Topics at a glance: UTDB volunteers provide free care at Texas Mission of Mercy … Prosthodontics resident Ying Han wins first place research award … HealthLeader seeks dental professionals to help with column … New faculty members complete orientation; now work with mentors

UTDB volunteers provide free care at Texas Mission of Mercy

Fifty-nine students, seven faculty members and two staff assistants from the UT Dental Branch at Houston volunteered to help with this year"s Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM) Nov. 2-3 at the Spring Branch Family Development Center. Started in 2001 and sponsored by the Texas Dental Association Smiles Foundation, the annual event provides free dental care for the underprivileged. TMOM venues vary around the state, and this was the first time it was held in Houston. Nearly 800 patients were treated over two days by dental volunteers from throughout the state. The gymnasium was equipped for the occasion with 32 dental chairs and related equipment. The UTDB Dental Van was on site, too. Altogether, volunteers from UTDB provided an estimated $14,000 worth of care to approximately 70 patients.

For a list of Dental Branch volunteers and additional photos, Click here.

Mission of Mercy volunteers treat a patient in the UT Dental Van.

Prosthodontics resident Ying Han, D.D.S., on the left, and her mentor, UTDB Assistant Professor Sudarat Kiat-Amnuay, D.D.S.

Prosthodontics resident Ying Han
wins first place research award

Prosthodontics resident Ying Han, D.D.S., of Xi'an, China, won first place for "Effect of Nano-Oxides on the Physical Properties of Maxillofacial Silicone A-2186" at the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics research competition Oct. 27-30 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The award includes a $1,500 cash prize and a plaque.

Han is a prosthodontics resident at Fourth Military Medical University in China and is working on multiple projects — including her master"s degree project — at UTDB with her mentor, Assistant Professor Sudarat Kiat-Amnuay, D.D.S., of the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials. Han is also working with UTDB Biomaterials Professor John Powers, Ph.D., and Yimin Zhao, D.D.S., Ph.D., of Fourth Military Medical University. Kiat-Amnuay is also assistant program director for the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency Program at UTDB.

HealthLeader seeks dental professionals
to answer questions for on-line column

The online magazine, HealthLeader, is adding a column called “Ask the Expert” that will feature questions submitted by readers. HealthLeader Editor Karen Krakower will organize the questions so that an expert from a particular field or on a particular subject can answer them. She has UT-Houston experts lined up to answer questions about pediatric issues, elder care, menopause, science and general health, but she needs a volunteer(s) from the Dental Branch to answer dental questions as they arise. The time commitment is estimated to be about two hours every four to six weeks. To get the column started, Krakower also needs questions. Have you heard an interesting question from a dental patient? Or do you have a question yourself about dental care or other health matters? If so, contact Karen.O.Krakower@uth.tmc.edu.

New faculty members complete orientation; now work with mentors

Seven new faculty members of the UT Dental Branch have participated in the five-session New Faculty Orientation Program offered by the Office of Educational Research and Professional Development. They will now be partnered with mentors to help them move forward with their careers. Pictured (front, from left) are Sergio Ortegon, D.D.S., Department of Prosthodontics; Kavitha Parthasarathy, B.D.S., Department of Periodontics; Pedram Bohluli, D.D.S., Ph.D., Department of Endodontics; (back row, from left) Neel Bhatavadekar, D.D.S., Department of Periodontics; Raymond Simmons, D.D.S., Ph.D., Restorative Dentistry; Gena Tribble, Ph.D., Department of Periodontics; and Raymond Taylor, Ph.D., Department of Restorative Dentistry.