OHSU School Of Dentistry Announces Awards

The Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry announces the following awards:

Prashant Gagneja, D.D.S., chairman of the OHSU School of Dentistry's pediatric dentistry department, recently was named one of the Portland Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Award winners. The Forty Under 40 Awards recognize 40 of the most successful and civic-minded businesspeople in Portland younger than 40. Gagneja, 35, will be profiled in the April 13 Business Journal and will receive an award that evening. He is the youngest person to lead a department at Oregon Health & Science University.

Gagneja became chairman of pediatric dentistry in late 2004 (at the age of 34), after serving as interim chairman for nearly a year. He joined OHSU in 2003 and was instrumental in helping to kick off the School of Dentistry's long-awaited new pediatric dental clinic, the Dr. and Mrs. Carl Rietman Pediatric Dental Clinic, which now sees a record number of patients.

Gagneja played a large role in reviving the dental school's pediatric dentistry residency program, which closed in 1994 due to state budget cuts. He also has been active in promoting oral health care within the community and is a proponent of early childhood tooth decay prevention programs, focusing on prenatal care and the role of mothers and caregivers in preventing childhood tooth decay.

For the past three years, he has organized the School of Dentistry's participation in Give Kids a Smile day, a one-day event in which OHSU dentists along with local dental societies and dentists collaborate to provide oral health screenings and comprehensive treatment to hundreds of uninsured Portland-area, school-aged children who do not have access to dental care. He also coordinated the School of Dentistry's Celebration of Smiles 2006, a one-day event to help children learn how to better care for their teeth. Prior to joining the School of Dentistry, Gagneja was associate professor of pediatric dentistry at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Institute of Dental Sciences and Research in Amritsar, PB, India.

Kelly Bradley, a second-year dental student in the School of Dentistry, is the 2006 recipient of the American Dental Education Association/Listerine Preventive Dentistry Scholarship. Bradley will pick up her award at the ADEA meeting in Orlando this March. ADEA/Listerine awards 12 scholarships nationally to predoctoral students with superior academic records who are strongly interested in preventive dentistry. Each winner receives $2,500 for tuition and fees.


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