When pursuing a career in dentistry, should a student be considering specializing in a certain area, dental public health is generally not at the top of their list. However, for University of Kentucky College of Dentistry (UKCD) student Tyler Sanslow, it has been top of mind since beginning his study of dentistry. Receiving a $10,000 Herschel S. Horowitz Scholarship recently will help him pursue his passion. 

Herschel S. Horowitz, DDS, MPH, was an internationally known public health advocate whose work focused on the prevention of tooth decay, the most common disease of childhood. The American Association of Public Health Dentistry Foundation awards an annual scholarship, in his name, to a dentist entering the discipline of public health through a master’s level degree program. 

Sanslow defines public health dentistry as “dentistry on a large scale, treating the community and not individual.” “I like this idea of treating not just one person, but getting the greatest amount of good done with the fewest amount of resources.” 

A strong record of academic success and extracurricular activities helped Sanslow stand out to the scholarship selection committee. While at UKCD, Sanslow has held leadership roles in several student organizations, including campus chapters of the American Academy of Public Health Dentistry, American Student Dental Association, and Hispanic Student Dental Association. He has also participated twice in the UK Global Health Case Competition and took part in the March 2017 Shoulder to Shoulder Global Brigade, traveling to Ecuador to provide dental care as part of an interdisciplinary care team. 

^{Photo: Shoulder to Shoulder Global Brigade (top left), UK Global Health Case Competition (top right), American Student Dental Association Chapter at UK interview Dean Kyrkanides (bottom)}

Sanslow will graduate with a DMD from UKCD this May and pursue a dental public health residency and master’s degree in public health simultaneously at Case Western Reserve University starting in summer 2017. 

He hopes to be just as engaged during this time, providing clinical care, conducting research, and getting more people excited about dental public health, in addition to his studies. 

“There’s no clinical component to this dental public health residency, but I very much enjoy treating patients. While in the program, I will see patients in the specialty clinics at Case Western…I plan to research the use of silver diamine fluoride…improving the qualities of it so that it makes a better treatment option.” 

When asked about plans following his residency, Sanslow shares, “I want to see patients after I graduate and also work in policy making, maybe be based at a university, do some research, teach. I’m interested in so many aspects of dentistry that I don’t know just one field I want to focus in, but coordinating care on a large scale is ultimately what I want to do.” 

“Potentially coming back to the University of Kentucky after Case Western is something that’s on my mind. There’s a great need here in Kentucky. I’m from the area, so I’m familiar with the geographics, the population, and the culture.”