News
Like the mouth is the gateway to the body, its health closely intertwined with a person’s overall well-being, making these visits, connections and cases crucial to the health of dentistry and the communities they serve. Stony Brook students have been on the front line of such efforts in recent months, traveling to the New York State Capitol, as well as the United States Capitol, to advocate for oral healthcare initiatives benefiting not just patients but entire communities, as well as the more than 40,000 dental professionals practicing in New York State.
Jeffrey Kopman, DDS, MMSc, clinical assistant professor in Stony Brook’s Department of Periodontics and Endodontics, was selected as a recipient of the American Academy of Periodontology’s Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award. The honor acknowledges periodontal educators who demonstrate excellence in teaching, inspiring and supporting students.
Guenter Jonke, DMD, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Stony Brook, was honored with the prestigious New York State Dental Association (NYSDA) Mark J. Feldman Distinguished Service Award. He received the award at the NYSDA House of Delegates annual meeting on Long Island in May.
Mina Mahdian, DDS, MDSc, associate professor in the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine Department of Prosthodontics and Digital Technology, and Prateek Prasanna, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, have received a $300,000 grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore whether routine dental imaging can be used to detect early signs of heart disease.
Jennifer Englebright, BA ’05, DMD, a longtime general dentist on the north shore of Long Island, has been appointed a full-time clinical assistant professor in the Department of General Dentistry at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Englebright, who will join the SDM faculty in July, has spent the past 15 years in private practice, most recently in Port Jefferson.
In front of family and friends, 46 first-year students at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine’s Class of 2028 pledged their commitment to excellence and ethics in patient care at the annual White Coat Ceremony, held at the Sidney Gelber Auditorium on Stony Brook University’s main campus.
Gregory Maddalena, DDS ’05, GPR ’06, chief dental officer for Sun River Health in New Paltz, New York, the largest network of oral health Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in the state, is the 2025 recipient of the School of Dental Medicine’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Pride and joy brimmed and – fittingly – smiles stretched from ear to ear as Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine’s Class of 2025 proudly crossed the stage to receive their dental school degrees and advanced degree certificates at the annual convocation ceremony held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts.
Together with staff from across the Stony Brook University campus, as well as corporate partners, the School of Dental Medicine officially opened its new prosthodontics residency laboratory with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 26. Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments, the lab will enable residents can learn, experiment and master how to best use the newest innovations in prosthodontics.
Sachem Dental Group, together with the Stony Brook Foundation, has agreed to establish the Sachem Dental Group Endodontics Scholarship Fund at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine. The fund will provide financial assistance for select high-achieving residents enrolled in the school’s Advanced Dental Education Program in Endodontics.