Gail Rohlfing, DDS, a UNMC College of Dentistry alumna with three decades in private practice, brings a breadth of experience to her new role as chair of the UNMC Department of Growth and Development within the college.
Dr. Rohlfing had been serving in the role on an interim basis for about six months. “We are excited to announce that she has accepted the position of permanent chair,” said Dean Gerry Kugel, DMD, PhD.
Dr. Rohlfing has a wealth of knowledge in the practice-management and business aspects of the profession, having owned a large private pediatric dental practice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for 30 years. She is a certified Clifton Strengths coach, executive coach and sought-after speaker on career development at universities across the country. She has drawn on her University of Nebraska-Lincoln degree in textile science to inform her design of dental offices.
Contract negotiation is among her strengths, the dean said.
“Another of her strengths is bringing new technologies, systems and clinical strengths into pediatric dentistry,” Dr. Kugel said.
But Dr. Rohlfing also embodies the human, patient-centered side of dentistry.
“The focus is on the child, not the tooth,” she said. “I want to know the child’s name. I want to know how old they are. I want to know who they’re here with, who brought them today. Then let’s get down to the teeth.”
She is former president of the North Carolina Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and serves as a media spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Dr. Rohlfing is from Roca, Nebraska, where as a child she raised sheep and hogs. After attending UNL and UNMC, she earned a master’s degree and a Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Dentistry.
In her spare time, Dr. Rohlfing has a passion for designing and sewing clothing and costumes for theatrical productions. She and her husband have two sons, one of whom, Pierce, is a current UNMC dental student.