August 1, 2001

NIDCR's Dr. Dushanka Kleinman Named PHS Chief Dental Officer

Dr. Dushanka Kleinman, NIDCR Deputy Director and Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps has been named the 15th Chief Dental Officer, USPHS. She is the first woman to hold the position since its establishment in 1923. In this capacity, she will coordinate PHS dental programs for the Office of the Surgeon General and advise the Surgeon General on issues related to dental practice and personnel in the PHS. A Rear Admiral in the Commissioned Corps, Dr. Kleinman will serve as Chief Dental Officer in conjunction with her position at NIDCR.

Dr. Kleinman was named NIDCR deputy director in 1991. Since that time she has assumed the role of NIDCR Acting Director twice during transitions between directors. Most recently she spearheaded the development of the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health. Dr. Kleinman is known for her work on the epidemiology of oral mucosal tissue diseases and disorders, especially tobacco-related lesions and oral manifestations of HIV.

She earned a D.D.S. from the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois and interned at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics. She also received an M.Sc.D. in dental public health from the Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry at Boston University. Dr. Kleinman is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public health and has served as president of the Board, the American Association of Women Dentists, and the American Association of Dental Public Health.