDS from the U-M School of Dentistry in 1972 and a master’s degree
in pedodontics in 1976. He was a U-M faculty member from 1974 to 1998. A past president of the
Washtenaw District Dental Society, the Michigan Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and a Fellow of the
American College of Dentists, he works full time in a private practice he established in Ann Arbor in
1976.
Dr. David O. Cramer, a 1978 graduate of the School of Dentistry who earned a master’s degree in
orthodontics in 1980 from the University of Minnesota, is an adjunct professor in orthodontics at U-M.
A board certified orthodontist with practices in Grandville and Allegan, he has been a board member
and president of the Kent County Dental Society, a member of the West Michigan Dental Society Ethics
Committee, and is treasurer of the Michigan Association of Orthodontists.
Dr. Michael Crete is a 1986 graduate of the School of Dentistry who served a term on the Board of
Governors (1996-1998). Involved at all levels of organized dentistry, including the ADA’s Commission
on the Young Professional, Dr. Crete holds memberships in AGD and AACD. He practices restorative
and cosmetic dentistry in Grandville.
Sheree Duff, RDH, MS, is a 1980 graduate of the U-M dental hygiene program who worked 15 years
in a periodontal practice. She established and directed the dental hygiene program for Baker College
in Port Huron and Auburn Hills, Michigan. Now associate dean of Dental Sciences at Baker College,
she is past vice president of the St. Clair County Dental Hygiene Society and is a member of ADHA,
MDHA, and OCDHA.
Dr. John W. Farah, a 1978 graduate of the U-M School of Dentistry, was an associate professor at
the University of Florida in Gainesville for two years. In 1980, he returned to Ann Arbor and started his
dental practice and also had a part-time research appointment in the U-M dental school’s biomaterials
department. In 1983, he began The Dental Advisor, a dental consumer report publication.
Dr. Leopold Klausner is a 1974 graduate of the U-M School of Dentistry who earned a master’s in
restorative dentistry in 1978. While running a private practice in Ann Arbor, he was a School of Dentistry
faculty member from 1974 to 1993, and served on national and state dental organization committees.
He is a consultant for Delta Dental of Michigan.
Dr. Wayne Olsen, a 1981 graduate of the U-M School of Dentistry, had clinical and academic
assignments worldwide while serving in the U.S. Army for 25 years and was an oral surgeon and dental
educator. Now practicing in Traverse City, Cadillac, and Alpena, he is a past president and current
MDA delegate for the Resort District Dental Society. He is a member of the Michigan Oral Surgery
Association’s executive committee and an adjunct professor of oral surgery at U-M.
Dr. Metodi C. Pogoncheff * is a 1976 graduate of the U-M School of Dentistry who has a private
general dental practice in Lansing, Michigan. A member of the ADA, MDA, and Central District Dental
Society, he is also a member of the Kingery Prosthodontic Study Club and a charter member of the
Academy of Sports Dentistry. His goal is to continue development of the School’s core facilities to
create the best possible experience for dental students.
Dr. Mark Powell earned his dental degree from U-M in 1985 and an MSD in orthodontics from Indiana
University in 1987. A delegate with the West Michigan District Dental Society, he chaired the Children’s
Dental Health Committee. Dr. Powell is a member of the MDA, MAO, and AAO.
Dr. Scott Schultz is a 1996 graduate of the U-M School of Dentistry who served in the U.S. Navy
Dental Corps. He earned his master’s in orthodontics from U-M in 2003. A board certified orthodontist
with offices in Traverse City and Charlevoix, Michigan, he is an active member of the ADA, MDA, and
AAO; an officer in the Resort District Dental Society; and is on the board of the Great Lakes Association
of Orthodontics.
* Incumbent
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
 Dental Scholars
Get Boost from School’s
Board of Governors
“This is a fabulous program. The University of Michigan always talks
about ‘the leaders and best,’ and rightly so. The Scholars Program
in Dental Leadership advances that idea by finding ways to teach
leadership while dental students are here so they can become ‘the
leaders and best’ after they graduate. I hope the School can find ways
to offer this program to other schools across the country.”

That resounding endorsement from Dr. George Yellich, a member

of the School of Dentistry’s Alumni Society Board of Governors, came
following a presentation about the Dental Scholars program during
the Board’s fall meeting November 6.
Launched in 2006, the Scholars Program in Dental Leadership
(SPDL), also referred to as Dental Scholars, brings together a group
of exceptional students with select backgrounds to help them develop
a leadership mindset and skills they can use to initiate change in
dentistry, dental hygiene, education, research, or academia.
Program director Dr. Russell Taichman told Board members, “We’re
the only dental school in the world, as far as we know, that has this
program designed specifically to develop leadership skills. It’s one of
the best programs the School of Dentistry offers to both position itself
for the future and to try help change the oral health care profession.”
Taichman said, initially, “faculty were driving the program. But
we quickly learned that was the wrong way to go, so we shifted gears.
Because of their intense interest, this is now a student and faculty-led
program.”

Students Outline Program’s Benefits

Zahid Ahmed, a third-year dental student and one of the program’s
first members, said, “The Dental Scholars program challenges all of us
to think outside the box and see how we might be able to use what we
are learning in classrooms and clinics and apply what we are learning
in this new program in creative and novel ways.”
Third-year dental student Maciek Dolata told board members,
“This program is all about opportunity. By participating in the Dental
Scholars program I have been able to achieve some things that I never
thought I would be able to do until after I graduated from dental
school.”
Last year, Dental Scholars collected more than 60 bags of groceries
for The Salvation Army in Ann Arbor.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

88
 STUDENTS
School of Dentistry OUTREACH PROGRAM
h e S c h o o l o f D e n t i s t r y ’s
community outreach program,
where dental and dental hygiene
students provide oral health care to
patients at dental clinics across the
state, is now an international program.
In addition, the time dental students
are away from the School providing
oral health care in communities has
increased to eight weeks from five.
From Febr uar y 14 to 20,
t h i rd - ye a r de n t a l s t ude nt s a nd
two dentists were in Hagley Gap,
Jamaica, as part of a University-
wide collaboration called Students
for Jamaica. Students for Jamaica
is an interdisciplinary collaboration
of U-M students who want to make
a difference in developing countries
by providing dental and medical care
National and Private Practice Experiences Also Added
as well as other services that range
from infrastructure improvements to
economic development.
Seven dental students assessed the
oral health needs of the community,
provided emergency services, pain
m a n a g e m e n t , a n d o ra l hy g i e n e
e ducation according to Dr. B ill
Piskorowski, the School of Dentistry’s
director of Outreach and Community
Affairs. The School of Dentistry is
partnering with the Blue Mountain
Project, a nonprofit organization that
provides health care, education, and
99
other programs to residents of Hagley
Gap, a village of about 1,000 located
about 10 miles east of Kingston. Drs.
William and Therese Shortt, who
earned their dental degree from the
U-M School of Dentistry in 1987,
supervised the dental students.
Another School-approved
international rotation begins in July
when six dental students will travel
to Quito, Ecuador, to provide oral
health care. Under the auspices of the
University’s Global Reach Program, an
international endeavor launched by the
Medical School in the late 1990s, dental
students will join their colleagues from
the Medical School and offer a range of
no-cost health care services as a part of
the Quito Project.
T h e S c h o o l o f D e n t i s t r y ’s
participation in this initiative began
nearly two years ago after Dr. Howard
Graef started a dental clinic and took
his daughter, Martina, who earned her
dental degree from U-M in 2008, and
three other dental students with him.
“All were excited, both during and after,
about their work and the difference
they made in peoples’ lives,” Howard
Graef said. “Last year, six fourth-year
dental students participated and saw
nearly five hundred patients. We’re
planning to travel there again with U-M
dental students this summer.”
Now
Background
Community outreach is a long-term
tradition at the School of Dentistry.
Since the 1930s, dental and dental
hygiene students have provided oral
health care at locations across Michigan,
typically during the summer.
Outreach took a major step forward
in 2000 when dental and dental hygiene
students began working in clinics
outside the dental school during the
academic year. Now fourth-year dental
students participate for eight weeks
at 19 sites in 14 different Michigan
communities.
Those efforts have helped thousands
across Michigan. More than 55,670
patients have been treated and 85,300
procedures performed in just the past
six years.
More Michigan Outreach,
Some National Outreach
Three other new opportunities also
developed recently — one with a non-
profit organization that administers more
than a dozen dental clinics statewide, a
second with a private practice, and the
third at an Indian Health Services (IHS)
dental clinic in the Upper Peninsula.
“We want our students to experience
all aspects of general practice dentistry,
and in different environments, before
they make any long-term decisions about
their future,” said Dr. Bill Piskorowski.
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
International Jerry Mastey

