Arizona Dental School Names Dental Hygienist to Director Position

Ann Eshenaur Spolarich, RDH, PhD, Dimensions of Dental Hygiene Editorial Advisory Board member and frequent contributor, has been appointed as the director of research at the A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) in Mesa. She will also serve as a professor and help oversee patient care at the school’s Advanced Care Clinic, based within the Center for Advanced Oral Health.

“I plan to work with faculty and students, both within the dental school and across our health professions campus, to increase interprofessional collaboration in the classroom, clinic, and community health centers,” Spolarich explained. “Our research activities will focus on educational, clinical, and public health interventions designed to improve oral health. I am so honored and excited to be a part of these opportunities on our campus.”

Spolarich previously served as an adjunct professor at ATSU-ASDOH, a clinical associate professor at Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, and a clinical instructor at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in Baltimore. She will continue in her role as the associate director of the National Center for Dental Hygiene Research & Practice at USC. Spolarich is also a part-time dental hygienist specializing in geriatrics and the principal investigator for a funded intervention project to train pharmacists about the oral health needs of older adults.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. August 2015;13(8):14.