DR JANE MARGARET CHALMERS

Dr Chalmers is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry at the College of Dentistry, The University of Iowa and also has an appointment in the College of Nursing. She is the Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Geriatric Fellowship and the Junior Geriatric Dentistry Course. Dr Chalmers also teaches and provides clinical patient care in the Geriatric and Special Needs Program. She completed a Bachelor of Dental Science Degree at The University of Melbourne, Australia in 1987, a Master of Science (Dental Public Health - Geriatrics) at The University of Iowa, USA in 1995, and a PhD in Oral Epidemiology at The University of Adelaide, Australia in 2001. She is a registered specialist in Dental Public Health in Australia and in 2004 was one of the first Australian specialists registered in Special Needs Dentistry. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. She has published more than 40 refereed journal articles on Geriatric and Special Needs Dentistry, as well as multiple reports and oral health promotion materials in the field. She is an Associate Editor for the Special Care in Dentistry journal. She is President of the IADR Geriatric Oral Research Group. She is actively involved in the teaching of Special Needs Dentistry in the USA and in Australasia for undergraduate and postgraduate dental, dental hygiene, dental auxiliary and allied health students. She is an active researcher in the field of Geriatric Dentistry, in particular the study of the oral health of older adults with dementia, and has received many awards for her research.

Topics

• The Oral Health Care Triad for Adults with Special Needs - Assessment, Oral Hygiene Care and Dental Delivery Systems
• Geriatric Minimal Intervention Dentistry

Dr RONALD L. ETTINGER

Dr. Ettinger is a fellow of the American and International College of Dentists and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry and is currently Professor in the Department of Prosthodontics and the Dows Institute for Dental Research.  He is the Director of Geriatric Dental Programs at the University of Iowa.  In 1979 he was awarded a 3-year curriculum development grant in geriatric dentistry by the Health Services Administration.  In 1981 he was awarded a 5 year National Institute on Aging, Geriatric Academic Award.  He was the Associate Director of the University’s Clinical Core Center for Oral Health Research and Director of the Clinical Core which was funded for 5 years in 1992 by the National Institute for Dental Research and was refunded until 2001.  He is a past-president of the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry and a geriatric consultant to the 800 bed Veterans Administration Psychogeriatric Hospital at Knoxville, Iowa.  Dr. Ettinger has published over 250 papers and over 25 chapters in textbooks.  He has lectured extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.  Dr. Ettinger is a consultant to the FDI and was Chairman of its working group on geriatric health care.  In 1986 he was named the Sir Thomas Kay Sidey visiting professor to the university of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.  In 1989 he was invited to give the Mal Panar Memorial lecture at the University of British Columbia.  In 1990 he was awarded the A.J. Herman Fellowship of the Faculty of Dentistry, the University of Western Australia, and in 1991 he was Visiting Professor at the University of Chile and in 1994 at the University of the Andes in Venezuela and also in Taiwan.  In 1992 he participated in a workshop to develop policy for Geriatric Oral Health in 2010 for the Nordic Countries, this meeting was sponsored by the Scandinavian Working Group for Preventive Dentistry.  In 1995 he was appointed Editor of the Journal of Special Care in Dentistry.  In 2001 he was awarded the Distinguished Scientist Award in Geriatric Oral Health by the International Association of Dental Research, and in 2002 he was appointed as an Honorary Member of The American College of Prosthodontics.

Topics

• The Ageing Frail Patient - Assessment and Rational Treatment Planning
• Innovative Problem Solving in Prosthodontics for Older Adults and Adults with Special Needs

Dr Gerald Koh

Dr Gerald Koh is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine at NUS. Dr Koh has published his work in many journals and have presented at conferences. He also serves on several  advisory boards.

Topic

• Geriatrics and Dental Needs of Older People in Singapore