The School is now sending fourth-

year students to Michigan Community
Dental Clinics in Petoskey, Alpena,
Gaylord, and Manistee. MCDC is a non-
profit organization that administers
dental clinics in 16 communities
across the state and serves low income,
uninsured individuals on behalf of public
health departments.
The private practice initiative is
with Plymouth Dental Associates of
Plymouth, Michigan. Students work at
the state-of-the-art facility three days a
week providing oral health care to seniors
on fixed incomes. This is a student’s first
outreach experience in a private practice
environment,” Piskorowski said. “Since
most of our students go into private
practice, this experience is giving them
a taste of what it’s like to work in this
setting before they graduate.”
Last December, students began one-
and two-week rotations at the Bay Mills
Health Center, a federally qualified IHS
tribal health center in Brimley, Michigan, students gave more consideration to Indian Health Service
about 12 miles southwest of Sault Ste. the IHS after dental director Dr. Tim dental director Dr. Tim
Marie. However, because of the distance Lozon spoke here last fall about career Lozon, shows third-year
from Ann Arbor, approximately 330 opportunities.” dental student Mike
miles, these rotations are two weeks IHS is the U.S. Public Health Service White some of the 230
long. agency responsible for addressing the hospitals and clinics in 35
“In addition to helping their tribal oral health needs of more than 1.6 states where IHS dentists
members, the Bay Mills clinic is perhaps million American Indians and Alaskan and hygienists work to
the largest provider of heath care Natives. More than 15,000 employees address the needs of more
services to Medicaid recipients in the work in more than 230 hospitals and than 1.6 million American
eastern upper peninsula,” Piskorowski clinics in 35 states. Lozon, who has been Indians and Alaskan
said. “We have been working with with IHS for 23 years, discussed the four- Natives.
the Indian Health Service to give our year commitment and opportunities in
students opportunities to work at the general dentistry and specialties and
Brimley site, others in Michigan, and, benefits that included a signing bonus,
eventually several around the country,” tax free housing allowance, 30 days of
Piskorowski said. “I think some of our paid vacation, and more.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

10
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 Photo courtesy of Jessica Lee
The Experience of a Lifetime
elping to provide dental care in
one of the most destitute regions
of the world was an eye-opening
experience for three dental students who
will be receiving their dental degree this
spring.
But the two weeks Malije Onwueme,
Phyllis Odoom, and Jessica Lee were
in Kenya last summer gave each new
insights about the oral health needs of
children and adults in that part of the
world, bolstered their confidence, and
reaffirmed their determination to make
a difference.
Onwueme, a Nigerian, said she
began discussing her dream of helping
in that part of the world not long after
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completing her first year of dental studies
in 2006. She said her mentor, Dr. Dennis
Lopatin, senior associate dean, and other
faculty members “were determined to
make the dream happen.”
Odoom, who hails from Ghana, said
Dr. George Taylor, associate professor of
dentistry, “helped immensely as he talked
to dentists about our plans and wrote
letters to dental societies.”
Working 12- and 13-hour days,
the three dental students traveled from
the Nairobi School of Dental Sciences,
where they were based, to several remote
locations. One was Nyubani, a village
about 4-1/2 hours east of Nairobi, where
they performed dental screenings on
patients with HIV.
“It seemed we screened everyone
– children, parents, and grandparents,”
Odoom said. “Because no dentist had
ever been to this village before we arrived,
I think just about everyone wanted to be
seen and treated for whatever problems
they were having.”
Regardless of where they went,
Odoom said the vast majority of adults,
“probably between 85 and 90 percent,
were seeing a dentist for the first time
when they came to us.”
At each location, the dental students
used an oversize typodont to demonstrate
proper brushing techniques. They also
handed out countless toothbrushes.
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
(left) U-M dental students (left to right) Phyllis Odoom, Jessica Lee, and Malije Onwueme pose with youngsters, many of whom they provided oral
health care to, at Shepard’s Home outside Nairobi, Kenya. On the right is the home’s oral health officer. Lee said some youngsters were wearing
sweaters, coats, and stocking hats because “they said the weather was chilly.” The temperature the day the photo was taken was about 70 degrees.
Significant Caries Differences
Recorded
Onwueme, Odoom, and Lee said
they saw “a great deal of periodontal
disease” almost everywhere they went.
Although they did not treat patients
in Nyubani, they also recorded data
about each patient. “I think it would be
interesting to return in a few years to do a
follow-up study to see what impact there
might be following our visit and note any
improvements,” Onwueme said.
At a special needs facility, the Feed
the Children Center outside Nairobi,
the three screened hundreds of children
where tooth decay was rampant.
On the other hand, at the Shepard’s
Home orphanage not far away, the dental
students were surprised to see little
evidence of caries in children. “I think the
reason for that was due to the emphasis
the director placed on prevention and
proper oral hygiene,” Lee said.
Communicating with patients and
gaining their confidence didn’t seem to
be an issue. But one lesson the students
for Three Dental Students
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
quickly learned was not to wear their
clinical white coats.
“I wore mine only once,” Odoom
said, “but many youngsters associated
the white coat with pain or discomfort.
Although we didn’t extract anyone’s teeth,
we wanted everyone to be comfortable so
the dentists could treat them.”
Those who worked on the patients
included Dr. Nelson Malenya, director of
the Kikuyu Dental Clinic at the Nairobi
School of Dentistry; a “community dental
officer” who was authorized to extract
teeth and administer injections when
necessary; and an assistant who sterilized
dental instruments and performed other
tasks.
Regardless of where they traveled,
the dental students said they were well
treated, especially in the Massai village
where a feast was prepared for them.
“It was wonderful to be so well
received,” Onwueme said. “Since I’m
from Nigeria and Phyllis is from Ghana,
many of the villagers easily picked up on
our accents. And even though Jessica
Photo courtesy of Jessica Lee
is American and didn’t speak with an
African accent, villagers everywhere
treated her just as well as they treated
Phyllis and me.”
Making Plans to Return
Their experiences left indelible
impressions on each of them.
“My long-term goal is to return to
Nigeria to provide oral health care after
I graduate,” Onwueme said. “This effort
was a steppingstone to achieving that
goal because I plan to help establish
dental clinics for the underserved in rural
regions of Nigeria.”
Odoom agreed, adding the trip
“confirmed my desire to return to Africa
because I see the need for dentists.”
However, before doing that, Odoom said
she may consider applying for admission
to a General Practice Residency program
or a pediatric dentistry program.
Lee said her experiences have given
her what she described as “a great
opportunity to step back, look at the big
picture, and think about ways you can use
your knowledge and experience to make
a difference.”
She said, “As an American, I see the
educational benefits of helping those in
need internationally. I think there may
be even more opportunities to help than I
initially imagined.” She added that “when
you treat people in different cultures,
your knowledge grows. You empathize
more and communicate better. My
experiences in Kenya have made me a
better student, a better practitioner, and
are allowing me to consider opportunities
to make a difference that I probably
would not have considered.”
Fourth-year dental student Jessica Lee
takes a look at the teeth of a young girl
at the Feed the Children facility outside
of Nairobi.
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 STUDENTS
Dental School Students, Volunteers
Give Kids a Smile
More than 80 volunteers…including
dental and dental hygiene students,
pediatric residents, predental students,
faculty, staff, and volunteer dentists
from the Washtenaw District Dental
Society…came to the U-M School of
Dentistry to participate in the American
Dental Association’s annual Give Kids a
Smile program on Sat., Feb. 7.
For four hours the volunteers
provided oral health care to 80 youngsters
from across Michigan. The children,
ranging in age from 5 to 12, received
free oral examinations, cleanings,
and learned more about proper tooth
brushing techniques and other actions
they could take at home to maintain
good oral health.
“I came back this year because I had
a lot of fun participating last year,” said
third-year dental student Julie Kern.
Dental and dental hygiene students went out of their way to make children smile, even before
they stepped into the clinic. Here, second-year dental hygiene student Corinne Silvernail (left)
holds a stuffed monkey and opens its mouth while second-year dental hygiene student Brandi
Johnson explains to the youngster how to correctly use the toothbrush.
13
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Saying she worked at the registration
desk as a predental student several
years earlier, Kern added, “this is better.
It’s great to be hands-on and helping
others.”
Similar sentiments were voiced
by third-year dental student, Javier
Johnson, who also participated in last
year’s program. “I enjoy helping those
in need, especially the kids. They really
appreciate what you do for them,” he
said.
Another third-year dental student,
Jane Stieber, also said this was the
second time she participated in the
GKAS program. “It’s a great confidence
builder for me,” she said. “But more than
that, it’s another opportunity to apply
more of what I have learned during the
past year.”
Jerry Mastey
Dolata Recognized
for Community Dental
Public Health Efforts
A School of Dentistry predoctoral
student was one of three individuals
nationwide recently honored by the
American Public Health Association for
a strong commitment to community-
based dental public health.
Third-year dental student Maciek
Dolata received the Westwater Jong
Memorial Award from the APHA’s Oral
Health Section during its annual meeting
in San Diego Oct. 31 for his work. The
merit award is based on the significance,
originality, quality, and timeliness of an
oral health community-based research
or service project.
Ananaba Earns Major
Award at ADA Program
A U-M School of Dentistry student
earned a third-place award for her
clinical research/public health initiative
at the American Dental Association’s
annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
Nejay Ananaba, a fourth-year dental
student, received the award at the ADA/
DENTSPLY Student Clinician Research
Program (Category I competition) for her
work that focused on the oral health and
quality of life of middle school students
in her home country of Liberia. Ananaba
earned the opportunity to participate in
the nationwide competition by winning
the Grand Prize during the School’s
Research Day competition in February.
Ananaba, who hopes to establish
the first dental school in Liberia, spent
two weeks during the summer of 2007
conducting research about the need for
a school and talking to junior and senior
high school students and their teachers
about dentistry. (more on the web)
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
 Addressing Oral Health Disparities Crucial
for Healthy, Thriving Communities
Oral health disparities are a
significant problem, not just in Detroit,
but in most of America’s other big
cities too. Some fresh thinking may
be needed to develop new models of
delivering care as well as
collaboration
a m o n g
different groups
if the problem is
to be successfully
addressed,
according to the
President of the
Michigan Dental
A ss o c i at ion and
U-M School of
Dentistry alumna,
Dr. Joanne Dawley.
In remarks
delivered at U-M
Hospital as part of the
University’s observance of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, Dawley
outlined the scope of the problem and
a “perfect storm” of converging factors
that will make it increasingly important
for dentists and physicians, research
scientists and technicians, and business
and political leaders to work together.
Citing her experience as a practitioner
for more than twenty years and her
participation in organized dentistry,
Dawley said, “My purpose is to pose
questions for consideration, not to give
answers.”
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
Oral health disparities are especially
acute in Detroit where more than 16
percent, or 147,000 of the city’s nearly
900,000 residents are uninsured. By
comparison, Dawley
said, the state-wide
average in Michigan
is about 7.8 percent.
However, the problem
is expected to worsen
as the auto industry
contracts and other
manufacturing
businesses jettison
workers who
now have dental
and medical
insurance. “This is where I began my journey,”
Compounding
the problem are
low reimbursements
for dentists providing oral health
care to their Medicaid patients, now
about 30 cents on the dollar, as well
as uncertainty about what role, if
any, dentistry might have as a part
of any national health care plan that
may be considered by the Obama
administration. “Health care is a noble
and honest profession, but it’s also a
business, and we need sound financial
principles and policies that will allow
those in the profession to deal with oral
health care disparities,” Dawley said.
(more on the web)
105 New Dental
Students Welcomed to
the Profession
More than 100 men and women were
welcomed into the dental profession
during the School of Dentistry’s annual
White Coat Ceremony held at Rackham
Auditorium last September.
The 55 men and 50 women who
received white coats were selected
from 2,144 individuals worldwide who
submitted applications to the School for
admission. Sixty-seven members of the
Dental Class of 2012 are residents of
Michigan, 38 are from out of state.
Dr. Joanne Dawley, president of
the Michigan Dental Association (DDS
1980), welcomed them to the dental
profession and recalled her experiences
as a dental student at U-M.
she said. “It won’t be easy, but you will
have earned the right to be called doctor
when you graduate.”
“ Your integr ity will be your
compass,” Dawley said. “You have to
live with total integrity because it will
reflect on you and all dentists, including
those who came before you and those
who are now in the profession.”
Advising students to “always take
the high road,” she also urged the
students to get involved in organized
dentistry both as students and after
graduation. (more on the web)
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 CARIOLOGY, RESTORATIVE SCIENCES & ENDODONTICS

