Oral Surgery Topics Affecting Pediatric Patients
Austin Gaal, DDS, FACS; Zahid Lalani, DDS, PhD, MBA; Melanie Lang, DDS, MD; and Kevin Lee, DDS, MD
Lecture Each year the UW Pediatric Dentistry hosts a continuing dental education course in honor of founding Chair, Dr. David Law, and early faculty member and Chair, Dr. Thompson Lewis. These lectures provide dental practitioners with relevant information pertaining to current practice of pediatric dentistry. This year’s course will highlight various oral surgery topics that are particularly pertinent to today’s pediatric dental practice and presented by outstanding members of the UW Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery team.
Course Topics:
- Pediatric Trauma: Dr. Austin Gaal
- My next patient in the chair just had pediatric trauma – what to do first?”
- Review brief assessment of primary and secondary surveys related to pediatric trauma.
- Focus on assessment of pediatric craniomaxillofacial trauma with emphasis of dental trauma.
- Discuss common treatments, organized by mechanism of injury, and cases will be used for demonstration.
- My next patient in the chair just had pediatric trauma – what to do first?”
- Odontogenic Infections: Dr. Zahid Lalani
- Sources of odontogenic infections and their spread in the head and neck area and potential complications from them.
- Identify sources of odontogenic infection.
- Learn about anatomic pathways for spread of odontogenic infection.
- Potential sequelae of spread of odontogenic infections in the head and neck.
- Complications and prevention.
- Sources of odontogenic infections and their spread in the head and neck area and potential complications from them.
- Supernumerary Teeth and 3rd Molars: Dr. Melanie Lang
- Medical Management, Including Bleeding Control: Dr. Kevin Lee
Instructors
Austin Gaal is a fellowship-trained oral and maxillofacial surgeon with special practice emphasis caring for both children and adults with cleft and craniofacial differences. He completed his dental school training at Columbia University in New York City and his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Washington. He then completed his fellowship in cleft and craniofacial surgery under Dr. Kevin Smith at the University of Oklahoma. He returned to the Pacific Northwest and joined the University of Washington/ Harborview Medical Center OMS service since 2019. He currently serves as a clinical assistant professor within the OMS department in the School of Dentistry. He helps to lead the only ACPA accredited cleft team in Central Washington, the Yakima Cleft Lip and Palate team, and he actively engages in several global cleft surgical outreach trips throughout the year, working with several well-respected groups such as Free To Smile, Tess Unlimited, and Healing the Children Northeast. He conducts a busy trauma, orthognathic, and cleft practice at Harborview Medical Center treating both children and adults. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, fellow of the American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and an active member of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. His research interests include cleft and craniofacial differences, global surgical care, craniomaxillofacial trauma, public health related to OMS.
Zahid Lalani is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Lalani is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and National Dental Board of Anesthesiology. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Ireland. Dr. Lalani completed his training in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and trained in India and the UK prior to that. He completed his doctoral studies in Molecular Biology with an emphasis on wound healing as part of a joint residency/PhD program. Prior to joining the oral and maxillofacial surgery team at the University of Washington, Dr Lalani was in private practice in Houston for 19 years. Dr. Lalani practices the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery. His research areas of interest include medication related osteonecrosis of the jaws, regulation of wound healing in bone and soft tissue, and the role of growth factors in wound healing.
Melanie Lang completed her Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Nebraska, then completed a one-year General Practice Residency in Hospital Dentistry at the University of Washington and affiliated hospitals in Seattle, Washington. She completed a one-year Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinical and Research Fellowship at the University of Nebraska. She then began a six-year dual degree Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency program at the University of Florida in Gainesville which she completed in 1999. Dr. Lang graduated with honors with her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida in 1996 and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Dr. Lang has a special interest in facial cosmetic surgery and completed subspecialty training in maxillofacial cosmetic surgery at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Dr. Lang joined the University of Washington Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) as a Teaching Professor in 2014 after spending 14 years in a busy private practice in Spokane, WA where she practiced the full scope of the specialty treating patients of all ages. She staffed all four of the major Spokane hospitals and medical centers to provide maxillofacial trauma care, worked closely with the cardiac transplant team, and served on numerous dental, medical and hospital committees. Dr. Lang enjoyed teaching as a small group clinical instructor in Introduction to Clinical Medicine for the University of Washington affiliated predoctoral WWAMI/RIDE programs in Spokane from the time of their inception in 2008 until 2014. Since 2012 Dr. Lang has been a monthly audio contributor to Practical Reviews in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Lang is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and National Dental Board of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Lang has enjoyed traveling in a professional capacity to provide surgical care outside of the United States. She has volunteered her time on several occasions to provide surgical care in South America with a non-profit organization, Hearts in Motion. In addition, she has traveled on surgical missions to Bosnia with a non-profit group, Care for Children.
