Celebrating Advanced Education Graduates

The 2021 Advanced Education graduation ceremony was held June 25. Twenty-eight residents, two fellows and five interns received certificates in the speciality programs of endodontics, general practice residency (GPR), oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS), orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and prosthodontics. Residents in all programs except GPR and OMS also received a master's of dental sciences. 

(Dr. Gerard Chiche and his wife, Lynn Chiche)   

The keynote speaker was Dr. Gerard Chiche, who received his Prosthodontics certificate from LSUSD in 1979 and his Prosthodontics Fellowship certificate in 1980. He joined LSU as a full-time faculty in 1982 and became Chairman of the Prosthodontic Department in 1997. He was the first recipient of the Endowed Chair sponsored by the Thomas P. Hinman Dental Society and was Director for the Center for Esthetic & Implant Dentistry at the Dental College of Georgia in Augusta. He is the 2003 recipient of the Alumnus of the Year award of the LSUSD Alumni Association. Dr. Chiche has given more than 1,000 programs in Esthetic Dentistry across America and in 35 countries, and he is the author of two textbooks.Department of Endodontics graduates not pictured. Congratulations to all of our Advanced Education graduates!

 Click HERE to watch the ceremony.

Faculty Member Retires  

Dr. Christopher Spencer, professor in the Department of Clinical Diagnostic Sciences, retired from LSU Health School of Dentistry on June 30, 2021. Prior to joining LSUSD in 2016, Dr. Spencer spent nearly 25 years in private practice before entering a craniofacial pain fellowship at the University of Florida, College of Dentistry under the guidance of the late LSUSD Dean Dr. Henry Gremillion. At LSUSD, he worked with other faculty to expand our treatment planning course for the D2 students. Dr. Spencer also worked to expand radiographic interpretation and was instrumental in leading the school into the current era of dental photography, where all patients now receive pre-treatment photographs. He also worked significantly with the school’s continuing education program, primarily with the orofacial pain continuum. Dr. Spencer published 11 peer-reviewed publications while at LSU, several with colleagues from within in the department. In addition to his role at LSUSD, Dr. Spencer is a life member with the ADA and serves as mentor to the Christian Medical Dental Society.