Skip to content
People Directory

Thomas Benton Dodson, DMD, MPH, FACS

Thomas Benton Dodson

Philip Worthington Professor & Chair, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

206-543-7722

tbdodson@uw.edu

Northwest Center for Oral and Facial Surgery

For scheduling appointments and patient information

Background

Dr. Thomas B. Dodson joined the Department in 2013 as Professor and Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS). A noted clinician, researcher, and teacher, Dr. Dodson is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in the specialty.

Prior to joining the faculty at University of Washington, Dr. Dodson was Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and an Attending Surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. He previously served as associate professor in the Department of Surgery at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta.

A Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dr. Dodson completed his specialty training in OMS at the University of California-San Francisco, where he also completed an NIH Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology and a residency in Dental Public Health. An Oregon native and descendant of Oregon Trail pioneers, Dr. Dodson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oregon. He received his DMD, cum laude, from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Dodson’s clinical practice is informed by his commitment to clinical investigation and evidence-based decision-making. An author of over 150 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Dodson is Principal Investigator for an American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)-sponsored nationwide study assessing outcomes on office-based anesthesia and third molar extractions. He was co-author of the AAOMS white papers on Bisphosphonate-related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws (BRONJ). His research established clinical markers to identify victims of domestic abuse, established guidelines for the care of patients with HIV, and evaluated mandatory seat-belt laws. He was awarded the OMS Foundation Research Recognition Award, and twice awarded the Daniel M. Laskin award (2003 and 2010) for the best scientific paper published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Dr. Dodson practices the full scope of OMS, treating patients of all ages. His clinical interests include orthognathic surgery, trauma, nerve injury and facial reconstruction. He is a well-respected expert on management of third molars having been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune and other national media outlets. He has substantial experience both clinically and in his research portfolio in dentoalveolar reconstruction and dental implants. He also served as a team doctor for the Boston Bruins, who honored him with the presentation of a Stanley Cup Ring in 2011.

Dr. Dodson has served as consultant to the Scientific Review Office of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, as Delegate for Clinical and Translational Sciences Applications to the Subcommittee on Training and Mentorship (NIH), and as Examiner for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He currently chairs the AO Craniomaxillofacial Surgery Research and Development Committee, Davos, Switzerland, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Dr. Dodson’s stalwart commitment to academic OMS has been the hallmark of his 35 year career. His national service is a counterpoint to the mentoring of residents and junior faculty, working at every level to ensure the sustainability of OMS for the next generation through clinical excellence, research, expanded funding, and community outreach.

Clinical and Research Interests

  • Orthognathic surgery
  • Maxillofacial Trauma
  • Pathology
  • Dentoalveolar and maxillofacial reconstructive surgery
  • Management of impacted teeth
  • Dental implants
  • Evidence-based management of third molar outcomes
  • BRONJ (bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the Jaws)
  • Care of medical compromised patients
  • Dental implants and implant survival
  • Reconstructive maxillofacial surgery
  • Intimate partner violence diagnosis in dental injuries
  • Evidence-based practice and outcomes assessment

Publications

Original Articles (Partial listing)

