2024 48th Scientific and Clinical Meeting

Dr. Gary D. Klasser, a Fellow and Past-President of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, obtained his dental degree from the University of Manitoba (Canada) in 1980. Over the next 22 years, he enjoyed the practice of general dentistry from both a public health and private practice perspective until he returned to graduate studies in 2002. In 2004, he completed his training and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Certificate in Orofacial Pain. In 2005, he completed a fellowship in Oral Medicine/Oral Oncology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). From 2005 – 2011, he was an Assistant Professor and Director of the Oral Medicine/Orofacial Pain clinic at that institution. Currently, he is a Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at Louisiana State University, School of Dentistry. Dr. Klasser has published numerous peer reviewed scientific articles, contributed many chapters to various textbooks and has been an editor for a number of books including the AAOP Guidelines. He also serves as an associate editor or as an editorial reviewer for a number of journals.

Adriaan earned his undergraduate, master’s degree and PhD in physiotherapy from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa. He is an adjunct faculty member at St. Ambrose University and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, teaching pain science. Adriaan has taught throughout the US and internationally for 25 years at numerous national and international manual therapy, pain science and medical conferences. He has authored and co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles related to spinal disorders and pain science. Adriaan completed his Ph.D. on pain neuroscience education and is the Director of the Therapeutic Neuroscience Research Group – an independent collaborative initiative studying pain neuroscience. Adriaan is a senior faculty, pain science director and vice-president of faculty experience for Evidence in Motion.

Frank Lobbezoo graduated cum laude as dentist in 1988 from the University of Utrecht (UU), The Netherlands. In 1992, he obtained his PhD degree from the UU, after which he worked for three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. As of September 1996, he works at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), The Netherlands, where he was appointed as a full professor in 2005. In 2014, he was appointed as Chair of the Department of Oral Health Sciences and Vice-Dean of ACTA. As of March 2023, he serves as Chair of the Department of Orofacial Pain and Dysfunction. Frank Lobbezoo is specialized in TMD/Orofacial Pain, Past President of the Dutch Dental Society (NTG), Past President of the European Academy of Craniomandibular Disorders (EACD), and Past President of the International RDC/TMD Consortium, a Network of the International Association of Dental Research (IADR). He served as Visiting Professor at the University of Adelaide in South-Australia, Australia (2006) and at the College of Dentistry of the New York University in New York, USA (2014-2015). In 2019, he was appointed as Honorary Skou Professor of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function at the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, Faculty of Health, Aarhus University, Denmark. Since 2023, he is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Dr. Fernando Exposto is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow and Clinical Instructor at Aarhus University in Denmark. He obtained his PhD degree in Health Sciences at the same university in 2019. He graduate from dental school at ISCSEM in Lisbon (Portugal)in 2007. He completed a Master in Dental Sciences, Danube University (Austria) from 2007 to 2011. In 2015, he graduated from the 2 year CODA approved program in Orofacial Pain at the University of Kentucky (USA). From 2016 to 2018 he completed a Master in Headache Disorders at the Copenhagen University (Denmark). Dr. Exposto is a Diplomate by the American Board of Orofacial Pain since 2016.

Dr. Brett Weiss is a physical therapist specializing in craniofacial pain and headache management. He holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Utica University and a Bachelors in Marketing from Hofstra University. Brett is a Certified Cervical & Temporomandibular Therapist by the Physical Therapy Board of Craniofacial and Cervical Therapeutics and an affiliate member of the AAOP. He is the co-founder and CEO of ErgoSesh Inc., an workplace wellness company specializing in remote ergonomic consultations has conducted over 1,000 assessments globally.

Dr. Brigitte Lovell is the Director for the Keeler Center for Headache & Orofacial Pain in Ventura County, CA. Her practice is associated with Community Memorial Health System Hospital. She is a Diplomate and board certified in Orofacial Pain. She has a specialty practice treating migraines, headache disorders, and Orofacial Pain. She completed a neurology headache fellowship at the prestigious Thomas Jefferson University Headache Center in Philadelphia, PA. Preceding that, she completed residency training in Orofacial Pain at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under Dr. Merrill and Dr. Graff-Radford. She is a graduate of the inaugural dental class of the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health. She attended the University of Texas at Austin for undergrad. She originally is from El Paso, TX.

