The UNMC College of Dentistry 
Department of Growth and Development
From an article published in the Dental Alumni Bulletin Spring 2001

Chair:  Peter M. Spalding, D.D.S., M.S., M.S., Associate Professor
Vice-Chair (Pediatric Dentistry):  Dennis P. Gutz, D.D.S., M.S., Associate Professor

Orthodontic Section
Full-time Faculty:  Dr. Laura Iwasaki, Dr. Jeff Nickel

Part-time Faculty:  Dr. Brett Cascini, Dr. John Ficke, Dr. Robert Glenn, Dr. Paula Harre, Dr. Ken Holland, Sr., Dr. Brad Hoppens, Dr. Wayne Labart, Dr. Thomas McKee, Dr. Robert Schoettger, Dr. Kimberley Stafford

Pediatric Dentistry Section
Full-time Faculty:  Dr. Dennis Gutz, Dr. Ulrich Klein, Dr. Curtis Kuster

Part-time Faculty:  Dr. Ronald Grothe, Dr. Eric Hodges, Dr. Sandra Larson, Dr. Thomas Moriarty, Dr. Greg Samuelson, Dr. Lisa Strunk

Postgraduate Orthodontics
Director: Dr. Peter Spalding

Postgraduate Pediatric Dentistry
Director: Dr. Dennis Gutz

Department Staff
Staff Assistants: Beverly Simons, Secretary;
MMI Pedi Dent Clinic--Nancy Ambrose

Dental Assistants-Ortho Section: Sandie Frank, Kerri Moser, Judy Olsen

Dental Assistants-Pediatric Dentistry Section: Kay Bohmont, Bev Sayer, Margaret Sieber, Donna Wilke; MMI Pedi Dent-Michele Meeves, Anita Carter, Tonia Rhone

Clerks: Linda Kelly (Ortho), Tami Naber (Pedi Dent); MMI Pedi Dent-Sandra Patterson, Susan Silva

Lab Technician: Suzy Spadt (Ortho)

 

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The department is responsible for training students and providing patient care in the specialties of Orthodontics/Dentofacial Orthopedics and Pediatric Dentistry.  The previous departments of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry were joined administratively into one department in July of 1994 with Dr. Spalding, an orthodontist and pediatric dentist, as Chair.  There currently are six full-time faculty including the Chair: three are pediatric dentists who teach in both the pre-doctoral and postgraduate pediatric dentistry programs and three  are orthodontists who teach in the pre-doctoral and postgraduate orthodontic programs as well as the postgraduate pediatric dentistry program.  There are six part-time faculty (two orthodontists, two pediatric dentists, one orthodontist/pediatric dentist, and one general dentist) that supervise pre-doctoral and postgraduate pediatric dentistry clinical activities and ten part-time orthodontists that supervise pre-doctoral and postgraduate orthodontic clinical activities. 

The department programs are located in Lincoln at the College of Dentistry (pre-doctoral orthodontics and pediatric dentistry and postgraduate orthodontics) and in Omaha at Monroe-Meyer Institute (MMI-postgraduate pediatric dentistry) on the main UNMC campus.  The geographic separation of the pediatric dentistry postgraduate program from the Lincoln campus does present some administrative and logistical challenges for the department.  Beyond the willingness of faculty and students to do a good bit of driving between Omaha and Lincoln, the department has dealt with these challenges by being the first to utilize the College of Dentistry's two-way T.V. for distance learning.  Dr. Gutz has been named the departmental Vice-Chair to administrate all pediatric dentistry predoctoral and postgraduate activities.  Dr. Gutz serves as acting Director of the pediatric dentistry postgraduate program.

Orthodontics/Dentofacial Orthopedics           
Our predoctoral orthodontic program is recognized as one of the most comprehensive in the world.  While most dental programs offer minimal didactic, laboratory, and clinical orthodontic experiences, the curriculum for our dental students is an exception.  The program received a glowing report and commendation during the recent accreditation site visit evaluation of the College of Dentistry.  As a testament to its "gold standard" quality, we have received numerous inquiries regarding our curriculum and have presented its design and implementation to the upcoming American Dental Education Association. The strength of the program lies in the dedication of the full-time and part-time instructors. Drs. Laura Iwasaki and Jeffrey Nickel teach three didactic courses in the Sophomore year, and with Dr. Paula Harre, coordinate two orthodontic clinical courses. Dr. Ken Holland works with Dr. Nickel in the Sophomore laboratory course where the students place brackets and bands on a typodont, learn how to bend arch wires, and fabricate a variety of removable and fixed appliances. Dr. John Ficke provides a therapeutics class to the Junior students and Dr. Harre supervises a Senior seminar series on orthodontic treatment outcomes. Clinical supervision is provided by Drs. Brett Cascini, Harre, Nickel, Iwasaki, and Spalding and the second year postgraduate orthodontic residents.