espite the economic challenges for the country,

state, and higher education, we are very excited
about the future of the School of Dentistry and the
evolution of our programs. We are a key part of planning a new
model for dental curricula, growing the leading-edge research
enterprise, defining an outstanding patient care system, and
developing the leaders of the future. During 2008 new plans
Stephen Bayne, Chair for the School of Dentistry were defined. During 2009 we will
be heavily invested in implementing the first parts of this new
master plan.

CRSE continues to expand its horizons and involves a huge

number of dedicated individuals (27 full time faculty, 75
adjunct faculty, administrative staff, 19 clinical staff, 9 research
technicians, 9 research associates, 12 visiting scientists,
graduate students, residents, and others). Teaching DDS
students spans cariology, restorative dentistry, endodontics,
dental public health, geriatric dentistry, and outreach programs.
Graduate programs include advanced education in general
dentistry, restorative dentistry, endodontics, and dental public
health. Teaching includes about 46,000 hours of effort per year
involving 51 courses, clinical teaching, and mentoring graduate
students. Research programs focus on tissue engineering,
health disparities issues, educational research, cancer research,
biochemistry, molecular biology, clinical research, population
research, diabetes, and microbiological research. The total
research dollars from grants and contracts for the Department
exceeds $1,900,000 per year and fuels approximately 60
published abstracts and 50 refereed papers annually. In the
midst of all of these activities, the faculty, staff, and students
continue to excel and receive special recognition for their
successes. The following pages highlight some of the major work,
recent honors, and awards of our outstanding department.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

15
15
 NEWS & EVENTS

Brian Clarkson was inducted as AADR

Steve Bayne (standing) participated in an IADR workshop (2008, Toronto) on
President in March 2008 in Dallas, TX
applications of Second Life for teaching and research in dentistry.
during the annual meeting.

Drs. Tilly Peters and Brian Clarkson at

DMG Berlin planning the first US clinical
trial of a new restorative material for
impregnating interproximal caries to be
managed by the University of Michigan.

Dr. James Schindler receiving a Certificate of Distinction from Dean

Peter Polverini and the students in the clinic during his retirement day
celebration on July 29, 2008.

Following an illustrious 37-year career at the University of Michigan, our Dr. Joseph
Dennison retired from active faculty status last December.
Joe joined the School’s faculty as an assistant professor in 1971, was promoted to
professor eight years later, and was interim chair of our department from 1987-1992. In
all those roles, Joe continued the School’s tradition of excellence demanding nothing but
the best from residents, graduate students, faculty he mentored, and other colleagues.
He published 15 book chapters, 75 peer-reviewed papers, 137 abstracts, and participated
in more than 300 scientific and continuing education programs.
As the School’s Marcus L. Ward Professor of Dentistry since 2000, his focus on
clinical and applied research pertaining to dental materials made it possible for dentists
to improve the quality of life for thousands of patients worldwide. Those lifelong efforts
were recognized in 2006 when Joe received the Floyd Peyton Award for Clinical Research
from the Dental Materials Group of the International Association for Dental Research.
Joe’s endless energy and persistent commitment to education will continue for
two days a week as he returns as an adjunct faculty member. I appreciate his desire to
continue his service and allowing us to benefit from his knowledge and expertise for at
least a while longer.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

