June 26, 2013
Dentistry names new oral surgery chair
Thomas Dodson will become the new chair of oral and maxillofacial surgery in the School of Dentistry.
Thomas B. Dodson of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine has accepted an appointment to chair the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, announced Joel Berg, dean of the School of Dentistry. Dodson will start Sept. 1, pending UW Board of Regents’ approval.
Dodson also will become the School of Dentistry’s associate dean of hospital affairs.
Dodson is currently professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Harvard. He is also an attending oral and maxillofacial surgeon and director of the Center for Applied Clinical Investigation in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dale Bloomquist, who led the search committee, has served as acting chair of the department since January 2010.
Saying he was delighted to be joining the UW, Dodson added: “I am impressed by the caliber of the people I’ve met and the enthusiasm everyone has for delivering the highest quality in patient care and education.” He said his agenda includes:
- Re-establishing the MD/certificate Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency program at the UW.
- Expanding the clinical, research and educational opportunities at Harborview Medical Center, where the School of Dentistry operates a satellite oral surgery clinic.
- Developing the faculty practice into a self-sustaining enterprise.
Dodson, whose family has roots in the Pacific Northwest, received both a dental degree and a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard. He did his oral surgery training at the University of California-San Francisco, where he later completed a dental public health residency and a National Institutes of Health fellowship in dental clinical epidemiology. He also has served on the dental and public health faculties at Emory University in Atlanta, and is the associate editor of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Dodson has conducted influential work on risk factors for complications following wisdom tooth extraction and implant placement. Other interests include evaluating risks and repair of nerve injury, management of giant cell tumors, and researching bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw.
His health research extends outside dentistry and includes studies of the efficacy of mandatory seatbelt laws, oral surgical management of HIV-positive patients, and identifying markers for domestic violence.
Since 2006, he has been on the medical team and a game doctor for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.
Tag(s): School of Dentistry • Thomas B. Dodson