Dr. McGeeney received his medical degree from University College Dublin, Ireland, before completing a neurology residency, pain fellowship and Master of Public Health (epidemiology and biostatistics) at Boston University and Boston Medical Center. He obtained boards in Neurology, with added qualification (board) in Pain Medicine, and the UCNS board in Headache Medicine. He was an assistant to the Boston University Neurology Residency director, an assistant professor of neurology, actively involved in the education of the residents and students. He is now staff at the JR Graham Headache Center, division of Headache Medicine, Department of Neurology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, instructor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. McGeeney was an associate editor of the journal Headache and since 2006 secretary of the Headache Cooperative of New England. Dr. McGeeney obtained a Master of Business Administration (Health Sector) from Boston University Questrum School of Business. He is the program director of the Mass General Brigham Headache Medicine Fellowship, the only Headache Medicine Fellowship in Massachusetts. Dr. McGeeney has lectured widely and published on topics involving Headache Medicine and Pain.

Nick Raney is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, board certified in orthopaedic physical therapy, and a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapists. He has also earned the credential of Certified Cervical and Temporomandibular Therapist (CCTT) by the Physical Therapy Board of Craniofacial & Cervical Therapeutics.

He is an adjunct faculty member at Tufts University in Phoenix, but most of his professional time is spent at his private practices in Sierra Vista, Arizona- Nick Raney Pain & Performance and Sierra Vista Headache and TMJ Specialists. He enjoys teaching TMD in a variety of formats, but in-person, hands-on opportunities are his favorite. Nick has a wonderful wife and 4 young children who are active in sports, church, and school.

Danielle C. Medynski is a board-certified orofacial pain specialist who practices in Walnut Creek, CA, about 30 minutes outside of San Francisco. She studied under Drs. Okeson and de Leeuw at the University of Kentucky at the Orofacial Pain Residency Program where she received a two-year certificate. She is also proud to be an oral boards examiner for the American Board of Orofacial Pain. A large part of her private practice includes trigger point injections utilizing both wet and dry techniques.

Janey Prodoehl is a physical therapist and Professor in the Physical Therapy Program and College of Dental Medicine Illinois at Midwestern University Downers Grove, Illinois.  She completed her entry level physical therapy degree in Leeds, England and doctoral and post-doctoral studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Dr. Prodoehl has authored numerous publications from her research.  She sees patients in the Physical Therapy Institute at Midwestern University with a physical therapy practice focused on neck pain, orofacial pain and headache, and dry needling for musculoskeletal dysfunction.  She is a Certified Cervical & Temporomandibular Therapist by the Physical Therapy Board of Craniofacial & Cervical Therapeutics. She is currently leading a team in the development of a clinical practice guideline sponsored by the American Physical Therapy Association, on Temporomandibular Disorders: diagnosis and management for physical therapists.

Alberto, originally from Valencia, Spain, is a scholar with a diverse academic background. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree (DDS) and a Masters in Comparative Literature from the University of Valencia. He furthered his studies at the University of Minnesota, where he obtained a Master of Science and completed a 2-year residency program, along with a year of research fellowship in orofacial pain and sleep medicine under the supervision of Dr. Nixdorf and Dr. Moana-Filho.

Continuing his academic pursuits, Alberto engaged in various projects at Université de Montréal, focusing on non-invasive brain stimulation and sleep disorders in orofacial pain populations alongside experts like Gilles Lavigne and Louis De Beaumont. Currently, he is finishing his Ph.D. at McGill University’s Department of Experimental Medicine, under the supervision of Marc O Martel and Gilles Lavigne. His doctoral research centers on understanding the relationship between sleep, psychological variables, and temporomandibular disorders (TMD), while also exploring the potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation in TMD management.

Alberto is collaborating with orofacial pain experts globally, aiming to improve dental medicine education concerning orofacial pain and sleep disorders for practitioners across different countries.

Prof Willem De Hertogh is affiliated with the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Antwerp, where he is involved in both teaching and research.

In the field of education, he has a coordinating and developing role in the undergraduate and graduate courses in physiotherapy and in the postgraduate course in manual therapy.

