Attendees at the Linda C. Niessen Geriatric Dentistry Symposium spent the day learning about the challenges and rewards of treating this burgeoning patient population. They also took a moment to honor the woman for whom the event was named.

Dr. Linda Niessen receives a crystal keepsake from Dean Lawrence Wolinsky at the close of the college’s first geriatric dentistry symposium, which was named in her honor and drew an audience of nearly 100 dental professionals and faculty. Plans are for the Linda C. Niessen Geriatric Dentistry Symposium to occur annually.

The May 31 event featured presentations from four clinicians and researchers dedicated to caring for the elderly. Niessen herself is no stranger to geriatric dentistry. The clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and the Office of Advancement, Communications & Alumni Relations has authored a textbook on the subject, titled Geriatric Dentistry: Aging and Oral Health and is author or co-author of more than 60 scientific articles in peer-reviewed publications.

Read more about what one of the presenters — the college’s own Dr. Charles Wakefield, professor and director of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program — has to say about dealing with decay and placing restorations in geriatric patients.

Media Resources/Steven Doll