Dental Medicine

Winthrop-University Hospital’s Department of Dental Medicine consists of two divisions, General Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Now in the formative stage, the Department will afford specialized oral care to medically complex patients, such as those requiring dental treatment under general anesthesia or oral surgery, as well as patients with cancer, autoimmune diseases or other medical problems. Services to be offered include all phases of dentistry, implants, cosmetics, and treatment of acute and chronic conditions affecting the oral mucosa. 

The program will provide state-of-the-science dental care for in-patients and also on an out-patient basis. Procedures will be scheduled in a state-of-the-art clinical facility, now under construction, as well as in the operating room for patients who require general anesthesia or anesthesia stand-by.
 
In addition, the program will offer care for non-dental oral diseases that require laboratory tests and drug therapy, often for extended periods of time. Chronic pain, autoimmune conditions and salivary gland diseases are just some examples. The Department of Dental Medicine will also work closely with other departments to provide inpatient and outpatient care for individuals with systemic conditions that affect the oral cavity.

The new Department of Dental Medicine at Winthrop is led by Andrei Barasch, DMD, MDSc, an Oral Medicine and Hospital Practice specialist trained at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and University of Connecticut. Dr. Barasch joined the Winthrop team after eight years as an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Dentistry, where he conducted research and treated patients. His interests include medically complex patients, cancer treatment-induced oral complications, as well as various approaches to autoimmune and malignant conditions that affect the oral region. While at UAB, Dr. Barasch received funding for research from both the NIH and the dental industry and published more than twenty articles in peer-reviewed journals. Leonard Hoffman, DDS, will continue his leadership of Winthrop’s Division of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery. 

The educational component of Winthrop’s Department of Dental Medicine, a residency program, is planned to begin in July 2013. Residents in the new Department of Dental Medicine will be trained in all aspects of modern dentistry, including implants, anesthesia, laser dentistry and digital radiography. An intensive clinical research program is planned in collaboration with other hospital departments and the Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine.

Education and care in the new program will be provided by attending specialists in all subspecialties of dentistry, including Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pedodontics. During the construction phase, attending faculty will provide bedside and emergency room limited care to those in need. After July 1, 2013, emergency consultations and care will be provided twenty four hours per day, seven days per week, and routine dental care can be scheduled on an outpatient basis