16
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 CARIOLOGY, RESTORATIVE SCIENCES & ENDODONTICS
N O TA B L E A C T I V I T I E S & S P E C I A L R E G O G N I T I O N
Full-Time Faculty
Trish Bauer: Teaching: Director of
Undergraduate Endodontic Clinical
Program; Research (Educational
Research on Low Cost Simulation);
induction into OKU (2007).
Stephen Bayne: Administration: Chair
of Department; Past-President of
International Association for Dental
Research; Research (Educational
Research, Clinical Research of New
Materials); Awards (Academy of Dental
Materials, Founders Award, 2007).
Tatiana Botero: Research (Principal
Investigator: American Association
of Endodontic Foundation Research
Grant; Mentor for Graduate Student
Award: American Association of
Endodontic Foundation Research
Grant).
Dan Chiego: Co-Author (Essentials
of Oral Histology and Embryology: A
Clinical Approach) in planning for next
edition.
Brian Clarkson: American Association
for Dental Research President (2007-
2008); Dental Research Day keynotes
(University of North Carolina, Indiana
University), special lectures (University
of Rochester, Tri Baltic States Dental
Conference at Vilnius, Lithuania;
Polish Dental Conference at Wroclaw,
Poland; X’ian, China; Leeds Tissue
Engineering Conference; AADR,
Fall Focus Symposium, Ann Arbor);
Research (nanocrystals).
Dennis Fasbinder: Director, AEGD
Program; Co-Director, International
Dentist Training Program; Research
(clinical trials on CAD-CAM materials;
several ongoing clinical trials).
17
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Third-year dental student Maciek Dolata received national recognition for his
community-based oral health initiatives. With him are his mentors, Dr. Woosung Sohn,
and Dr. Marilyn Woolfolk, assistant dean for student services.
Mark Fitzgerald: Co-Chair, CRSE
Department; Division Head of
Restorative Dentistry; Director, SPI
Program; Research (Simulated Patient
Instruction; Low Cost Simulation).
Donald Heys: Director, VICs Clinics;
Award (Pierre Fauchard Instructor-of-
the-Year, 2Blue Clinic, 2008).
Ronald Heys: Director, VICs 2Green
Clinic.
Rex Holland: Editor (Archives of Oral
Biology); External Examiner (Prince
Philip Dental School, University
of Hong Kong); External Reviewer
(Canadian Institutes for Dental
Research).
Neville McDonald: Director, Graduate
Endodontics; President, Michigan
Association of Endodontists (2008).
Mary Ellen McLean: Director, DDS1
Clinical Foundations Course); Research
(Educational Research in Low Cost
Simulation).
Gisele Neiva: Core Teaching Faculty
(Restorative Dentistry Graduate
Program); Research (Clinical Research
in Restorative Materials).
Jacques Nör: Mentor (AADR Hatton
Award and Dr. Dziewiatkowski Award,
Kathleen Neiva); Mentor (AAE Award,
Clare Quinlan); Mentor (Research
Day Grand Prize, William Love);
Conference Organizer (School of
Dentistry Collaboration with Research
Universities in Brazil); President-elect,
OKU; Research (New NIH/NCI SPORE
grant, The Molecular Basis of Head and
Neck Cancer Therapy; new NIH/NIDCR
grant, Endothelial and Head and Neck
Stem Cell Crosstalk and Resistance to
Therapy).
Tilly Peters: Director, CRSE
International Clinical Research;
Hollenback Memorial Prize (Academy
of Operative Dentistry, 2008);
President of Cariology Research Group
of IADR (2008); Research Activities
(Clinical Research in cariology and
restorative materials at several
international sites; Oral Health
Literacy & Diabetes research).
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
Bill Piskorowski: Director, School of
Dentistry Outreach Program; 2008
Detroit Area Magazine (Area’s Top
Dentist Award); Michigan Community
Dental Centers (Board of Directors).
Helena Ritchie: Teaching (Undergrad-
uate Research Opportunity Program
Faculty Recognition Award); Research
(New NIH Grant, DSP-PP Precursor
Protein Processing).
Christine Sedgley: Research (new
grants: U-M Rackham Faculty
Research Grant; OVPR Bridge Grant);
Publications (Chapter: Virulence of
Endodontic Bacterial Pathogens in
Endodontic Microbiology, 2009; Chapter:
Microbiology of Endodontic Disease in
Ingle’s Endodontics, 2008, 6th ed.).
Woosung Sohn: ADEA Counselor
from U-M School of Dentistry;
Research Fellow (CDC); Fellow,
ADEA Leadership Institute; Research
Grants (Healthy Kids Dental Program
Evaluation, Urban Community Oral
Health Intervention, Detroit Center for
Research on Oral Health Disparities,
Detroit Oral Cancer Prevention
Network); Mentor (Maciek Dolata,
APHA Jong Award Winner); IADR-
BEHSR Aubrey Sheiham Award for
Distinguished Research (2008).
Ken Stoffers: Co-Director, DDS2
Clinical Foundations Course
Nikki Sweier: Assistant Director, AEGD
Program; Director, Undergraduate
Geriatric Dentistry Curriculum;
Research (Investigator: Grants in
Geriatric Dentistry; Co-investigator:
grant on Stress Proteins).
George Taylor: Award (2007-08,
ORISE/CDC Research Scholar);
ADA (Council on Scientific Affairs;
Evidence-Based Dentistry Advisory
Board; APHA Meeting Press; Research
(NIH Grant, Periodontal Disease
and Diabetes; Delta Dental Contract,
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
Glycemic Control for Diabetes; BCBS
Contract, Medical Costs Associated
with Periodontal Disease and Diabetes
Treatment; Strauman-ITI Contract,
Effect of Extractions).
Jose Vivas: Director, DDS1 Clinical
Foundations Course for Dental
Anatomy and Tooth Morphology;
Research (All-ceramic materials);
Award (MDA Pierre Fauchard Academy
Award).
Pete Yaman: Director, Graduate
Program in Restorative Dentistry;
Calibration Team for North East
Regional Board Examiners; Clinical
Research (Restorative bonding and
filling materials).
Faculty Changes
Amid Ismail: Assumed position of
Dean, Temple University Maurice H.
Kornberg School of Dental Medicine in
November 2008.
Hana Hasson: Assumed position of
faculty member at Temple University
School of Dental Medicine in December
2008.
Joe Dennison: Retired as Professor
Emeritus in December 2008.
Adjunct Faculty
Agata Czajka Jakubowska: University
of Poznan’s Individual Science award
for 2008 (Certificate and $5000).
William Gregory: Award of Excellence
(Academy of Operative Dentistry,
2008).
Jim Schindler: Retired as adjunct
faculty (2008).
Staff
Carol Stamm: Earned 2008 CCRP
certification for clinical research.
Research Scientists
Wenche Borgnakke: Conducts research
on the effects of oral health on
systemic health with a particular focus
on the effects of periodontal infection
on diabetes control and complications
in observational and interventional
studies as well as systematic review of
evidence published in the literature.
She also conducts research validating
self-report as a means of assessing
periodontal status for individuals and
population surveillance.
Jin Lui: Studying the effect of ordered
fluorapatite surfaces with attached
nano-polymers on the growth of
osteoblast cells for use as coatings for
implants and dental stem pulp cells to
create an enamel/dentin junction.
Mike Manz: Conducts research
on interactions between oral and
systemic health in observational and
interventional studies, secondary
analysis of complex survey sample
data, and analysis of public and private
medical and dental claims data.
Research also includes design and
analysis of surveys for surveillance of
population oral health status in the
U.S.
2008 Graduating Residents
AEGD Program: Carmel Dudley,
Justin Garner, Luke Hamann, David
Heys, Elaine Lam, Steven MacHardy,
Christian Nolten, Byron Tucker.
Graduate Program in Restorative
Dentistry: David Jones, Tony Khoo
Graduate Program in Endodontics:
Ben Garagozloo, Jeremy Kott, Nahid
Roghani
Visiting Scientists: Nör research
lab (Vinicius Rosa, Marcia Campos,
Bruno Cavalcanti, Atsushi Imai,
Kyung San Min), Ritchie research lab
(Jun Liu), Yaman graduate program
(Koichi Yosida), Clarkson research
lab (Longxing Ni), Taylor research
program (Masanori Iwasaki), Sohn
research program (Choongho Choi).
18
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 FACULTY
Eber and Sohn Selected for ADEA
Leadership Institute
wo School of Dentistr y
faculty members have been
selected for the American
Dental Education Association
Leadership Institute. The
program is designed to develop the
nation’s most promising dental faculty
to become future leaders in dental
education.
Dr. Robert Eber, a clinical professor
in the Department of Periodontics and
Oral Medicine, and Dr. Woosung Sohn,
an assistant professor in the Department
of Cariology, Restorative Sciences, and
Endodontics, have been selected as
fellows for the prestigious year-long
program now in its tenth year.
Eber and Sohn will join 21 of the
nation’s most promising dental educators,
including faculty and administrators
from dental, allied health, and advanced
dental education programs. During the
12-month program, fellows pursue a
project addressing a key issue in dental
education. They will also work in groups
with others sharing similar interests and
aspirations.
19
19
Jerry Mastey
“Colleagues who have attended have
said the Leadership Institute is a great
program, and I’m honored to follow in
their footsteps,” Eber said. “I have been
selected for various leadership roles
during my career, but I expect to learn
better management, organizational, and
people skills to make me a better leader
in the future.”
Those sentiments were echoed by
Sohn who said, “I’m grateful for this
opportunity and excited because I expect
it will provide me with the knowledge,
skills, and network to develop my career
as a faculty member and leader in
dentistry. It will immediately benefit
me in revitalizing the dental public
health program at U-M which requires
substantial administrative, networking,
and leadership skills.”
Other School of Dentistry faculty
members who have participated in the
ADEA Leadership Institute in recent
years include Prof. Wendy Kerschbaum,
Drs. Paul Krebsbach, George Taylor, and
Nisha D’Silva.
Drs. Woosung Sohn (left)
and Robert Eber will join
21 colleagues from around
the nation in the ADEA
Leadership Institute.
The year-long program is
designed to develop the
nation’s most promising
dental faculty to become
future leaders in dental
education.
O’Brien Publishes
New Dental Materials
Textbook
Dr. William O’Brien, a professor
in the Department of Biologic and
Materials Sciences, recently published
a 425-page basic and applied dental
materials textbook. The fourth edition
of Dental Materials and Their Selection
is being used by first- and second-year
dental students.
“This textbook is not only for
p re d o c to ra l s t u d e n t s ,” O ’ B r i e n
said. “There is a significant amount
of useful information for other oral
health care professionals including
graduate students in prosthodontics
and restorative dentistr y, dental
practitioners, hygienists, and dental
technicians.” (more on the web)
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
 Dr. Lynn Johnson Named Assistant Michigan’s Pierre
Dean for Informatics & Innovation Fauchard Academy
Honors Vivas
Per Kjeldsen Photo courtesy of Jose Vivas

