On this page, you will find links to documents and websites that can provide you with useful information about choosing and going through a specialty program. Also, you will find audio interviews with colleagues who describe their own experiences of choosing and going through a specialty program.
Useful Documents
Documents providing potentially useful information to those hoping to choose a specialty program.
Websites
Websites providing potentially useful information to those hoping to choose a specialty program
General & Canadian Information
Media
Audio Testimonials with Dental Professional Colleagues
Dr. Keith Da Silva - On being a dental public health specialist in academia
Dr. Keith Da Silva is an assistant professor at the College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan and is a dual specialist in dental public health and pediatric dentistry. He completed his undergraduate dental education at the College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University; his pediatric dentistry residency at the New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center; and his Master’s degree in dental public health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Da Silva is a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada in pediatric dentistry, a candidate for fellowship in dental public health, and a diplomat of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. In addition to his role as an assistant professor, Dr. Da Silva is working on his PhD in public policy where his research will focus on oral health policy and health economics. He is also active within the dental community, sitting on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry and serves as the chair of their Policy and Advocacy Committee, and is the Past-President of the Halton-Peel Dental Association.
Dr. Gaurav Krishnamoorthy - On training to become a specialist in oral & maxillofacial radiology
Dr. Gaurav Krishnamoorthy completed his BSc. and D.M.D. degrees from McGill University and an A.E.G.D. from the University of Connecticut. He graduates from the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology program at the University of Toronto this year.
Dr. Amanda Gruza - On training to become a specialist in oral & maxillofacial pathology and oral medicine
Dr. Amanda Gruza graduated from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Dentistry in 2010 and subsequently completed a one-year general practice residency at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. Amanda has spent several years in private practice as a general dentist, and also worked as a part-time clinical faculty member at the UofS College of Dentistry.
In 2015, she moved to Vancouver to pursue post-graduate training through the University of British Columbia's Oral Medicine-Oral Pathology residency program. Dr. Gruza recently completed her residency training and is now a certified specialist in both Oral Medicine and Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology. Amanda has since moved back to Saskatoon and currently works as an Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, College of Dentistry, where she teaches and supervises undergraduate dental students.
Dr. Gruza recently established the new UofS GPR Oral Medicine-Oral Pathology Clinic and was appointed Incoming Director of the UofS General Practice Residency program. IN addition Dr. Gruza works part-time in the Saskatchewan Health Authority as an Oral & Maxillofacial Pathologist and Oral Medicine consultant.
Dr. Carlos Quiñonez - On being a dental public health specialist with a focus on research
Dr. Carlos Quiñonez is a dental public health specialist, and Associate Professor and Program Director of the Specialty Training Program in Dental Public Health at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. Carlos has been a member of CAPHD since dental school (1994-1998), and has served as the Scientific Chair for the annual conference since 2008. He also previously sat on the CAPHD Board of Directors and was President in 2015. Carlos is an active member of the dental public health community in all facets, and is a passionate advocate for dental public health issues, CAPHD, and its members.
Dr. Trista Felty - On being an orthodontist in private practice
Dr. Felty grew up in rural Pennsylvania (not far from the Hershey chocolate plant). She attended Villanova University, outside of Philadelphia, for her undergraduate education, where she was awarded two Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Honours Science. During college, Dr. Felty was a member of the Division 1 varsity swim team and was inducted into six honour societies.
Then she completed her dental training at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA where she received her Doctorate in Dental Medicine degree (DMD). During her time at Temple, she served as the president of Xi Psi Phi, the dental fraternity, and lead two dental mission trips to Jamaica. During this time she also successfully swam across the English Channel as part of a three person relay team, in an effort to raise money and awareness about multiple sclerosis, in the name of a teammate who had been diagnosed with the disease.
After dental school, she stayed at Temple University to complete a two year residency program in orthodontics. She was awarded a Certificate in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics and Masters of Science degree in Oral Biology after defending her thesis on the Forsus appliance. She is a Certified Specialist in Orthodontics and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada.
Dr. Felty joined the faculty at the University of British Columbia in 2013 and was an instructor in the undergraduate orthodontic clinic for two years before moving to the graduate orthodontic clinic. She is an active member of several dental and orthodontic associations.
Dr. Maneesh Sharma - On being an endodontist in private practice
Dr. Sharma is a 1991 graduate of the University of Toronto and received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the University of Iowa in 1995. Dr. Sharma was accepted into the post-graduate endodontic specialty program at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He completed his specialty training in 1997 and also obtained a master’s degree in oral sciences. Dr. Sharma is currently the President of the Canadian Academy of Endodontists. He is the Past President of the Ottawa Dental Society (ODS), as well Past Chair of both the Continuing Education and Communication Committees for the ODS.
