{"id":180578,"date":"2022-01-14T08:34:33","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T13:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=180578"},"modified":"2022-04-12T13:15:52","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:15:52","slug":"uconn-school-of-dental-medicine-welcomes-new-faculty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2022\/01\/uconn-school-of-dental-medicine-welcomes-new-faculty\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn School of Dental Medicine Welcomes New Faculty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The UConn School of Dental Medicine has enjoyed robust growth, adding seven new faculty members to its ranks over the past few months. Representing multiple disciplines, they bring a wealth of new perspectives on dental education, research and patient care that will continue to advance the missions of the school.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wonderplugingallery-container\" id=\"wonderplugingallery-container-373\" style=\"max-width:540px;margin:0 auto;\"><div class=\"wonderplugingallery\" id=\"wonderplugingallery-373\" data-galleryid=\"373\" data-width=\"540\" data-height=\"540\" data-skin=\"gallery\" data-playsinline=\"false\" data-mutevideo=\"false\" data-random=\"false\" data-autoslide=\"false\" data-autoplayvideo=\"false\" data-schemamarkup=\"false\" data-stopallplaying=\"false\" data-reloadonvideoend=\"false\" data-donotuseposter=\"false\" data-enabletabindex=\"false\" data-loadnextonvideoend=\"false\" data-hidetitlewhenvideoisplaying=\"false\" data-disablehovereventontouch=\"false\" data-autoslideandplayafterfirstplayed=\"false\" data-html5player=\"true\" data-responsive=\"true\" data-fullwidth=\"false\" data-showtitle=\"true\" data-showdescription=\"true\" data-showplaybutton=\"true\" data-showfullscreenbutton=\"true\" data-showtimer=\"true\" data-showcarousel=\"true\" data-galleryshadow=\"false\" data-slideshadow=\"true\" data-thumbshowtitle=\"true\" data-thumbshadow=\"true\" data-lightboxshowtitle=\"true\" data-lightboxshowdescription=\"true\" data-specifyid=\"true\" data-donotinit=\"false\" data-addinitscript=\"false\" data-triggerresize=\"false\" data-thumbcolumnsresponsive=\"false\" data-thumbverticalmiddle=\"true\" data-removeinlinecss=\"true\" data-switchonmouseover=\"false\" data-showcategory=\"true\" data-showimgtitle=\"false\" data-titlesmallscreen=\"false\" data-initsocial=\"true\" data-showsocial=\"false\" data-showemail=\"false\" data-showfacebook=\"true\" data-showtwitter=\"true\" data-showpinterest=\"true\" data-socialrotateeffect=\"true\" data-doshortcodeontext=\"false\" data-loop=\"0\" data-duration=\"1500\" data-slideduration=\"1000\" data-slideshowinterval=\"6000\" data-googleanalyticsaccount=\"\" data-resizemode=\"fill\" data-imagetoolboxmode=\"mouseover\" data-effect=\"fade\" data-padding=\"12\" data-bgcolor=\"\" data-bgimage=\"\" data-thumbwidth=\"120\" data-thumbheight=\"60\" data-thumbgap=\"8\" data-thumbrowgap=\"16\" data-lightboxtextheight=\"72\" data-lightboxtitlecss=\"{color:#333333; font:bold 12px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; overflow:hidden; white-space:normal; line-height:18px;}\" data-lightboxdescriptioncss=\"{color:#333333; font:normal 12px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; overflow:hidden; white-space:normal; line-height:14px;}\" data-titlecss=\"{color:#ffffff; font-size:14px; font-family:Armata, sans-serif, Arial; overflow:hidden; white-space:normal; text-align:left; padding:10px 0px 10px 10px;  background:rgb(102, 102, 102) transparent; background:rgba(102, 102, 102, 0.6);}\" data-descriptioncss=\"{color:#ffffff; font-size:12px; font-family:Armata, sans-serif, Arial; overflow:hidden; white-space:normal; text-align:left; padding:0px 0px 10px 10px;  background:rgb(102, 102, 102) transparent; background:rgba(102, 102, 102, 0.6);}\" data-titleheight=\"72\" data-titlesmallscreenwidth=\"640\" data-titleheightsmallscreen=\"148\" data-socialmode=\"mouseover\" data-socialposition=\"position:absolute;top:8px;right:8px;\" data-socialpositionlightbox=\"position:absolute;top:8px;right:8px;\" data-socialdirection=\"horizontal\" data-socialbuttonsize=\"32\" data-socialbuttonfontsize=\"18\" data-defaultvideovolume=\"1\" data-thumbtitleheight=\"24\" data-thumbmediumtitleheight=\"48\" data-thumbsmalltitleheight=\"72\" data-categoryheight=\"36\" data-categorydefault=\"all\" data-triggerresizedelay=\"100\" data-thumbmediumsize=\"800\" data-thumbsmallsize=\"480\" data-thumbmediumwidth=\"64\" data-thumbmediumheight=\"64\" data-thumbsmallwidth=\"48\" data-thumbsmallheight=\"48\" data-imgtitle=\"title\" data-categorystyle=\"buttons\" data-categorylist=\"[{&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;all&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Show All&quot;}]\" data-jsfolder=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/plugins\/wonderplugin-library\/engine\/\" style=\"display:none;\" ><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/azami-niloufar_UCH_2021-12-09_17-crop.