Since joining the School of Dentistry’s Dr. Jose Vivas,

faculty in the summer of 2002 as Director a clinical assis-
of Informatics and associate professor tant professor
of dentistry, Johnson, who was named of dentistr y
professor in 2007, has spearheaded in the De-
innovative uses of technology throughout par tment of
the School to enhance learning. C a r i o l o g y,
Her leadership led to a partnership Restorative
between the School and Apple, Inc. that Sciences, and
was the first of its kind between the Endodontics,
company and any professional school in the nation. received the Instructor of the Year Award
The relationship has enabled students to create and access for 2007-2008 from the Michigan
podcasts of classroom lectures via iTunes U from their personal Section of the Pierre Fauchard Academy
computers or portable media devices to listen to the lectures during its recent meeting.
anywhere and anytime. The initiative was featured in major print The award is presented to dental
publications worldwide as well as television and radio. For her faculty members who have been
efforts, Johnson was among ten persons nationwide who received recognized by the instructor’s academic
Apple’s inaugural honor, The Award for Innovation in Science, in colleagues for their outstanding
2007. The award recognized distinguished individuals in academia contributions to dental education.
who developed new ways to use technology that enhance education Vivas, who has been with the U-M
and research. School of Dentistry since 1997, teaches
Announcing the promotion, Dean Peter Polverini said, “Dr. dental anatomy to first-year dental
Johnson has distinguished herself and the School of Dentistry as students in the School’s preclinical
a significant contributor to the field of informatics. Her leadership laboratory, restorative dentistry in
is recognized campus-wide and internationally.” He added that as the graduate restorative clinic, and to
the School develops a new curriculum “the demands for innovative students in the Internationally Trained
uses of technology will surge and her expertise will be crucial to Dentists Program.
its success.” “It’s an honor to receive this
In addition to her current information technologies and award from this prestigious academy,
informatics responsibilities, Polverini said Johnson would especially since it was bestowed by
coordinate all e-learning activities throughout the school. That dedicated colleagues who have spent
would include assisting faculty in developing online courses their professional lives serving others,”
and assuming new responsibilities for developing educational Vivas said.
collaborations between the School of Dentistry and schools in The Pierre Fauchard Academy is
Brazil, China, England, and Ghana. an international dental organization
U-M Regents approved Johnson’s appointment as assistant dedicated to the advancement of the
dean during their November meeting. dental profession. Its members are
individuals who have made outstanding
contributions to the science and art of
dentistry.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

20
20
 FACULTY

PROFILE Jerry Mastey

“It’s incredible to be
able to walk down a
hallway and share “I’m in a family business,” Dr. Russell Taichman jokingly replied when asked
about how he wound up in dentistry.
some cutting-edge “My dad was a periodontist, chair of the pathology department, and associate
dean of academic affairs at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental
ideas with others
Medicine; an uncle was a basic research scientist; another uncle did basic research
who immediately at Stony Brook dental school; and a brother at Penn is also involved in science, so
dentistry and research are two genes I seem to have inherited,” he said.
understand your For Taichman, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry is special. “I’m
thinking, what you’re fortunate to be here. The University and this dental school are phenomenal places,”
he said.
trying to achieve, and Since arriving at Michigan in 1992, Taichman has been busy. He’s a professor
how they might be of dentistry, director of the Scholars Program in Dental Leadership, and an adjunct
professor at the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts (LS&A).
able to help you.” After earning a DMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental
Medicine in 1986 and a DMSc from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine four
years later, Taichman was a postdoctoral research fellow at Penn when he began
pondering his next career move.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

21
21
 During a dinner conversation with
his father and several others who were
attending an International Association
of Dental Research conference, Taichman
sought ideas about where he could
bolster his academic credentials in his
research area of interest – osteoblasts
involved in blood development.
The Lure of Michigan
He was urged to contact Dr. Steve
Emerson at the U-M Medical School
and Dr. Martha Somerman, who, at
the time, was chair of the Department
of Periodontics, Prevention, and
Geriatrics.
B o th, esp e ci ally S omer man,
who is now dean of the University of
Washington School of Dentistry, made
an indelible impression on Taichman.
“I saw that the University of
Taichman Nieva
foto here?
Dr. Yusuke Shiozawa, one of the post doctoral fellows in Dr. Russell Taichman’s laboratory,
holds a test tube containing cancer stem cells.
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
Michigan and this dental school were
investing in themselves and had a grand
vision for what they wanted to achieve.
I liked that,” he said. “Martha was
creating a department that she wanted
to be head and shoulders above any
other in the country, and I wanted to be
a part of that.”
Taichman also said he was impressed
with the research underway that had a
long-term focus.
“It seemed everyone I talked to
across Michigan and here at this dental
school understood the importance of
research, especially research that asked
the big questions and looked for long-
term benefits,” he said.
Also influencing his decision to
come to Michigan were other U-M
schools and colleges. “In particular, the
Medical School and the School of Public
Jerry Mastey
Health impressed me as phenomenal
places for collaboration on a range of
projects.”
Dividing his time between research,
teaching, and directing the Dental
Scholars program can be difficult at
times. But Taichman said that, more
often than not, the work he does in all
areas is interrelated.
His research niche focuses on how
bone cells regulate stem cell function and
development. Closely related to that is
his research that seeks to understand
how prostate cancer cells thwart stem
cell development and function.
Over the last three years, Taichman
has been awarded approximately
$200,000 by the Prostate Cancer
Foundation to investigate why prostate
cancer spreads to bones.
Asked how that research might
apply to dentistry, Taichman said,
“Ultimately, it’s my hope that we can
better understand how damaged bone,
including those in the orofacial region,
can be repaired. Once we understand
that, I think we may better understand
other cancers including those of the
head, neck, breast, and other areas of
the body.”
Interestingly, Taichman said his
research interests changed direction
following a conversation with Dr. Laurie
McCauley, chair of the Department of
Periodontics and Oral Medicine.
“As we talked about how prostate
cancer is one of just a few diseases where
bone formation actually occurs, she
wondered if there might be something
dentists and periodontists could learn
that would help us find new and better
ways to treat patients,” he said. I
wondered if the cancers use the same
mechanism, as do stem cells to gain
access to the marrow. Important for
dentistry is whether bone formation is
regulated by blood stem cells.
22
22
 That conversation, Taichman said, to develop a program, literally, from Arts called The Science and Practice of
reaffirmed his decision to come to the ground up. But in the summer Dentistry in the 21st Century. Among
Michigan. “The best thing about this of 2003, Dean Peter Polverini asked those who have spoken to the class
school are my colleagues,” he said. “It’s Taichman to develop a new program at include veterinarians, airline pilots,
incredible to be able to walk down a the School of Dentistry that would focus deans, faculty members, and dental
hallway and share some cutting-edge on leadership. “The idea intrigued me, students.
ideas with others who immediately and I was looking for a new challenge, “It’s the only course that focuses
understand your thinking, what you’re so this seemed like a great opportunity,” on dentistry in the undergraduate
trying to achieve, and how they might Taichman said. curriculum, and it’s always well
be able to help you.” The Scholars Program in Dental attended,” he said. “It seems everyone’s
Part of his work has led to the Leadership, also known as the Dental hands go up when I ask ‘Who’s thinking
development of small molecule Scholars program, celebrates its third about dentistry as a career?’,” he said.
therapeutics that are in Phase 1 anniversary this year. The program Roughly two or three students
trials. The study is being conducted brings together a group of exceptional who take the class eventually apply
by Metastatix, Inc. at the University of students from select backgrounds to to the U-M School of Dentistry and
Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in help them develop a leadership mindset are accepted, he said. He said others
Houston. and the skills they can use to initiate are accepted at other dental schools
elsewhere.
Another benefit from coming to
Michigan, Taichman said, was meeting
“It seemed everyone I talked to across Susan Hipolite. The two married in
1999. An assistant professor and
Michigan and here at this dental school assistant research scientist at the School,
understood the importance of research, she too has research interests, “however,
they’re different than mine since she’s
especially research that asked the big extensively involved in public oral health
research,” he said. The parents of a four-
questions and looked for long-term benefits.” year old, Taichman said, “we try to focus
our attention on our daughter, Gabrielle,
when we’re at home instead of talking
shop.”
With Dr. William Giannobile, Taichman is change in dentistry, dental hygiene, Looking back, Taichman said his
also working to develop a new diagnostic education, research, or academia. father never told him to pursue dentistry
tool for periodontal diseases. More Last fall, the School’s Alumni Society as a career. “But he pointed me in the
recently, in collaboration with Dr. Paul Board of Governors heard Taichman and right direction and gave me a lot of
Krebsbach, professor and Chair BMS, and three students in the program talk about helpful suggestions. As a result, it’s been
scientists at the University of Kentucky, how it has helped them. (See p.8) an incredible experience, especially here
Taichman has been attempting to isolate “I firmly believe that the students at Michigan,” he said.
human mesenchymal stem cells for who are in this program will be among
clinical trials to try to coax the cells into those who you’ll be hearing about in the
the blood so they can later be collected future as they make contributions to
to help repair bone defects. the dental profession in many different
areas,” he said.
Developing a New Program Since 2000, Taichman has taught a
W hen he came to Michigan, three credit hour course each fall at the
Taichman never imagined being asked school of Literature, Science and the