Dr. Rafael Figueiredo - On being a dental public health specialist working with a provincial government
Dr. Rafael Figueiredo is the Provincial Dental Public Health Officer with Alberta Health Services in Edmonton, Alberta as of September 2014. For the last 13 years, he has been working as a Researcher with the Community Dental Health Services Research Unit at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. Further to his research activity and teaching at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, he received a Master of Science Degree, M.Sc. in 2011, and a Dental Public Health Specialty Degree in 2014. He has certification in Dental Public Health with the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Dr. Figueiredo’s involvement with Dental Public Health and his interest for the vulnerable population started right after his graduation as a dentist. The beginning of his career was dedicated to the provision of dental care to patients with special needs, children and adults. Subsequently, he got involved with dental care with Aboriginal communities in the extreme north of Canada and with oral health prevention to First Nations children in Ontario. More recently he conducted an important research concerning the adult homeless population in Toronto, investigating their oral health status and utilization of hospital emergency departments for dental problems.
Dr. Elahe Behrooz - On training to become a specialist in prosthodontics
Dr. Elahe Behrooz obtained her first DDS degree in Iran and her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Eric Sprott School of Business, Carleton University. She obtained her second DDS degree from the University of Toronto (U of T) with honors and is a graduate of the Prosthodontic program at the U of T. She is currently involved in private practice and academia.
Dr. David Makar - On training to become a specialist in orthodontics
Dr. Makar completed his degree in Medical Sciences with honours in physiology at the University of Western Ontario. Thereafter, he was accepted into the dental program at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry where he graduated with distinction and was awarded the Academy of General Dentistry Senior Student Award in 2017. He then moved on to complete a GPR at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre through the University of Toronto where he gained invaluable experience in surgery, pathology and treating severely medically compromised patients. He was subsequently accepted into the Graduate Orthodontic Program where he is now beginning his second year of orthodontic specialty training.
Dr. Catherine Nolet Levesque on Being an Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist
Dr. Nolet-Lévesque completed a DMD degree in the Faculty of Dentistry at Université Laval in Quebec City and a general practice residency at Montreal Children’s Hospital.
She also completed a Master’s degree in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at the University of Toronto, and a fellowship in education at the Women’s College Hospital.
Dr. Nolet-Lévesque is a professor in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at Laval University where she oversees the undergraduate curriculum and participates in teaching various post-graduate programs. She also maintain an active private practice based at Université Laval.
Dr. Deb Szabo on Being an Endodontist in Private Practice
Dr. Deborah Szabo studied at the University of Western Ontario where she obtained her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 2003. After graduating from dental school, Deb received her Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) certificate from the University of Michigan in 2004 and then entered private practice in Ontario. After 12 years of general practice, Deb went back to school to pursue her specialty in endodontics earning a Master of Science (MSc) at the University of British Columbia. She is a registered specialist in Endodontics with the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia (CDSBC) and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC).
Dr. Szabo maintains her practice specializing in endodontics in North Vancouver, BC. She also currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at UBC instructing clinical endodontics for dental students. She is a current member of the following organizations: Canadian Academy of Endodontics (CAE), American Association of Endodontists (AAE), British Columbia Society of Endodontists (BCES) and British Columbia Dental Association (BCDA).
Dr. Jennifer MacLellan on Hospital-Based Pediatric Dentistry
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Dr. Jennifer MacLellan is a Staff Pediatric Dentist at the IWK Health Centre and Associate Professor at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry. After graduating from Dalhousie, she practiced general dentistry for nine years before choosing to pursue an M.Sc. and graduate training program in pediatric dentistry at the University of Michigan. This is her story…
Dr. Marco Magalhaes - On Doing an Oral Pathology Specialty
Dr. Marco Magalhaes is a clinician-scientist with advanced training in oral pathology, oral medicine and cancer cell biology research. Dr. Magalhaes graduated as doctor of dental surgery (DDS) from the Federal University of Goias, Brazil in 2005 and received his PhD in cell biology at the University of Toronto in 2009. He then completed a 2.5-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Cancer Centre and returned to the University of Toronto to complete his residency in Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine.
