Sara Gordon, DDS, MS

Dr. Sara Gordon is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Washington, School of Dentistry.

A 1986 graduate of Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry, she established and ran a successful general dental practice in Nova Scotia for 8 years. During these years she also taught oral diagnosis and oral pathology at Dalhousie University part time, practiced in the university Mouth Clinic, and consulted for the children’s hospital and an Alzheimer facility.  Dr. Gordon was an oral pathology resident at University Hospital, London, Ontario 1993-1997 and completed a Master of Science in Pathology in 1996, with a thesis entitled Foreign Body Gingivitis. Dr. Gordon taught general, systemic, and oral pathology at the University of Detroit Mercy 1997-2006 and practiced in the oral medicine, radiology, oral diagnosis, and screening clinics. She established and directed the UDM Tobacco Dependence Treatment Program. She also practiced at the Oral Pathology Diagnostic Service at St John Hospital in Detroit.  In Chicago from 2006-2014, Dr. Gordon taught general, systemic, and oral pathology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and practiced in the oral medicine clinic. She established and directed the UIC Oral Pathology Diagnostic Service. She moved to the University of Washington in 2014 to help establish the new curriculum.

Dr. Gordon is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada in both Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, and a Fellow in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a Fellow, Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM), Drexel University.

Dr. Gordon is a past president of the Canadian Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Medicine. She is a site consultant for oral pathology, for the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation, and a national specialty examiner in oral medicine and oral pathology for the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. She has served on the executive committees of numerous professional organizations including the American Academy of Oral Pathology, Council of Michigan Dental Specialties, Nova Scotia Dental Association, and several sections of the American Dental Education Association.

Dr. Gordon has taught more than 120 continuing education courses, and authored or co-authored nearly 100 journal articles, textbook chapters, posters and abstracts. She is currently very active nationally in dental education. Her research interests lie at the convergence of oral health and systemic health.