  1. Dodson TB, Kaban LB. California mandatory seatbelt law: The effect of recent legislation on motor vehicle accident-related maxillofacial injuries. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1988;46:875-80.
  2. Dodson TB, Perrott DH, Kaban LB, Gordon NC. A comparative analysis of rigid internal fixation versus intermaxillary fixation for the treatment of mandibular fractures. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1990;48:362.
  3. Dodson TB, Kaban LB, Schmidt B, Longaker MT. Fetal cleft lip repair in rabbits: Part II: Post-natal facial growth after repair. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1991;49:603.
  4. Dodson TB, Barton JA, Kaban LB. Predictors of outcome in children hospitalized with maxillofacial infections: a linear logistic model. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1991;49:838.
  5. Dodson TB, Neuenschwander M, Bays RA. Intraoperative assessment of maxillary perfusion during LeFort I osteotomy. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1994;52:827-31.
  6. Biederman GA, Dodson TB. Epidemiologic review of facial infections in hospitalized pediatric patients. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1994;52:1042-5.
  7. Dodson TB, Pfeffle RC. Cost-effectiveness analysis of open reduction/nonrigid fixation and open reduction/rigid fixation to treat mandibular fractures. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1995;80:5-12.
  8. Dodson TB. Demineralized bone grafts to reconstruct third molar extraction site defects. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1996;82: 241-247.
  9. Dodson TB, Bays RA, Neuenschwander MC. Maxillary perfusion during LeFort I osteotomy following ligation of descending palatine artery. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1996;55: 51-55.
  10. Dodson TB, Bays RA, Pfeffle RC, Barrow D. Cranial bone graft to reconstruct the mandibular condyle in Macaca mulatta. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1997;55:260-267.
  11. Dodson TB. HIV status and the risk of post extraction complications. J Dental Res 1997;76:1644.
  12. Perciaccante V, Dodson TB, Ochs H. Head, neck and facial injuries as markers of domestic violence in women. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1999;57:760.
  13. Chuang S-K, Wei L-J, Douglass CW, Dodson TB. Risk factors for dental implant failure: A strategy for the analysis of clustered failure time observations. J Dent Res 2002;81:527-7.
  14. Kaban, LB, Troulis MJ, Ebb D, August M, Hornicek F, Dodson TB. Anti-angiogenic therapy with Interferon-alpha for giant cell lesions of the jaws. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2002;60:103.
  15. Perrott DH, Yuen J, Andresen R, Dodson TB. Office-based Ambulatory Anesthesia: An overview of the clinical practice of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the United States. J Oral Maxillofac Surg
  16. Halpern LR, Kaban LB, Dodson TB. Perioperative neurosensory changes associated with treatment of mandibular fractures. J Oral and Maxillofac Surgery 2004;62:576-581.
  17. Richardson D, Dodson TB. Risk of periodontal defects after third molar surgery: An exercise in evidence-based clinical decision-making. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 2005;100:133.
  18. Gentile MA, Chuang S-K, Dodson TB. 6 x 5.7 mm Implants: Survival estimates and risk factors for failure. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implant 2005;20:930.
  19. Halpern LR, Dodson TB. A predictive model to identify women with injuries related to intimate partner violence. JADA 2006;137:604-9. Cover story.
  20. Halpern LR, Dodson TB. Does prophylactic administration of systemic antibiotics prevent postoperative inflammatory complications after third molar surgery? J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2007;65:175-85.
  21. Chuang S-K, Perrott DH, Susarla SM, Dodson TB. Age as a risk factor for third molar surgery complications. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 65:1685-92, 2007
  22. Chuang S-K, Susarla SM, Dodson TB. Delayed versus immediate loading of implants: Survival analysis and risk factors for dental implant failure. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 66:251-5, 2008.
  23. Human ET, Juvet LM, Nastri A, Denman WT, Kaban LB, Dodson TB. Changing patterns of hospital length of stay following orthognathic surgery. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 66:492-7, 2008.
  24. Wessell JH, Dodson TB, Zavras A. Zoledronate and other risk factors associated with osteonecrosis of the jaw in cancer patients: a case-control study. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 66:625-31, 2008.
  25. Markiewicz MR, Brady MF, Ding EL, Dodson TB. Corticosteroids reduce postoperative morbidity following third molar surgery: A meta-analysis. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 66:1881-94, 2008.
  26. Chuang S-K, Perrott DH, Susarla SM, Dodson TB. Risk factors for inflammatory complications following third molar surgery. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 66:2213-8, 2008.
  27. Halpern LR, Parry GA, Hayward G, Peak D, Dodson TB. A comparison of 2 protocols to detect intimate partner violence. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 67:1453-9, 2009.
  28. Perciaccante VM, Susarla SM, Dodson TB. Validation of a diagnostic protocol used to identify intimate partner violence in the emergency department setting. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 68:1537-42, 2010.
  29. Kinard BE. Dodson TB. Most patients with asymptomatic, disease-free third molar elect extraction over retention as their preferred treatment. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 68:2935-42, 2010.
  30. Gordon PE, Lawler ME, Kaban LB, Dodson TB. Mandibular fracture severity and patient health status are associated with postoperative inflammatory complications. 69:2191-7, 2011.
  31. Kinard BE, Chuang S-K, August M, Dodson TB. How well do we manage the odontogenic keratocyst? J Oral Maxillofac Surg 71:1353-8, 2013.
  32. Mercer E, Norton T, Woo S, Treister N, Dodson TB, Solomon DH. Ninety-one osteoporosis patients affected with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: A case series. Calcif Tissue Int DOI 10.1007/s00223-013-9747-1, 2013.
  33. Susarla S, Dodson TB. Impacted wisdom teeth. Clinical Evidence 4:1302, 2010.