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

23
23
ALUMNI RELATIONS
PROFILE
Photo courtesy of Dr. George Sayre
A dental clinic he helped establish
provided more than $700,000 of free
oral health care to the homeless in
Houston in 2007. The amount was
nearly double what was provided just
two years earlier.
Since Healthcare for the Homeless-
Houston was established in 1998, word
of its mission and community service
has spread throughout the city and even
to the President of Mexico.
Last spring, Dr. George Sayre (DDS
1974) was one of 16 persons, and the
only dentist, to receive the Mayor’s
Volunteer Houston Award. “I was stunned
when the mayor’s office called me to
tell me I was a recipient,” Sayre said. “I
still don’t know who nominated me.”
He also received recognition when the
Healthcare for the Homeless Houston
Honored by the dental clinic was renamed in his honor.
Born and raised in Ypsilanti,
City of Houston Sayre originally planned to follow in
for Providing his father’s footsteps and become an
obstetrician. But conversations with
Dental Care to other family members influenced him
the Homeless to become a dentist. They included his
grandfather, Dr. Roy G. Hayward (DDS
1911); an uncle, Dr. James Hayward
(DDS 1944, MS oral surgery 1947); and
a brother, Dr. Frank Sayre (DDS 1969).
Following graduation from the
School of Dentistry, Sayre practiced for
three years with the U.S. Air Force in
Honolulu. When he made a decision
in February 1977 to move to Houston,
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
“I thought it was a good one because I
wouldn’t have to put up with the snow
like I did when I lived in Michigan. But
I had second thoughts when I moved in
that July because it was the hottest and
most humid month of the year,” he said
with a laugh.
Besides running his private practice,
Sayre also taught part time at the
University of Texas. “I dropped in,
unannounced, and talked to the dean of
the dental school about my background
and experiences. He decided to hire me
on the spot,” Sayre said.
A Patient’s Question
Changes Everything
But it was a conversation at his
private practice with one of his frequent
patients that changed Sayre’s life and
has given even greater meaning to his
career.
The patient, a physician, asked Sayre
if he would be interested in becoming
dental director of a clinic in Houston that
he was establishing for the homeless.
“I told him I would, and a short time
later began working part time in his
building,” Sayre said. The five-story
structure, which occupies a city block in
the city’s downtown business district,
also provides the homeless with food,
laundry facilities, job training, and
educational programs.
The number of patients treated at
the dental clinic steadily increased. More
space was needed.
Recently, the dental clinic was
remodeled and transformed. Now it’s
a three-chair clinic that employs a full
time dentist, dental hygienist, dental
assistant, and office manager. Volunteer
dentists across Houston and from the
University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston also help.
Sayre said there were several reasons
for accepting the invitation to provide
oral health care to the homeless.
24
24
 “Growing up, I had some stellar role
models who showed me the benefits
of community service. They included
grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles,
and cousins,” he said. “The satisfaction of
helping someone who otherwise would
not receive treatment is tremendous.
The smiles on the faces of those who
otherwise wouldn’t receive care is a
lasting memory.”
Sayre also said he remembers
working in the School of Dentistry’s
summer migrant dental program as
it was being established in the early
1970s.
Working with Houston’s homeless
to address their oral health care needs
“elevated considerably the awareness of
what we have been doing,” he said.
As word of Sayre’s work with
Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston
spread, it reached a friend who asked
Sayre if he would help establish a similar
dental clinic to treat the poorest of the
poor in the Mexican border town of
Agua Prieta, a village only a few hundred
yards across the border from Douglas,
Arizona.
Help from Mexico’s New
President
“I told every salesperson who came
to my private dental office in Houston
about Agua Prieta,” Sayre said. “I
said that if they knew a dentist who
was replacing used dental equipment,
upgrading dental equipment, or
25
25
remodeling their offices, that they
donate their equipment to that clinic.”
Dental chairs, X-ray machines, air
compressors, and other items were
shipped and stored in a warehouse in
Douglas. But the equipment couldn’t
be shipped until after the President of
Mexico, Felipe Calderon, assumed office
in December 2006.
W hen he was visiting border
towns in early 2007 to assess how the
government could help the people,
Calderon was asked by Sayre’s friend
if he could help transport a warehouse
of dental equipment across the border.
Calderon agreed.
The president’s bodyguards loaded
the equipment onto a van that same day
and took it to the building that became
the Wings of Angels Clinic. Calderon
was so impressed that he even gave
his personal cell phone number to an
administrator at the new clinic and
said to call if he could be of further
assistance.
“My vision was to create a dental
clinic in northern Mexico that had all the
amenities found in a first-class dental
office in the U.S.,” Sayre said. “I also
wanted to create an atmosphere where
volunteer dentists from the U.S. could
be even more productive. I believe we
have accomplished that goal.”
Sayre also said U-M alumnus Dr.
John Farah (DDS 1978) editor and
publisher of The Dental Advisor, and Dr.
John Powers (DDS 1972) also played
important roles with their gifts of dental
materials and supplies.
Although he was dental director of
Photo courtesy of Dr. George Sayre
The Healthcare
for the Homeless
Houston dental
clinic was
renamed last
year to honor Dr.
George Sayre’s
contributions to
the city.
Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston
for more than a decade, Sayre is now a
member of the organization’s Board of
Directors helping to secure grants from
foundations and gifts from the state and
oral health care professionals.
Reflecting on his experiences,
Sayre said “I have been in awe of how
much can happen when I make myself
available to facilitate it. Whether it’s
here in Houston, or in Agua Prieta, I feel
strongly that our society is best served
by those who can share their talents
and freely give of them when the need
arises,” he added. “If anyone in Michigan
wants to help, including students from
the dental school, let me know. I’ll be
happy to help.”
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
RESEARCH
Seeking Answers to Treat Head and
Neck Cancers
he discovery of a new treatment
approach for head and neck cancer
has led to a major grant being
awarded to Jacques Nör and
his research team in hopes of learning
more about ways to possibly treat
the debilitating disease. His research
initiative is one of four research projects
now underway on the U-M campus that
is being funded with a special grant from
the National Institutes of Health.
Nör, a professor in the Department
of Cariology, Restorative Sciences,
and Endodontics, recently received
a Specialized Programs of Research
Excellence (SPORE) grant from NIH
to pursue his head and neck cancer
research. SPORE grants seek to rapidly
translate research laboratory discoveries
and apply them in treating patients. By
applying bench-to-chairside discoveries,
the hope is that mortality rates will
decrease for individuals with head and
neck cancer.
Major Discovery in Polverini Lab
A discovery in Dr. Peter Polverini’s
laboratory a decade earlier set the
stage for Nör’s project with the SPORE
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
“Sometimes the
important discoveries
come from what you
didn’t expect, not
from going down the
path you originally
planned.”
Per Kjeldsen
grant. Polverini, dean of the School of
Dentistry, was a department chair at
the time of the discovery and mentoring
Nör, then an Oral Health Sciences, PhD
student.
“Our main focus then was evaluating
how TSP1 inhibits angiogenesis,
the formation and growth of new
blood vessels,” Nör said. T SP1
(thrombospodin-1) is a protein that
regulates cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix
interactions. It also interacts with
proteases involved in angiogenesis. At
that time, his research was using vascular
endothelial growth factors (VEGF) as a
control group for TSP1 studies.
“But what we didn’t expect, and
what turned out to be the big discovery
for us, was that VEGF induced synthesis
of a protein, Bcl-2, which enhanced
endothelial cell survival,” Nör said.
The Bcl-2 molecule regulates a cell’s
fate. The physiological function of Bcl-2
is to enhance cell survival. “Recently, we
discovered that the Bcl-2 levels in the
blood vessels of patients with head and
neck cancers are significantly higher – by
a factor of 60,000 – than the Bcl-2 levels
in the blood vessels of normal tissues,”
Nör said. He and members of his team,
Tomoatsu Kaneko and Elisabeta Karl,
used state of the art technology to
measure Bcl-2 elevation in the blood
vessels of patients with head and neck
cancers. These findings provided the
conceptual framework for the study of
new therapeutic strategies to block Bcl-2
function in endothelial cells as a means
to disrupt the vasculature of head and
neck tumors, with the ultimate goal
being one of “starving the tumor cells to
death.”
Since then, Nör has been collabor-
ating with Dr. Shaomeng Wang, the
co-director of the molecular therapeutics
program the U-M Comprehensive Cancer
Center, who has discovered a new
compound or small molecule that inhibits
the function of Bcl-2 in cells. Using that
knowledge, two members of the Nör
research team – Benjamin Zeitling, a
pharmacologist, and Naoki Ashimori,
an otolaryngologist – are investigating
this developmental stage drug on head
and neck tumor angiogenesis. This work
is serving as a foundation for a Phase
I clinical trial in head and neck cancer
patients that should start next year.
The five-year SPORE research grant
involves Nör, a co-principal investigator,
a team of researchers from the School
of Dentistry, and others from the U-M
Medical Center and the Comprehensive
Cancer Center. Dr. Gregory Wolf,
professor of otolaryngology at the
U-M Medical Center, is the principal
investigator of the U-M SPORE grant.
“There are times, and this was one
of those, where you have to go where the
science and the results take you,” Nör
said. “Sometimes important discoveries
come from what you didn’t expect, not
from going down the path you originally
planned.”
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26
 Study Shows Periodontal Treatment
Linked to Lower Medical Costs in
Patients with Diabetes
A new study by U-M School of
Dentistry researchers who analyzed
data provided by the Blue Care Network
revealed what may be the strongest link
yet between periodontal treatment for
patients with diabetes and the cost of
their medical care.
Led by Dr. George Taylor, an associate
professor of CRSE dentistry, the U-M
researchers analyzed claims from 2,674
individuals with diabetes ages 18 to 64.
The individuals were enrolled in the Blue
Care Network between 2001 and 2005
and had at least 12 consecutive months
of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical
coverage. The Michigan Blues insurance
network has one of the largest health care
claims databases in the U.S.
“We found insured adults with
diabetes in Michigan who received routine
periodontal treatment, such as dental
cleanings and scaling, have significantly
lower medical care costs than those who
do not,” Taylor said. “These results could
be meaningful to individuals, employers,
health care providers, and insurers.”
Gene Therapy Effective Treatment
Against Gum Disease
By Laura Bailey, U-M News Service
Scientists at the U-M School of
Dentistry have shown that gene therapy
can be used to successfully stop the
development of periodontal disease, the
leading cause of tooth loss in adults. The
findings were published online Dec. 11
in advance of print publication in Gene
Therapy.
Using gene transfer to treat life
threatening conditions is not new,
but the U-M group is the first known
27
27
to use the gene delivery approach to
show potential in treating chronic
conditions such as periodontal disease,
said William Giannobile, professor of
Periodontics and Oral Medicine and
principal investigator.
“Gene therapy has not been used in
non-life threatening disease. Periodontal
disease is more disabling than life
threatening,” said Giannobile, who also
directs the Michigan Center for Oral
Health Research and has an appointment
in the U-M College of Engineering. “This
is so important because the next wave
of improving medical therapeutics goes
beyond saving life, and moves forward
to improving the quality of life.”
Using Saliva to Monitor Head
and Neck Cancer Treatment and
Recurrence
Two U-M School of Dentistry
investigators will be investigating saliva
samples to try to determine if patients
with head and neck cancers have unique
biomarkers in their saliva that could be
used to monitor the response of those
patients to treatment or recurrence of
their cancer.
During the next year Drs. Carol
Anne Murdoch-Kinch and Nisha D’Silva
will collect and analyze saliva samples
from patients with head and neck
cancers, both before and after treatment,
and then compare the samples to those
from healthy people without cancer.
The samples will be collected under
controlled conditions to support current
and future research projects.
“Several studies support the presence
of specific biomarkers for head and neck
cancer in saliva,” said Murdoch-Kinch, an
associate professor in the Department
of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and
Hospital Dentistry. “Our objective is to
find biomarkers that are cancer-specific
and affected by treatment. A saliva-
based test using these biomarkers could
provide a sensitive, specific, inexpensive,
and noninvasive means to monitor
patients and, ultimately, save lives.”
Dental School Researchers to
Investigate What May Trigger
Migraine Headaches
A U-M School of Dentistry researcher
has received a grant to investigate the
factors that may be responsible for
triggering migraine headaches. Dr.
Alex DaSilva, assistant professor in the
Department of Biologic and Materials
Sciences, was awarded a $200,000
grant from the Dana Alliance for Brain
Initiatives to try to determine what
cellular and/or molecular changes in the
brain may be responsible.
Characterized by sudden attacks
of moderate to severe headache pain,
migraines are often accompanied by
nausea, vomiting, and hypersensitivity
to light and sound. Since many patients
experience migraines from childhood
to adulthood, their quality of life is
affected and frequently leads to absences
from work or school and additional
costs due to doctor’s appointments and
prescription medications.
However, many migraine therapies
do not produce long-lasting relief,
suggesting that chronic migraine attacks
may be due to other factors.
“We still don’t understand how the
brain is affected during a migraine,”
DaSilva said. “We hope to characterize
the effects of migraines on a person’s
nervous system, from molecular to
cellular levels,” he added. His research
group, the Headache and Orofacial
Pain Effort, will also study a relevant
sensory disturbance experienced by
some patients with migraines called
allodynia. (more on the web)
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
DENTAL HYGIENE