Kevin Lee is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with additional subspecialty training in head and neck oncologic surgery. He treats and manages benign and malignant disease processes of the head and neck (oral cavity, oropharnx, hypopharynx, larynx, thyroid, skin, salivary glands) and has a particular interest and clinical expertise in oral cavity cancer and maxillofacial reconstruction.
Dr. Lee attended both dental and medical schools at Columbia University followed by an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at Columbia University/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. After residency, he obtained additional fellowship training in head and neck oncologic and microvascular surgery at Roswell Comprehensive Cancer Center.
His research interests include improving survival outcomes in head and neck surgery, improving detection and surveillance of oral cavity cancer in the community, mitigating complications with radiation and medication related osteonecrosis, and dental rehabilitation following free flap reconstruction.
Disclosures:
- Drs. Gaal, Lalani, Lang and Lee have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
- The staff of the University of Washington Office of Continuing Dental Education have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Course Logistics
DATE:
Saturday, June 21, 2025
LOCATION:
Woodmark Hotel and Spa
Marina Room
1200 Carillon Point
Kirkland, WA 98033
TARGET AUDIENCE:
This course is designed for pediatric dentists and other dental professionals interested in oral surgery topics affecting pediatric patients.
TIMES:
7:30am – 8:00am Check-in and breakfast
8:00am – 12:30pm Course presentations
12:30pm – 2:00pm catered luncheon
TUITION – price includes lunch
Until June 18, 2025 (after, $50 more)
$375/Dentist
$250/Dental team member
$337/Current Dental Alumni Members*
CREDITS:
5 hours
* This course is eligible for a 10% discount if you are a current member of the UW Dental Alumni Association.
Conflict of Interest
In accordance with the ADA CERP Standard V., everyone involved in planning or presenting this educational activity will be required to disclose any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests and this information will be made available to participants at the start of the course.
As a continuing education provider, University of Washington Continuing Dental Education is responsible for ensuring the content, quality and scientific integrity of all continuing dental education activities for which credit is provided. The School is also responsible for taking steps to protect against and/or disclose any conflict of interest of the faculty/instructors presenting those courses.
Cancellation and Refunds
For this in person lecture, a registration refund, minus a $50 cancellation fee, will be issued for cancellations received by Friday, June 20, 2025. Registration will remain open until Wednesday, June 18, 2025- however we will accept walk-in registrations (based on space availability) the day of the class, Saturday, June 21, 2025 with an additional $50 late fee. NO REFUNDS will be accepted after Friday, June 20, 2025. Cancellations must be received in email to dentalce@uw.edu The cancellation request must include: the name of the course, name of the person registered, name of the person requesting the cancellation, and the reason for the cancellation.
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Dental education institutions have an obligation to disseminate new knowledge related to dental practice. In so doing, some presentations may include controversial materials or commercial references. Sponsorship of a continuing education course by the University of Washington does not necessarily imply endorsement of a particular philosophy, procedure, or product by this institution.
The University of Washington Continuing Dental Education cautions continuing dental education participants that there are potential risks of using limited knowledge when incorporating new techniques and procedures into the practice of dentistry, especially when the continuing education course has not provided supervised clinical experience and/or competency tests in the techniques or procedures.
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University of Washington
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Box 357137
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The University of Washington is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
This continuing education activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards of the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP).
The University of Washington is a member of the Association for Continuing Dental Education.
University of Washington designates this activity for 5 continuing education credits.