{"id":59574,"date":"2024-11-21T14:04:21","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T19:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/?p=59574"},"modified":"2024-11-22T15:13:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T20:13:11","slug":"massachusetts-special-commission-on-oral-health-gsdm-appointees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/2024\/11\/21\/massachusetts-special-commission-on-oral-health-gsdm-appointees\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight GSDM Community Member Join New Massachusetts Special Commission on Oral Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eight GSDM community members were appointed to the newly established Massachusetts Special Commission on Oral Health<\/span> earlier this year. The Commision is tasked with<\/span> studying oral diseases in the Commonwealth, identifying gaps in care, and developing strategic plans to address barriers to care.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Matthew Horan, Massachusetts department of public health office of oral health dental director and GSDM instructor of general dentistry, said t<\/span>he Special Commission on Oral Health will allow a variety of experts, critical partners, and oral health advocates to develop and share statewide oral health needs assessment findings and recommendations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood oral health is required to achieve overall health and wellness,\u201d Horan said. \u201cDental care is and must be a part of overall healthcare. Unresolved problems with oral health including tooth decay, gum disease, or other oral diseases, create health inequities in our state that can impact everyone.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We spoke to some of the GSDM-affiliated appointees about what they hope to accomplish on the commission. <\/span>Here\u2019s what they had to say.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

Dr. Meredith Bailey<\/span><\/span> QST 23<\/span><\/span>
<\/span>C<\/span>linical <\/span>A<\/span>ssistant <\/span>P<\/span>rofessor of <\/span>G<\/span>eneral <\/span>D<\/span>entistry and <\/span>Group <\/span>P<\/span>ractice <\/span>L<\/span>eader for the predoctoral <\/span>Patient Treatment<\/span> <\/span>C<\/span>enter<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

\u201cI am honored to serve on the Massachusetts Special Commission on Oral Health. I look forward to positively contributing with my experience in strategic planning, passion for ethics and ethical integration of technology in dentistry, and commitment to advancing public health. Together, we can collaborate and provide solutions to eliminate barriers and improve oral health outcomes for all residents of the Commonwealth.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hussam Batal <\/span>DMD 98 OMFS 03<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>C<\/span>linical <\/span>P<\/span>rofessor of <\/span>O<\/span>ral & <\/span>M<\/span>axillofacial <\/span>S<\/span>urgery<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cBeing selected as a member of the MA Special Commission on Oral Health is a true honor. I look forward to collaborating with committee members across multiple disciplines and institutions to advance Oral Health for the citizens of the Commonwealth.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/span>Gina Terenzi<\/span> <\/span>CAS 86 DMD 91<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cIt is an honor to be chosen to serve on the MA Special Commission <\/span>on Oral<\/span> Health. I am committed to the education and training of dentists who will be the future of public health in dental care. The needs of our <\/span>special care<\/span> and <\/span>at-risk<\/span> populations are many, and I will look forward to working with a group that shares a common goal to improve Massachusetts dental health programs.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Grace Hsieh Christianson<\/span> SAR 19 DMD 24<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cBeing appointed as a member of the Special Commission on Oral Health is a tremendous honor and responsibility! <\/span>I am excited to help contribute to identifying gaps in access to oral health care as well as developing and proposing plans to improve oral health statewide.<\/span> I am very thankful for this unique opportunity and hope to provide a dental student and dental resident perspective. I look forward to working alongside dedicated professionals to make a meaningful difference in Massachusetts<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Dr. <\/span>Michelle Henshaw<\/span> SPH 96 DPH 07
\nAssociate Dean for Global & Population Health and Professor of Health Policy & Health Services Research<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cI am looking forward to working alongside such a talented and diverse group of individuals who are all committed to improving oral health in different segments of the population by using as many different perspectives as possible<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Dr. Myron <\/span>Allukian<\/span> Jr.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>C<\/span>linical <\/span>A<\/span>ssistant <\/span>P<\/span>rofessor of <\/span>H<\/span>ealth <\/span>P<\/span>olicy & <\/span>H<\/span>ealth <\/span>S<\/span>ervices <\/span>R<\/span>esearch<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cThis Commission gives us the opportunity to assess our oral health needs statewide and what needs to be done to improve the oral health of our residents with a focus on prevention and access, especially for the most vulnerable.<\/span> Having <\/span>initiated<\/span> the 2000 Special Commission and having helped write the 1968 Commission Report, I have <\/span>high expectations<\/span> for the 2024 Commission’s impact.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Other members of the GSDM community on the new Commission include Dr. Catherine Hayes, clinical professor of health policy & health services research<\/strong> and Dr. <\/strong><\/span>Siobhian<\/span> Sprott, clinical assistant professor of pediatric dentistry<\/span><\/strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Rachel Grace Philipson\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eight GSDM community members were appointed to the newly established Massachusetts Special Commission on Oral Health earlier this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21998,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13845,13840,13890,13837,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21998"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59574"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59622,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574\/revisions\/59622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}