He joined the Faculty of Dentistry cross-appointed to Laboratory Medicine and Pathology as an Assistant Professor in July 2015. He is an oral pathologist at the Toronto Oral Pathology Service and staff oral pathologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. Magalhaes is the principal investigator of the Cancer Invasion and Metastasis laboratory (CIMlab) at the Faculty of Dentistry, focusing on cancer cell biology, particularly in mechanisms of invadopodia-dependent cancer cell invasion. His publications have received over 1200 citations. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada.
Dr. Parvaneh Bahrami - On Her Career as a Periodontist
Dr . Parvaneh Bahrami obtained her first degree in Dentistry (DDS) in Iran in 1992. She completed the Qualifying program at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto in 2004. She continued her education at the graduate level with Specialty Training in Periodontology and Implant Surgery at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto obtaining her Master of Science degree in 2012. More than a decade of experience in general dentistry before becoming a specialist has been an invaluable asset in her understanding and treating patients and working with referring dentists.
Dr. Bahrami is a board-certified periodontist in Canada and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC). She also is is board certified by The American Board of Periodontology and is a Diplomat of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP). Also, she holds a Diplomat status with the International Congress of Implantologists (ICOI).
Dr. Bahrami is a clinical instructor in the Periodontology Department at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto and practices as a periodontist and implant surgeon at Prosthodontics Associates. Also, she is a Practice Advisor in the Quality Assurance Department at the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.
Dr. Reid Friesen - On Going Through an Oral Medicine Specialty Program
Dr. Reid Friesen graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta in 2014. During his dental education, he won several awards, including the Gold Medal in Dentistry for graduating first overall in his dental class as well as the Dr. Cal Waddell Western Canada Dental Society Memorial Scholarship for exhibiting the qualities of scholarship, leadership and humanity. Following dental school, Dr. Friesen practiced general dentistry for one year, providing general dental services in Edmonton. Subsequently, he embarked on his Oral Medicine Specialty training at the University of Alberta, and obtained a Masters Degree in Medical Sciences in 2018. His research focused on the referral patterns to Oral Medicine clinics in Alberta. While undergoing Oral Medicine Specialty training, Dr. Friesen had the opportunity to collaborate with multiple medical specialties, including oncology, dermatology and otolaryngology.
Dr. Friesen is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta and is involved in training Oral Medicine graduate students, as well as undergraduate dental and dental hygiene students. Additionally, he is a member of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC), the American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM), the Pain Society of Alberta, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Canadian Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Medicine (CAOMPOM). Dr. Friesen has presented at several continuing education courses. His clinical and research interests focus on the management of patients with chronic temporomandibular joint dysfunction and early diagnosis of potentially malignant disorders. His private practice focuses on the treatment of Orofacial Pain/Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction, Oral Mucosal Disease and Dental Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Faahim Rashid - On Working in Dental Public Health at the Municipal Level
Dr. Faahim Rashid is a Dental Consultant working with the Oral Health team in Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention at Region of Peel - Public Health. He is a specialist in Dental Public Health and has been with Peel Region since January 2016. Faahim is also appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. He is the Past President of the Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD). He completed his specialty training at University of Toronto and has had several years of academic, research and clinical experience.
Dr. Kimberly Ngai - On Going Through a Specialty Program in Pediatric Dentistry
Dr. Kimberly Ngai is a third year graduate student in the pediatric dentistry program at the University of Toronto. She completed her dental training at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario in 2016, followed by a pediatric general practice residency at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Dr. Sam Hickman - On Going through the Prosthodontics Specialty Program
Dr. Sam Hickman was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. Following high school he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Carleton University before moving to Australia to study dentistry at the University of Sydney. Upon graduation Dr. Hickman worked in private general practice in the Northern Territory of Australia as well as on the south coast of New South Wales. After three and a half years of private practice Dr. Hickman was accepted into Prosthodontics at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Hickman then returned to Ottawa where he is currently working to develop an interdisciplinary specialist dental centre with a focus on total patient care. In Canada, Dr. Hickman is a member of the Canadian Dental Association, Association of Prosthodontists of Canada, Ontario Dental Association, Ottawa Dental Society, and a fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada.
Dr. Shawn Robertson - On Going Through a Specialty Program in Periodontics
Dr. Shawn Robinson was raised in Sarnia, Ontario, where he completed my elementary and high schooling. He completed a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemistry at the University of Western Ontario before completing DDS training in Detroit, Michigan at the University of Detroit Mercy. Dr. Robertson completed the one year hospital dental residency program at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario from 2018 to 2019 and he's currently enrolled in the Periodontics program at the University of Toronto.