His research questions stem from a passion for improving therapy outcomes and always have a clinical perspective. Various systematic reviews have been conducted on the effectiveness of physiotherapy treatments. For instance for conditions such as cervicogenic dizziness and tinnitus, but also for migraine and cervical dystonia.

He considers interdisciplinary collaboration vital for research. Somatosensory tinnitus was studied in a team with ENT doctors, physiotherapists, audiologists and dentists. Randomised clinical trials on this condition were certainly groundbreaking because until then there were few therapeutic options available for this condition. Chronic dizziness and specifically cervicogenic dizziness was studied in a team with ENT doctors and physiotherapists.

He is also still active as a clinician and sees patients two half-days a week. These are mainly patients with headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and neck pain.

Dr. James Hawkins currently serves as Chair of the Orofacial Pain Center at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School (NPDS) in Bethesda, MD, as well as the Orofacial Pain Specialty Leader to the Navy Surgeon General. He completed a residency in Orofacial Pain at NPDS and received a Master’s Degree in Oral Biology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2015. In 2017, he received a certificate in Medical Acupuncture from Helms Medical Institute. Dr. Hawkins is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. His recent academic awards include the NPDS Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2021) and the Walter Reed Associate Master Clinician Award (2021). He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. He is also an oral board examiner for the American Board of Orofacial Pain.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Hargitai graduated from Case Western Reserve University, School of Dentistry in 1996. Dr. Hargitai completed his Oral Medicine residency in 2002, and a fellowship in Orofacial Pain in 2004, both at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School (NPDS), while receiving a Master of Science from the George Washington University. He received a certificate in Medical Acupuncture from the Helms Medical Institute in 2010 and a Certificate in Teaching by the Uniformed Services University in 2016.

Dr. Hargitai is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine as well as the American Board of Orofacial Pain. His research interests lie in characterizing patients with chronic pain. CAPT Hargitai currently serves as Professor and Staff at the Oral Medicine and Orofacial Pain departments at NPDS, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Bender is a Clinical Associate Professor at Texas A&M School of Dentistry in Dallas Texas and serves as the director of the Clinical Center for Facial Pain and Sleep Medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and has earned Fellowships in the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, the American Headache Society, and the American College of Dentists. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas in 1986 and studied orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders at the Parker E Mahan Facial Pain Center at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville Florida from 1998 to 2000. Since that time, his practice has been limited to the diagnosis and management of orofacial pain and sleep disorders. In 2024, Dr. Bender was appointed as an Associate Editor of CRANIO® The Journal of Craniomandibular & Sleep Practice.

Donald R. Tanenbaum, DDS, MPH, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and then received his DDS degree from Columbia University School of Dental Medicine, and his MPH degree from Columbia University School of Public Health in 1982. Dr. Tanenbaum currently holds several prominent positions, including: Clinical Assistant Professor at the School of Dental Medicine at the State University of New York in Stony Brook where he is the Director of the Orofacial Pain Course given to the 3^rd year dental students.  He is also the Section Head of the Division of OrofacialPain/TMD/Sleep Medicine in the Northwell Health Department of Dental Medicine at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center; and Clinical Assistant Professor, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine.

Dr. Tanenbaum is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, and a past President of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. He currently maintains private practices in New York City and Long Island limited to the diagnosis and management of orofacial pain, temporomandibular problems and sleep related breathing disorders and has co-authored a book for the public entitled, ‘Dr, Why Does My Face Still Ache?”

Roger B. Fillingim, PhD is a Distinguished Professor in the University of Florida (UF) College of Dentistry and Director of the UF Pain Research & Intervention Center of Excellence. His research investigates biological and psychosocial contributions to individual differences in pain, including the influences of sex/gender, race/ethnicity and aging on the experience of pain. Dr. Fillingim’s research has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1994, including a current MERIT award from the National Institute on Aging. For more than 12 years, Dr. Fillingim also served as a PI for the OPPERA studies, which identified multiple biopsychosocial risk factors for onset and persistence of temporomandibular disorders. He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed articles and has delivered plenary and keynote addresses at numerous national and international conferences. Dr. Fillingim also served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee that produced the 2020 report entitled, Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD): From Research Discoveries to Clinical Treatment. Dr. Fillingim has received numerous awards, including the Wilbert E. Fordyce Clinical Investigator Award and the Distinguished Service Award, both from the American Pain Society.

