Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

16 © NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY very talented and dedicated faculty who are strongly student and patient centered.” Before treatment on a patient ever begins in the dental clinic, CDM students gather import- ant medical information, such as medical history, current conditions, and current prescriptions. Students also conduct a complete head and neck examination. “We may encounter a diabetic patient. These patients often have manifestations of diabetes in their mouth, so they have specific oral hygiene and periodontal needs,” Siegel explained. “Because they are diabetic, their treatment needs are different because they are at risk for infection. As dentists, we also need to recognize and manage the oral side effects of the drugs they may be taking.” Smoking cessation is also reinforced to patients by Lina M. Mejia, D.D.S., M.P.H., as part of the program funded by NSU’s Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Patients who express a desire to quit smoking are examined by Mejia to ensure that they do not have tobacco-related premalignant or malignant changes, which might necessitate a biopsy. Following this evaluation, Mejia will then refer patients to the AHEC smoking cessation program located at NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus. Mejia is also responsible for in- service training of the College of Dental Medicine’s faculty. During the head and neck examination, an ulceration discovered in a patient’s mouth would provide students an opportunity to see “the clinical part of oral medicine,” Siegel said. “We may look at that person’s medications to see if that is what’s causing the ulceration. Perhaps it is a drug reaction or a common aphthous ulcer (canker sore), or possibly even related to occult gastrointestinal disease.” According to Siegel, a biopsy also may be a recommended course of action to establish a diagnosis. The biopsy specimen would then be sent to NSU Oral Pathology Services, which provides pathology services not only for the college’s dental clinic, but also for patients throughout the state. “We receive 2,000 biopsies a year from physicians and dentists, and every year it continues to grow,” said Ines Velez, D.D.S., M.S., professor and a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Velez has been dedicated to oral maxillofacial pathology for three decades. The service at the CDM has been provided since 2002. “Dr. Velez started with about 1,000 biopsies a year,” said Siegel. “Now we are a resource to the medical and dental communities.” ONE OF A KIND The CDM’s oral and maxillofacial pathology service is the only one of its kind available in South Florida. Patients with rare and difficult-to-diagnose lesions are referred to the clinic for biopsies to be gathered on-site. “Many surgeons and ear, nose, and throat specialists will refer patients here when they are unable to diagnose a problem,” said Velez of the service, which also receives referrals for consultations from nearby hospitals. “This is because hospitals have only general pathology and not oral and maxillofacial pathology.” The department has two other board-certified oral and maxillofacial pathologists—Diane Stern, D.D.S., and Lynn Solomon, D.D.S., M.S. “This makes us unique,” Velez said. “There are only a few more than 300 board-certified oral and maxillofacial pathologists in the United States.” According to Velez, it was Stern who was the conduit to put the CDM on the map for oral and maxillofacial patholo- gy. “We began the service with one of the most well-known oral maxillofacial pathologists in the world,” she said. In fact, Stern coauthored one of the top medical books on the sub- ject, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology: A Rationale for Diag- nosis and Treatment , which received the American Medical Writers Association Book of the Year Award in 2002. When Stern joined the CDM team, she brought many of her clients to the university. The outgrowth of the clinical consultations and treatments came next. “This specialty does Paul Bradley, professor and director at the CDM’s Orofacial Pain Clinic, uses laser therapy in pain control and healing.The therapy is proving beneficial for people with complex neuro-inflammatory illnesses.