Feature Story
Health Center Today, July 30, 2010
Douglass Honored as Pediatric Dentist of the Year
By Chris Kaminski
Dr. Joanna Douglass accepts the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Pediatric Dentist of the Year Award.
Photo courtesy of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Dr. Joanna Douglass was recently honored as the Pediatric Dentist of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. The award recognizes a pediatric dentist who has made significant contributions to the dental profession and the specialty of pediatric dentistry through clinical practice, academics, or policy development. Recipients must also have devoted extensive volunteer leadership service to the dental profession and the specialty.
"I am surprised and honored to have received the award," says Douglass, an associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry at the UConn School of Dental Medicine. "My work is predominantly within public health and policy. In this field, change and outcomes can be slow and often not flashy. To be recognized for this work is therefore very special."
"All of us at the School of Dental Medicine and the UConn Health Center are very proud of Dr. Douglass. She is an innovative leader, advocate and researcher for pediatric dentistry and contemporary children's health issues," says Dr. Monty MacNeil, dental school dean.
Douglass serves as an oral health consultant for several organizations including the Connecticut Health Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Head Start Dental Home Initiative, and Smiles for Life, a national effort that provides a curriculum for primary care clinicians to address oral health in the medical setting throughout an individual’s lifespan. Additionally, she works with the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s "Home by One" Program and the Connecticut Department of Social Services Fluoride Varnish Program, both of which train dentists and primary care pediatric clinicians to promote infant oral health and screening.
Her involvement in these state programs earned her the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s 2009 Leonard I. Banco, M.D., Award.