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/azami-niloufar_UCH_2021-12-09_17-crop-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Niloufar Azami MDS is an orthodontist at UConn Health. December 9, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Niloufar Azami MDS is an orthodontist at UConn Health. December 9, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)<\/div><\/div><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/suvarna-shivani_UCH_2021-11-16_05-crop.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/suvarna-shivani_UCH_2021-11-16_05-crop-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Shivani Suvarna BDS, MSD is a prosthodontist at UConn Health. November 16, 2021(Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Shivani Suvarna BDS, MSD is a prosthodontist at UConn Health. November 16, 2021(Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)<\/div><\/div><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/alvarado-maria_UCH_2021-12-07_21-crop.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/alvarado-maria_UCH_2021-12-07_21-crop-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Maria Alvarado DDS is a dentist at UConn Health. December 7, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Maria Alvarado DDS is a dentist at UConn Health. December 7, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)<\/div><\/div><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ordenez-fernandez-esther_UCH_2021-12-06_09-crop-scaled.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ordenez-fernandez-esther_UCH_2021-12-06_09-crop-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Esther Ordonez Fernandez DDS is a dentist at UConn Health. December 6, 2021(Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health photo)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Esther Ordonez Fernandez DDS is a dentist at UConn Health. December 6, 2021(Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health photo)<\/div><\/div><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pelaez-shelton-rosa_UCH_2021-12-07_07-crop.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pelaez-shelton-rosa_UCH_2021-12-07_07-crop-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rosa Pelaez-Shelton DDS is a dentist at UConn Health. December 7, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Rosa Pelaez-Shelton DDS is a dentist at UConn Health. December 7, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)<\/div><\/div><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/essawy-basma_UCH_2021-12-20_08-crop.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/essawy-basma_UCH_2021-12-20_08-crop-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Basma Essawy DDS., MDentSc is a clinical instructor in general dentistry at UConn School of Dental Medicine. December 20, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Basma Essawy DDS., MDentSc is a clinical instructor in general dentistry at UConn School of Dental Medicine. December 20, 2021 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health)<\/div><\/div><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Dept_Surgery_Reju_JOY_web.jpg\" data-mediatype=1><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Dept_Surgery_Reju_JOY_web-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Reju P. Joy DDS is a dentist at UConn Health (University of Michigan photo)\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">Reju P. Joy DDS is a dentist at UConn Health (University of Michigan photo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>function wondergallery_373_appendcss(csscode) {var head=document.head || document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0];var style=document.createElement(\"style\");head.appendChild(style);style.type=\"text\/css\";if (style.styleSheet){style.styleSheet.cssText=csscode;} else {style.appendChild(document.createTextNode(csscode));}};wondergallery_373_appendcss(\"#wonderplugingallery-373 .html5gallery-cat-selection-373 { \ttext-align: center; }  #wonderplugingallery-373 .html5gallery-cat-tag-373 { \tdisplay: inline-block; \tborder: none; \tbackground: transparent; \tcolor: #555;   \tpadding: 6px; \tfont-size: 14px; \tfont-weight: normal; \t   \tfont-family: Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Grande,sans-serif,Arial;   \tbox-sizing: border-box;    \tcursor: pointer;   \ttext-align: center;   \ttext-decoration: none;   \ttext-shadow: none;   \ttext-transform: none;   \twhite-space: nowrap;   \t-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;   \tborder-radius: 2px;   \ttransition: background-color 0.3s ease; }  #wonderplugingallery-373 .html5gallery-cat-tag-373:hover, #wonderplugingallery-373 .html5gallery-cat-tag-373:focus, #wonderplugingallery-373 .html5gallery-cat-tag-selected-373 { \tcolor: #222; }\");<\/script>\n<p><strong>Niloufar Azami<\/strong> has joined the Division of Orthodontics. Azami completed a clinical orthodontics fellowship at UConn as well as the residency program in orthodontics at UConn, where she also earned the Master of Dental Science degree. Azami had previously earned her dental degree from Eshafan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and received specialty training in