Susan
Anne Gwozdek
Pritzel
Re t i re s a f t e r 3 6 Ye a r s a t U - M
he School of Dentistry’s dental hygiene program has seen a lot of changes during Susan Pritzel’s
36-year career.
“Expanding the program from two years to three years in 1985 allowed us to do more, such as
community outreach,” she said. “Creating the Vertically Integrated Clinics in 1997 allowed hygienists
to get a feel for what it means to be a member of the oral health care team. And technology has
changed how patients are treated in clinics as well as how information is delivered.”
But Pritzel said two special memories would always stand out. “The students. They were the
best part of my job,” she said. “But I will also fondly remember the variety of opportunities I have
had to try to make a difference.”
An assistant professor and clinical supervisor of junior and senior dental hygiene students, Pritzel
retired in December. However, she said she would return to the clinics to teach part time. She will
also continue working one evening a week at a private practice in Ann Arbor as she has for the past
25 years, and serving as a Northeast Regional Board examiner.

The Road to U-M

Growing up on a 500-acre farm in Mason, Michigan, Pritzel used money she earned raising farm
animals and entering them in 4-H competitions to pay for her education. Her desire was to work
with and help people when she entered U-M, but hadn’t decided on a career path. Her family dentist
suggested she consider dental hygiene.
Following her freshman year at U-M, Pritzel interviewed with Dr. Dorothy Hard, director of the
School’s dental hygiene curriculum, and was accepted into the program in 1965.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1967, Pritzel worked as a hygienist in
Kalamazoo for six years. She returned to Ann Arbor in 1973, worked part time in a private practice
and began teaching part time as a clinical instructor at her alma mater. The following fall she was
offered a position as a full-time instructor.

DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009

28
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 In the summer of 1975, while
teaching full time at the School of
Dentistry, she also worked one night
a week at a private practice and began
pursuing her master’s degree. She
earned a master’s degree in guidance
and counseling from Eastern Michigan
University in 1977 and was promoted
to assistant professor at the School of
Dentistry.
Lifelong Learning Emphasized
“Earning my master’s degree and
minoring in psychology enabled me
to better understand and counsel
students,” Pritzel said. “But it also
demonstrated what I have repeatedly
emphasized to students – that learning
doesn’t end at graduation. You have to
be a lifelong learner.”
As important as lifelong learning
is, Pritzel said there are other crucial
traits that will continue to be necessary
to become a successful dental hygienist
— effective communication, integrity,
and accepting personal responsibility.
“I have told students that we’re
in the people business and that
communication is crucial to us and to
our patients. You have to be able to
listen to your patients and empathize
with them,” she said. “When you
do that, they will return because
they know you care and that you are
concerned about their health and well
being.”
Pritzel said integrity and accepting
responsibility are intertwined. “My dad
taught me the importance of acting
honestly and accepting responsibility,
especially when things go wrong.
Both are important, not only in one’s
personal life, but their professional life
too,” she said.
Those messages and Pritzel’s
lessons in the clinics and classrooms
have resonated with her students.
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Pritzel was joined at her retirement party by her husband, Roger (left), and Dr. Ronald Heys.
She has worked one evening a week in the private practice of Heys and his brother, Donald,
for the past 25 years. Pritzel’s sons, Matthew and Daniel, not pictured, also joined in the
retirement celebration.
On numerous occasions, she
has received awards from graduating
students as the Most Influential Instructor
or the Outstanding Faculty Member
Award. In 2001, she received the
Outstanding Alumnae Award from the
U-M Dental Hygienists’ Association for
her contributions to the profession.
Pritzel has been active with dental
and dental hygiene organizations.
She was vice president, treasurer,
board member, and committee chair
for the Michigan Dental Hygienists’
Association, elected four times as an
MDHA delegate to the ADHA’s annual
session, and was treasurer, president,
and delegate to the MDHA’s House of
Delegates representing the Washtenaw
District Dental Hygienists’ Society.
Pritzel has also served on several
U - M co m m i t te e s i n c l u d i n g t h e
Department of Public Safety’s Oversight
Committee, the Student Relations
Advisory Committee, and the Office
of Vice President of Student Services.
She has also been active with the
School of Dentistry’s Student Research
Committee, the disability subcommittee
of the Multicultural Affairs Committee,
was a faculty advisor for the Honor
Council for 15 years and the Student
Council for six years.
Anne Gwozdek
More Opportunities
“A dental hygienist can do so much
more with their education because the
role of the hygienist has changed,” she
said. “In the past, we concentrated on a
patient’s teeth, but today the hygienist
is a preventive expert who is concerned
about a person’s total health which
involves dentistry, medicine, disease, and
much more. And since new knowledge
is constantly being discovered and
applied,” she continued, “it’s important
for the hygienist to become a lifelong
learner.”
Pritzel added that opportunities
for dental hygienists will continue to
grow. “It’s not just private practice or
teaching in a clinic, but also outreach
facilities, nursing homes, industry, and
other areas. Access to care issues also
offer areas of professional growth for the
dental hygienist,” she said.
As she talked about her students,
some of whom will call or send an e-mail
on occasion asking for advice on a topic,
Pritzel said “it’s been rewarding to know
I have made a difference in their lives.
When that light bulb goes on, and they’re
able to finally put everything together
that they learned in classrooms and
clinics, it’s so rewarding to know that you
played a role in making that happen.”
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
ALUMNI RELATIONS
NEWS
Ed Givens, Jr. (DDS 2006)
stationed in Beaufort, South Carolina,
will complete a tour of duty with
the U.S. Navy in July. After being
deployed to Kuwait for seven months
last year to provide oral health care to
U.S. Forces, he was welcomed home
by his family: Jacob, 5-1/2 years old;
Annelise, age 4; Arianne, age 2; and
his wife, Lalia who was unwilling to
disclose her age. “It was rewarding
to provide care for the troops, many
of whom were reservists,” he wrote.
After his tour of duty, he will begin
residency training in prosthodontics
this fall at the University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Rebecca Ortenzio (DDS 2001)
of Annapolis, Maryland, now a
Lieutenant Commander in the United
States Navy, recently completed her
orthodontic residency at Indiana
University. She currently is assigned
to the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis as head of the Department
of Orthodontics.
Donald (Andy) Lewis (DDS
1998) of Seattle, Washington, recently
became a Fellow of the Academy
of General Dentistry. A private
practitioner in Seattle, he’s seen here
with his wife of 12 years, Ruth, and his
5-year-old daughter, Ellen, and 7-year-
old son, Michael.
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
Tamara Koss (DDS 1988, DH 1976)
of Indialantic, Florida, continues
general practice dentistry and with
the U.S. Air Force Reserve, where
she is Wing Dental Surgeon with the
920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron
with more than 1,200 members based
at Patrick Air Force Base. Last April
she was inducted as president of the
Reserve Officer Association of Florida
that has more than 5,000 members.
Stephen A. Lawrence (DDS 1984)
of Carlsbad, California, became a
mitred archpriest in the Syro-Russian
Orthodox Church last summer.
Ronald Sarosi (DDS 1981) of Eaton
Rapids, Michigan, was recently named
to the Board of Directors of the OBI
Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry.
Howard Belkin (DDS 1980)
of Birmingham, Michigan, who
specializes in psychotherapy and
psychopharmacology for adults,
adolescents, and children, has joined
the attending medical staff at William
Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak,
Michigan.
Solomon Pesis (DDS 1980) of
Farmington Hills, Michigan, has been
reappointed to a second term on the
Michigan Board of Dentistry. His
four-year term expires in 2011.
John Farah (DDS 1978) of Ann
Arbor, Michigan, editor and publisher
of The Dental Advisor, is lecturing
nationwide on CAD/CAM dentistry.
According to Farah, the publication
“is leading the way in CAD/CAM
dentistry and becoming the source of
information” on an array of equipment
that includes CEREC, COS, and others.
James Somers (DDS 1973,
MS orthodontics 1983) of Oak
Harbor, Washington, was one only
ten persons nationwide to receive
the Environmental Hero Award for
2008 from the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
A member of an environmental
education and stewardship group with
several hundred volunteers around
Puget Sound, Somers said “I thought I
would miss many aspects of practice,
however, volunteering has consumed
much of my time.” For four years he
and a group were collecting data on
habitat preservation and restoration
of endangered salmon populations in
Puget Sound. “Although the focus is
on salmon, the habitat degradation
affects all life forms in the Sound up
to and including the famous resident
Orca whales,” he wrote.
30
30

Tom Belford (DDS 1975) of
Flint, Michigan, recently received
the prestigious Mastership Award,
the highest honor bestowed by the
Academy of General Dentistry and one
of the most respected designations in
the profession. The award recognizes
a member’s commitment to excellence
in dental education. Belford completed
1,100 hours of continuing dental
education in 16 disciplines of dentistry,
including 400 hours dedicated to
hands-on skills and techniques.
Terry McDonald (DDS 1961,
MS orthodontics 1967) of Salem,
Oregon, says he is practicing with his
son, John, teaching in the graduate
department of orthodontics at Oregon
Health and Sciences University in
Portland. “I’m enjoying all that
Oregon has to offer – skiing, fishing,
wind surfing, whitewater rafting, the
beach, and the mountains,” he writes.
“I’m am still proud of my Michigan
heritage.”
Wearing his Michigan jacket, Jules
Flax (DDS 1940) of Jeffersonville,
New York, gets ready to blow out the
candles on a cake as he celebrated
his 91st birthday last October 18.
He retired in 2004 after practicing
dentistry for 63 years. His daughter,
Judy Flax Pearl, wrote, “Dad misses
dentistry…and certainly still cares
about the University of Michigan.”
31
31
In Memoriam
Dr. Robert Feigal
Dr. Robert Feigal, professor of
dentistry and associate dean for
academic affairs in the late 1990s,
passed away April 21 in Minneapolis.
During his 11 years at Michigan, Feigal
was director of pediatric dentistry in
the School’s Department of Ortho-
dontics and Pediatric Dentistry and
director of the graduate program in
pediatric dentistry. He earned degrees
in dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and completed his doctoral
training at the University of Minnesota. In 2003, Feigal left
Michigan to return to his alma mater.
’44 Dr. Alden E. VanOrnum
Batavia, New York; November 29, 2008
’47 June Krebs (Dental Hygiene)
Ann Arbor, Michigan; December 24, 2008
After receiving a dental hygiene certificate in 1947,
June Krebs applied her knowledge and skills locally,
statewide, and internationally. In addition to
teaching at the School of Dentistry, she practiced
dental hygiene in Michigan and New York, spoke to
groups about water fluoridation treatment programs,
and taught dental hygiene procedures at a hospital
in Rwanda. In 1999, she received the School of
Dentistry’s Distinguished Service Award at graduation
ceremonies that spring.
’51 Dr. Julius Franks, Jr.
Grand Rapids, Michigan; November 26, 2008
Considered to be one of the best offensive linemen
to play at Michigan, Dr. Franks was one of the famed
“Seven Oak Posts” on the U-M Michigan football
line in the 1940s. Named an All-American guard in
1942, his football career was cut short when he was
diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent two years in
the hospital. In 1982, he was inducted into the U-M
Athletic Hall of Honor. The Hall of Honor recognizes
individuals who have made significant contributions as
athletes, coaches, and administrators to the tradition
of Wolverine athletics and enhanced the image and
reputation of U-M.
’55 Dr. Arthur Hamparian
Berkley, Michigan; January 19, 2009
DentalUM SPRING & SUMMER 2009
 Meet the New Director of
Communications
Sharon Grayden has been named director
of communications for the School of
Dentistry and will manage publications, Web
communications, and media relations for both
internal and external constituencies.
“Our communications are more sophisticated
than ever with richer content, photographs,
and videos available via the Web,” said Dean
Polverini. “With the increasing role that
electronic media is playing on the global stage,
we felt it was important to manage all print
and electronic media in a coordinated fashion
as we communicate with you and the world.”
Send comments and suggestions to
grayden@umich.edu or call (734) 615-2600

Upcoming Continuing
Dental Education Courses

Hot Topics in Dentistry Today

September 25, 2009
(Friday - Homecoming Weekend)
This educational, fast paced, and entertaining
Homecoming Weekend 2009 seminar is for dentists, dental hygienists, dental
assistants, and office managers. Speaker will be
Thursday, September 24 Dr. Louis Malcmacher, a “smile makeover” dentist
Emeritus Pinning Ceremony who has appeared on television, been interviewed
11:30 a.m. - Room G390 for major newspapers and magazines, and who is
Emeritus Class Picture a dental consultant with a general and cosmetic
12:30 p.m. - Foyer staircase, first floor, Kellogg Building practice in Cleveland.

Emeritus Reunion & Hall of Honor Luncheon

1:00 p.m. - Sindecuse Atrium Periodontics: Probing and
Exploring the Future
Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony October 16, 2009 (Friday)
2:00 p.m. - Sindecuse Atrium
Five School of Dentistry faculty members will
discuss established and emerging periodontal
Friday, September 25
treatment concepts. You will learn about
Morawa Lecture - Hot Topics in Dentistry Today
Registration – 7:30 a.m.; Course – 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. strategies to plan, implement, and evaluate
Four Points Sheraton, Ann Arbor periodontal therapy outcomes and the importance
of communicating with patients about their
Homecoming Dinner Celebration
periodontal conditions and treatment needs.
Honoring Dental and Dental Hygiene classes with
graduation years ending in 4 and 9
6:00 p.m. - Registration/Reception
7:00 p.m. - Dinner For more information
Kensington Court Hotel, 610 Hilton Boulevard, about these and other
Ann Arbor continuing dental
education courses contact:
Saturday, September 26 University of Michigan
Alumni Association Go Blue! Tailgate School of Dentistry
3 hours before kickoff Office of Continuing
Dental Education
Football Game 1011 N. University Ave.
University of Michigan vs. Indiana Room G508
TimeTBA - The Big House Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078
www.dent.umich.edu