UT Health Science Center faculty member named president of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry

SAN ANTONIO (May 26, 2015) ― David P. Cappelli, Ph.D., D.M.D., M.P.H., was installed as president of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) at the annual National Oral Health Conference held recently in Kansas City, Mo.

A dental professor, Dr. Cappelli also directs the research division of the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry and the dental public health residency program in the School of Dentistry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

David Cappelli, Ph.D.
David Cappelli, Ph.D.

AAPHD is the sponsoring organization for the specialty of dental public health. Founded in 1937, the AAPHD provides a focus for meeting the challenge to improve the oral health of all persons through the development and support of effective programs in oral health promotion and disease prevention.

One of Dr. Cappelli’s major programs is Miles of Smiles-Laredo, a School of Dentistry public health program for children living in Webb County. The program provides dental screenings, including fluoride varnish, for qualifying children in kindergarten, first, second and third grades in their schools at no cost to the family. Dental sealants also are provided at no charge for second-graders. “Many of these children would have no dental care without this program,” Dr. Cappelli said.

Funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and the DentaQuest Foundation supports these services in Laredo for qualifying children in the United Independent School District and Laredo Independent School District.

 

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 13 percent of academic institutions receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 31,000 graduates. The $787.7 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.



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