Colonel Thomas Stark graduated from dental school at the University of Iowa and completed residencies in pediatric dentistry and orofacial pain at Texas A&M University and the University of Kentucky, respectively. He is stationed at Joint Base San Antonio, TX, where he is an Associate Professor for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Dean of the U.S. Army’s Postgraduate Dental School. He is board-certified in pediatric dentistry, orofacial pain, and special care dentistry, and he serves on multiple committees with local, national, and governmental organizations. He is the U.S. Army’s Consultant to the Surgeon General for Pediatric Dentistry, the Chair of the Council on Clinical Affairs for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and a board examiner for the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

Andres Pinto DMD, MPH, MSCE, MBA, is a tenured Professor, Department Chair at Case Western Reserve University, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the same institution. He holds secondary appointments as Professor of Medicine and Otolaryngology at the School of Medicine and directs the Oral Medicine Fellowship program at The Metrohealth System in Cleveland and the MSD programs at CWRU.

Dr. Pinto received a DMD from the University of Pennsylvania and residency training in Oral Medicine at the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Penn Health System in Philadelphia. He completed additional education in Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine at the University of Kentucky and Tufts University and residency training in Dental Public Health at the National Institutes of Health.

He is board certified by the American Board of Oral Medicine, the American Board
of Orofacial Pain, and the European Association of Oral Medicine, and holds Fellowships from
the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), the International College of Dentists, and the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. His areas of clinical expertise include mucosal disease, orofacial pain, dental sleep medicine, and pediatric oral medicine. He works collaboratively in multiple industry-funded and federal projects and published extensively in the past twenty-five years. He is an Associate Editor of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology and a past president of the American Academy of Oral Medicine.

Dr. Boggero is the Director of Psychological Services and Director of Research at the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Clinic. He also has joint appointments in Anesthesiology and in Psychology. He completed his undergraduate education at UCLA and obtained his Ph. D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky, with a graduate certificate in biostatistics. After his Ph.D. he completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center where he worked with children and families with chronic pain. His research interests are in developing brief psychological interventions for improving pain, sleep, and fatigue in patients with chronic pain. His work has been funded by the NIH and the American Psychological Association among other organizations. He has over 100 publications or poster presentations, and has been invited to give talks across the country and the world on psychological management of chronic orofacial pain. He is currently working on an NIDCR K23 award which aims to develop a brief telehealth treatment for patient with chronic masticatory muscle pain.  In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, playing soccer, hiking, cooking, and reading. He would love to play you chess online (but he is not very good).

Emily Kahnert, DPT, CCTT is a Physical Therapist in the Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and a Rehabilitation Science PhD Candidate. Her 19 years of clinical practice have been exclusively focused on treating TMD and Orofacial pain in interdisciplinary settings. She earned her Certified Cervical and Temporomandibular Therapist designation through the Physical Therapy Board of Craniofacial and Cervical Therapeutics in 2019 and is part of the TMD PT Clinical Practice Guideline development group. Her dissertation examined telerehabilitation effectiveness for individuals with TMD; her research is supported by the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, the Academy of Orthopaedic PT, the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research, and the University of Minnesota Graduate school.

Andrew Mitchell, DMD graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry in 2017. He then completed an AEGD residency at East Carolina University. Dr. Mitchell practiced general dentistry for 4 years before returning to the University of Kentucky where he is currently the chief resident in the Orofacial Pain residency program.

Dr. Jack Botros is a senior resident of orofacial pain and oral medicine at the University of Southern California. He earned his dental degree at Alexandria University, Egypt, then he completed a Master of Science focused on temporomandibular disorders at McGill University, Canada. His research interests include TMD comorbidities, neuropathic pain, and bruxism. Dr. Botros has published in peer-reviewed journals and won several academic awards.

Micah Dowling, DMD earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Presbyterian College, where she also played Division I college golf. She then earned her dental degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Dowling practiced general dentistry for 5 years where she discovered her passion for helping those with orofacial pain and sleep-related breathing disorders while working in a multidisciplinary practice in her hometown in Florida. In 2022, Dr. Dowling entered orofacial pain residency at the University of Kentucky and she looks forward to serving her community as an orofacial pain specialist upon completion of residency in June 2024.