Orofacial Pain Introductory Program

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.

Dr. Kurup is an Associate Professor and Division Chair, Oral Medicine and Orofacial Pain, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences, at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. As Course Director and one of three board certified Orofacial Pain specialists in Connecticut, she leads the academic curricula for Orofacial Pain & TMD at the school and the OFP clinical service for the school and the community. She is also the Course Director for Oral Medicine & Oral Pathology Course for Dental Hygienists at Connecticut State, Tunxis Community College, CT.

Dr. Kurup holds dual Fellowships of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP) and American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM) She is a Council Member of the AAOP and Chair of the Mentorship Committee of the AAOP. Dr. Kurup is an active member in 9 national/international dental and professional associations with several publications and is a peer reviewer for 10 scientific journals. Prior to coming to the US, she had an extensive career in academia and hospital settings in the specialty of Oral Medicine and General Dentistry in India, Middle East and the Far-East countries.

Dr. Kurup’s research interests are in TMD, Orofacial Pain conditions and Oral Mucosal Conditions. She has served as Subject Matter Expert in the Department of Public Health funded initiative to educate dental providers in OFP management in Connecticut and is Clinical Review Team member of the Connecticut Comprehensive Pain Center.

Dr. Mishra received her masters in Periodontics in 2011 prior to coming to University of Kentucky to pursue masters in Orofacial Pain. She joined the college of dentistry faculty in the Department of Oral Health Practice, in July 2019. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and is eligible for certification by the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. She participates in the Orofacial Pain Graduate Training Program and has served as an international speaker in CE programs in the areas of Orofacial Pain, Dental Sleep Medicine and Periodontology.

She is an active member of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP), American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), American academy of Periodontology (AAP), and International Academy of Dental Research (IADR) and serves in their national scientific and CE committees. She aspires to encourage and develop inter-professional education and train future clinicians to accept inter-professional mode of practice. She is currently involved in multiple research projects involving neuropathic pain, periodontal inflammation and obstructive sleep apnea at UKCD. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and listening to podcasts.

Dr. Beth Groenke has a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Engineering with a Biomedical Emphasis from Missouri University of Science and Technology, a D.D.S from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and a certificate in Orofacial Pain and an M.S. in Dentistry from the University of Minnesota in the field of dental MRI. She has also completed the Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Fellowship through the University of Minnesota, and she is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain.

Currently, Dr. Groenke practices general dentistry, uses her orofacial pain specialty training as founder/CEO of PhysiAroma, a MedTech start-up company developing a novel device to help manage chronic pain, and she performs dental MRI research with the team at the University of Minnesota.