orthodontics prior to joining UConn. Chen will be helping to advance the research mission of the Division of Orthodontics, while Azami will have primary responsibility for the orthodontic education of the School\u2019s dental students; both Chen and Azami have joined the University Dentists Orthodontics practice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shivani Suvarna<\/strong> joins UConn following completion of her residency in prosthodontics at the University of Washington School of Dentistry in Seattle, where she also received the Master of Dental Science degree. Suvarna previously completed her dental education at the Nair Hospital Dental College in India, followed by several years of private practice prior to pursuing her specialty training in prosthodontics. Suvarna has joined the University Dentists practice with a focus on prosthodontic care.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reju Joy<\/strong> is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who joined UConn this summer. Joy, who originally completed dental school and residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery as well as oral medicine in India, furthered his training in the United Kingdom where he completed degree programs in both medicine and oral surgery. After a period of practice in the UK as an oral surgeon, Joy joined the oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program at the University of Michigan and subsequently completed fellowship training in oncology and microvascular surgery. He is seeing patients in the University Dentists Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery practice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Maria Alvarado<\/strong>, <strong>Esther Ordonez<\/strong>, and <strong>Basma Essawy<\/strong> have joined the Division of General Dentistry.<\/p>\n<p>Alvarado earned her dental degree at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru followed by training in esthetic dentistry at NYU. Alvarado completed her residency and fellowship in general dentistry at UConn. Ordonez earned her dental degree from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid Spain, and received further training in both periodontics and implant therapy in Madrid.<\/p>\n<p>Ordonez completed her residency in general dentistry at UConn as well, and practiced dental medicine in Ohio before returning to UConn. Essawy completed her general dentistry residency at NYU Langone Health in Chicopee, Massachusetts after receiving her dental degree and Master of Dental Science degree in Egypt. Prior to joining UConn, Essawy was on the faculty at NYU Langone in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosa Pelaez-Shelton<\/strong> is a pediatric dentist appointed to both the Division of General Dentistry and the Division of Pediatric Dentistry. Pelaez-Shelton earned her dental degree at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala and completed her residency in general dentistry at UConn. She then completed her pediatric dentistry residency training at Rutgers University, and earned a Master of Dental Science degree. Prior to returning to UConn, Pelaez-Shelton served as the associate director of the pediatric dentistry residency program at NYU Langone Health, and director of the pediatric dentistry department at the Holyoke (Mass.) Health Center. Pelaez-Shelton\u2019s area of interest is in the dental management of children and adults with special healthcare needs. She is currently pursuing her MBA degree at UConn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are truly fortunate to have such a diverse, skilled pool of dentists and new faculty members join us,\u201d says Steven Lepowsky, dean, UConn School of Dental Medicine. \u201cIn this competitive time when academic dentists are in especially high demand, we\u2019re happy they chose to join our programs and work with our students and residents to share both their professional and personal expertise. We\u2019re all richer for this wealth of talent and experience, and it\u2019s another reflection of UConn\u2019s prestige and reputation in the national and international marketplaces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UConn School of Dental Medicine has enjoyed robust growth, adding seven new faculty members to its ranks over the past few months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":165402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2166],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2177,2315],"class_list":["post-180578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sdm"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 13:53:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180578"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184274,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180578\/revisions\/184274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/165402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180578"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=180578"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=180578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}