UNC Adams School of Dentistry

We are thrilled to announce Dr. Jack King as the new Director of DDS Admissions at UNC Adams School of Dentistry! 🎉

A double Tar Heel with a DDS and bachelor's degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, Dr. King has spent 11 years on the ASOD faculty teaching in the Department of Restorative Sciences — and before that, more than 30 years in private practice in Statesville, N.C.

His ties to the admissions process run deep. He has served on the Admissions Committee since 2020, advised student organizations including ASDA and two pre-dental groups on campus, and helped connect students and alumni through the ASOD Practice Connections initiative. Most recently, he was honored with Faculty Awards by ASOD's student governmental body for both the Class of 2025 and Class of 2028.

"He truly embodies everything we want our students to become professionally and is a wonderful advocate for Adams School of Dentistry," said Dr. Tracy de Peralta, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

Full circle moment 💫

Last month, Mary Otto took the stage as our 2026 Commencement keynote speaker, but some of our students had the chance to meet the inspiring author two months prior.

Every year, our AROW Scholars read Mary's book, which shines a light on the oral health care gap for underserved Americans — and then get to meet her on Zoom for a candid conversation.

AROW Scholar Daniel Ntim (Class of 2027) made sure to reconnect with her when Mary returned as this year's keynote speaker.

These moments exemplify the AROWS program mission: building meaningful connections around a shared goal to expand access to care.

A huge thank you to Mary Otto for inspiring the next generation of dentists! 🦷💙

Learn more about our AROWS program here: https://dentistry.unc.edu/service-to-the-state/adams-rural-oral-health-and-wellness-scholars-arows-program/

🏆 Congratulations to Keerthana Solainathan and Harsh*ta Kapoor, ASPID Class of 2028, for winning our Simodont Competition at UNC Adams School of Dentistry! 🦷✨

The Simodont is a cutting-edge virtual reality dental trainer that combines high-resolution 3D visuals with haptic (force-feedback) technology — meaning students can actually feel the sensation of drilling, preparing cavities, and performing restorative procedures on virtual teeth, just as they would on a real patient. It's one of the most advanced simulation tools in dental education today.

Over four competitive rounds, Keerthana and Harsh*ta demonstrated exceptional skill, precision, and mastery of this technology. We are incredibly proud of their achievement and what it represents for the future of digital dentistry! Thanks to Clinical Assistant Professor, Dr. Marco Carvalho for helping evaluate students in the competition and to Ann Alexander, Director of Educational Compliance and Innovation, for organizing it.

From Graham County in western North Carolina to the coastal plains in the eastern part of the state, health departments, FQHCs, free clinics, specialized mobile services, correctional facilities, and a VA hospital were all represented at an annual Dentistry in Service to Community (DISC) event.

On Friday, April 24, Adams School of Dentistry hosted one of the largest-ever DISC Appreciation Days. Nearly 50 preceptors and site staff from 25 partner organizations came to Chapel Hill from across the state, representing 50 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Precepting teams and learners met for the first time before the summer rotation, offering meaningful conversations that will set the tone for the outreach that follows.

DISC represents a meaningful dimension of a UNC ASOD education — placing learners at the intersection of clinical excellence and community service. None of that is possible without the preceptors and site teams who show up for our learners from across the state. Their work is a direct extension of our mission, and days like this are an exciting opportunity to honor it.

Drs. Kimon Divaris and Poojan Shrestha from our Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health have received an NIH/NIDCR R01 grant to help lead GLIDE2 — a large international study looking at the genetics behind some of the most common oral diseases: cavities, tooth loss, and gum disease.

The consortium brings together researchers from UNC, the University of Pittsburgh, UTHealth Houston, NYU, Umea University in Sweden, and the University of Bristol in the UK. In total, the study will draw on data from more than 800,000 participants across at least 27 countries.

The research focuses on how a person's genetic makeup interacts with everyday factors — what they eat, how they care for their teeth, their fluoride exposure — to shape their disease risk. One of the team's goals is to develop tools that could eventually help clinicians predict that risk and tailor prevention accordingly, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Read the full story here:
https://dentistry.unc.edu/2026/04/28/asod-researchers-awarded-grant-to-study-dental-caries-across-27-countries/

This spring, we celebrated our 2025–2026 NC Albert Schweitzer Fellows as they became Fellows for Life, and welcomed an exciting incoming class of 2026–2027 Fellows. Together, 14 of our learners are designing and leading community health programs that reach North Carolina's most vulnerable populations.

Their work this past year included:
👉 Expanding a cavity prevention program for children in Durham and Orange Counties
👉 Providing free dentures and dental lab services to patients who had gone years without basic tooth replacement
👉 Deepening access to dental care for patients experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and substance use disorders at the UNC REACH clinic

And the incoming class is already building on that foundation — introducing teledentistry, addressing transportation barriers, expanding mobile dental care to refugees and families transitioning out of homelessness, and more.

As Dean Guthmiller put it: “Our learners are not waiting until they graduate to make a difference.”

Read the full story and meet each of our Fellows here:
https://buff.ly/5M4JqcS

Hey Tar Heel dentists!

If you graduated from the UNC Adams School of Dentistry between 2015–2024, we’d love to hear about how your experience with the DISC (Dentistry in Service to Community) rotation has impacted your current practice.

✨ Share your insights by completing the survey for a research study (IRB # 25-1653) at the link below:

👉 https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bfto4VqtcDu8nJ4

Thank you for supporting the next generation of UNC dentists!

Alumni and faculty honored longtime department chair, Jessica Y. Lee, DDS, MPH, PhD ’02, former chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health with the Dr. Jessica Y. Lee Fund. The fund will support residents of the Adams School of Dentistry’s Pediatric Dentistry residency program. Michael Ignelzi, DDS ’87, PhD ’93, and Dorothy Pang, DDS, MS ’91, serve as co-chairs of the steering committee leading the campaign effort.

“I did not hesitate to help with the Dr. Jessica Y. Lee Fund. All the funds raised will go to support students, and we will be honoring one of the true titans in the specialty. Working with my co-chair, Dorothy Pang, and the rest of the steering committee has been an absolute joy. All of us who have ties to pediatric dentistry in North Carolina feel lucky and privileged, and we are determined to reach our goal of $700,000,” Ignelzi said.

Read more: https://buff.ly/6j0NVMd

On Thursday, May 7th, our Doctor of Dental Surgery, Advanced Dental Education, and Dental Hygiene graduates officially joined the profession — ready to serve patients and communities with skill, compassion, and care. We couldn't be more proud.