Dr. Dushanka Kleinman, Chief Dental Officer

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the Division of Community Health in Columbia's School of Dental and Oral Surgery will welcome Admiral Dushanka V. Kleinman, Assistant Surgeon General and Chief Dental Officer of the Public Health Service for a lecture on the role of dentistry in our changed national climate. In addition to discussing how dentistry responded to immediate needs after the Sept. 11 disasters, Kleinman will suggest ways in which dental and public health professionals can contribute to communities in need.

The lecture, entitled "Dentistry's Immediate & Long Term Contributions and Responsibilities to the Public's Health," will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. in the Alumni Auditorium, Black Building, at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center (168th St. and Fort Washington Avenue), and is open to the Columbia community.

"In the weeks and months after Sept. 11th, dental students and faculty, like many at Columbia, were resolved to respond to national emergencies and threats to public health in a way that best offered their educational and skill set," said Ira Lamster, dean of the School of Dental and Oral Surgery. "While dental experts played an important role in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, many here were still asking what they could do to help. Dr. Dushanka Kleinman, as the Chief Dental Officer of the United States, is in a uniquSe position to help us answer this question and identify ways in which the dental profession can provide meaningful service at time of crisis and always. Her visit is a critical step in the dental school's response to the events of the past months."