Dimensions Welcomes a New Editorial Advisory Board Member

Dimensions of Dental Hygiene is pleased to announce the addition of Frank Catalanotto, DMD, to its Editorial Advisory Board. A professor emeritus of the Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science at the University of Florida College of Dentistry (UFCD) in Gainesville, Catalanotto has been on the faculty of five dental schools including UFCD where he served as dean from 1995 to 2002. While dean, he initiated the UF Statewide Network for Community Health to provide increased community-based educational opportunities for dental students and residents, while also significantly increasing access to oral healthcare for underserved patients. He also served as chair of the Department of Community Dentistry at UFCD from 2009 to 2015.

Catalanotto has been active in dental education, research, and advocacy organizations for much of his career. He is a past president of the American Dental Education Association. He served as a consultant to the Commission on Dental Education for many years, focused on predoctoral dental education. He is the co-author of more than 110 scientific publications and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for numerous federal, state and foundation grants totaling almost $11,000,000 in external funding since returning to a faculty position at UFCD after stepping down as dean in 2002.

Catalanotto’s academic and professional interests include community-based dental education, ethics/social responsibility, oral health inequities and racial equity, advocacy for health care reform, and access to dental care. In addition to the above topics, his current advocacy efforts, consulting activities, and lectures are focused on the new emerging oral workforce models. He is a vice-chair of the National Coalition of Dentists for Health Equity and a co-chair of the National Partnership for Dental Therapy.