Our nationally regarded postgraduate orthodontic program is in its 46th year and is represented by 136 alumni as well as six current residents (24 month program graduating three each year).  Dr. Spalding is Director of this program, in addition to his administrative responsibilities as Chair.  At the recent accreditation site visit, the external examiner was enthusiastic about the quality of the curriculum, the dedication and commitment of the faculty and staff, our research initiatives, and the learning environment.  We received a commendation for our "excellent faculty and program director, who have created a humanistic approach to orthodontic training from which students and patients benefit."

Pediatric Dentistry
Our predoctoral pediatric dentistry program continues to provide a quality comprehensive care experience as the students treat child and adolescent patients in our clinic.  The faculty and staff create a fun and stimulating learning experience in a "practice" environment as the student becomes comfortable with the special needs of the pediatric dental patient and learns to utilize our skilled chairside dental assistants.

Our postgraduate pediatric dentistry program is in its 53rd year and is recognized by many as one of the best hospital-based programs in the country.  Most hospital-based programs have a strong clinical emphasis at the expense of their didactic curriculum.  We utilize both the UNMC medical campus where the program is based,  as well as the College of Dentistry in Lincoln, to provide a thorough didactic component to complement the students' clinical experiences. This is underscored by the positive outcome of the recent accreditation site visit where we were commended for our "highly committed and talented faculty" who provide a "broad clinical experience" for our pediatric dentistry students. In addition, the results of the newly developed AAPD Postdoctoral Inservice Examination demonstrated that our first and second year residents scored well above the national average.

Research     
Research in the department is a high priority.  Dr. Spalding has conducted research pertaining to the possible influences of the airway and endocrine factors on craniofacial growth.  He also has been involved with projects related to orthodontic biomaterials, nickel sensitivity and orthodontic treatment outcomes.

Drs. Iwasaki and Nickel work primarily in the realm of biophysics.  This broad area of research encompasses such topics as chemical mediators of bone remodeling during orthodontic tooth movement, the biomechanics of normal and degenerative cartilage, mechanics of orthodontic technology, and numerical modeling of neuromuscular control of the craniomandibular apparatus.  Drs. Iwasaki and Nickel conduct clinical and laboratory research which takes place in the Biophysics Laboratory located on the ground floor of the dental school. Drs. Iwasaki and Nickel received the first D. H. Reinhardt Scholar award. The goal of the program is to develop faculty expertise in emerging technologies. They will use the funds to travel to Zurich, Switzerland to conduct collaborative research at the Clinic for Masticatory Disorders.

Dr. Klein currently studies the distribution of local anesthetics by radiographic imaging and space loss issues after extraction of primary teeth.

Recent publications from the department attest to the quality of the research. During this last year, our publications included 8 research abstracts, 2 textbook chapters, and 5 research articles in peer-reviewed journals.  Drs. Iwasaki and Nickel both have received Biomedical Research Awards from the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation. Dr. Iwasaki's award, designated the B.F. Dewel Memorial Award for 2000, is granted to only one individual nationally per year.

Service        
Department faculty contribute to the University and to the well being of citizens of Nebraska by various means.  All faculty participate in a private practice, either in the intramural University Dental Associates practice or in an extramural practice.  Our department serves as the College host for school groups from preschool through high school to introduce them to the profession of dentistry.

Dr. Kuster serves as the Director for Admissions for the College and is responsible for recruitment of our dental students.  He also serves as coordinator for the UNL Athletic Mouth Protector Program.  Dr. Gutz is a consultant to the Lincoln Family Practice Residency Program.  Dr. Spalding helps staff the Boys Town Research Hospital and UNMC interdisciplinary craniofacial anomalies teams and is a consultant to the Nebraska Medically Handicapped Children's Program.

Drs. Iwasaki, Nickel, and Spalding are referees for a variety of professional peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Dental Research, Archives of Oral Biology, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, and the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. 

The faculty are actively engaged in presenting continuing education.  During this last year, presentations by our department faculty and students were made at 13 national and 5 international meetings.  In May 2001, the orthodontic faculty provided a course as a part of an Alaskan cruise. 

New Developments          
Dr. Kuster started a new UNL undergraduate course for the fall 2000 semester entitled "Introduction to Dentistry" as a means of introducing more college students to the profession of dentistry.  We were very pleased by the overwhelming response with the original expectation of 20 to 30 students being surpassed to the extent that a limit of 40 had to be established.  It is clear that this course is a desirable and beneficial one that should provide additional qualified applicants to our fine dental applicant pool.

Last modified: April 2, 2007 5:30 PM