Two Appointments in University of IL at Chicago College of Dentistry Department of Periodontics

Jan. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- Dr. Praveen Gajendrareddy, Assistant Professor, has been named Clinical Director of Postgraduate Periodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Dentistry.

A faculty member since earning his Certificate in Periodontics from the College in 2008, Dr. Gajendrareddy now is in charge of management of the day-to-day operations of the Postgraduate Perio Clinic. This includes overseeing patient schedules, directing clinic faculty coverage, management of clinic support staff and clinic inventory, and overseeing maintenance of clinic equipment.

“My goal is to create an environment in the clinic where everybody shares responsibility and benefits from the collective good,” Dr. Gajendrareddy explained. “I want to help create an atmosphere in which our patients can have a pleasant experience with their care, our residents can have a healthy educational environment, and our staff and faculty have a peaceful work atmosphere.

“We are fortunate to have good residents, staff, and faculty,” he continued. “We have made many changes in the clinic organization and operations recently. I hope to continue building on these positives to make the clinic an exceptional place.”

Dr. Gajendrareddy thanked Dean Bruce Graham and Dr. Thomas Hart, former Head of Periodontics, for providing him with the opportunity to direct the clinic. He also thanked Dr. Saba Khan, Clinical Assistant Professor, Periodontics, as well as Perio’s “faculty and clinic support team members, and last but not the least, our residents,” for help and support, he concluded.

In addition, Dr. Simona L. Katona, who in 2010 simultaneously earned her American DDS from the International Dentist Degree Program (IDDP) and her Certificate in Periodontics from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, has joined its Department of Periodontics as a Clinical Assistant Professor.

“It’s exciting to return to my perio team,” Dr. Katona said. “It feels like home in the College. I look forward to participating in the new DMD curriculum.”

Dr. Katona is “involved in clinical teaching, and I love interacting with students,” she said. “I hope I’ll inspire the students with passion for the profession and respect for patients. The goal is for them to emerge not only as strong professionals with solid knowledge and open minds, but also as successful persons who will have an impact in their community.

“Their success will be the College’s success, too,” Dr. Katona said.

Hailing from Romania, Dr. Katona earned a DMD degree in her home country in 1992, and then completed a six-year internship and residency in Oral Surgery, concurrent with general medical study and MD degree.

“I supervised training courses and research activity in an experimental microsurgical lab for three years,” she explained. “So I had the opportunity to improve my microsurgical sills and interact with doctors from other surgical fields.”

Dr. Katona worked as an oral surgeon in private practice until 2003, when she moved to the United States.

She said she considers UIC “the highlight of my education, not only because of the knowledge and skills that I gained, but also because of the extraordinary people whom I have met and who influenced my perceptions and attitudes toward the profession and toward life.”

Dr. Katona also is in private practice at Western Dental Professionals on Chicago’s North Side.

See http://dentistry.uic.edu/.

# # #

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry offers the DMD dental degree and various dental specialty degrees, and provides oral healthcare to patients.The College is located at 801 S. Paulina St. in Chicago. More than 320 students are in the DMD Program and International Dentist Degree Program. Specialty programs are offered in Orthodontics, Endodontics, Restorative Dentistry, Periodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, with 80 postgraduate students enrolled across these programs. The College annually provides 90,000 patient treatment appointments in its clinics, for 27,000 patients in active treatment. http://dentistry.uic.edu/.