Working with the staff of the Office of Dental Health has been the most satisfying on a daily basis. We have been able to recruit a group that has a passion for improving the oral health of Missouri’s citizens. They are always eager to implement the activities of our plan. I have found too there are groups devoted to improving oral health outside of the profession, and they have been so supportive.
Your position is within the Office of Oral Health and you work with a lot of topic areas, including fluoride, teledentistry and dental sealants. In which of these programs do you see the most progress being made, in terms of improved oral health for Missourians? We have made progress in all three areas. Teledentistry is a tool to help provide dental services in schools, nursing homes and other remote locations where we don’t have enough dental care. Improving the number of dental sealants being placed each year has the chance to affect the decay rate in children in Missouri for years to come. Community Water Fluoridation has the greatest potential for change—there are 11 communities interested in starting or restarting fluoridation.
Are there any new dental programs being funded within the state you are excited to see occurring? If funding was not an issue, what program would you advocate for as being most helpful? Right now, funding for oral health or any health initiatives outside COVID-19 funding is very slim and not much is available to start new programs. We will need funding to assist communities interested in starting fluoridation. A new pellet-type system will cost $12,000 for a small community.
Of all your current activities—dental, civic, personal—what are you most excited about being a part of and why?Working with the dental community is the most exciting activity. Public Health links you with so many other programs nationally all trying to improve the oral health of citizens. You hear about programs successful elsewhere that might work here, and it is exciting to see if you can make it work in Missouri.
Tell us about yourself outside of dentistry … family, hobbies, favorite way to spend free time. What recharges you outside the work of being state dental director? My wife and I like traveling and visiting our seven grandchildren. Two are in St. Louis, two are in Fort Worth and three are in Kansas City. Unfortunately, with the pandemic, traveling and direct contact has been curtailed. We’re hoping to get back on the road soon.
Outstanding New Dental Leader Dr. Megan Lenahan
This award recognizes a member who has been in practice 10 years or fewer and has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities, professional and ethical conduct, and volunteer activities in their community and organized dentistry.
D
r. Lenahan is especially recognized for her new dentist leadership and volun- teer activities within the dental profession, deeming her a rising star among her peers and within the Association.
She has been on the MDA New Dentist Committee since 2015 and in 2019-20 served as its chair. From 2015-2017, she was the New Dentist
Representative to the MDA Board of Trustees. She also has served locally on the Greater St. Louis Dental Society New Dentist Commit- tee and as its chair in 2020; in addition, she is the current second vice president on the Society’s Board of Directors. As a part of her new den- tist leadership activities, Dr. Lenahan has consistently been a speaker at dental school events, sharing her expertise to help students prepare to transition as a practicing dentist. She also has been instrumental in new dentist events at the state level, helping to develop and implement the MDA Connect4Success annual meeting which features a strong emphasis on continuing education and activities for new dentists.
In addition to her full-time pediatric practice, Dr. Lenahan works each month at Compass Health Center, a nonprofit healthcare organiza- tion. Since 2015 she has been a member of the Missouri Emergency Response Identification Team, and assists with dental forensics identification for the St. Louis City Medical Examiner’s Office. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and a member of the American Society of Forensic Odontology.
Dr. Lenahan is a second-generation dentist and after completion of her dental degrees, joined her father, Dr. James Lenahan, in practice at Lenahan Smiles Pediatric Dentistry in St. Louis. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in 2006 from Truman State University, Kirksville. She received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the UMKC School of Dentistry in 2011 and her Masters of Dental Science and Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2013. Currently she is enrolled in a Forensic Dentistry Fellowship Program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville Graduate Medical School.
Dr. Lenahan and her husband, Chris Kraft, reside in Rock Hill with their three dogs and six chickens.
You’ve done just about every new dentist activity on the local and state level. How have the needs of New Dentists changed in the years since you graduated dental school? If we ignore 2020 (which, let’s face, all of us would like to), I don’t think the needs of new dentists have changed much since I graduated. What we need from organized dentistry remains primarily focused on getting the right people in our lives. We need the right advisors, insurance, peers and mentors to help us along the way. What drew me into the new dentist organizations was the need for camaraderie—being around people going through what I was going through and getting advice from people who had just been through it.
As you move out of your new dentist designation, we see you are in line to become the president of the Greater St. Louis Dental Society in 2023. Tell us why you wanted to assume this position? From my role in the state and local new dentist societies, the MDA Board and pediatric societies, my understanding of what organized dentistry does for dentists has evolved. I began just needing advice and have come to realize the truth in the phrase “the more you know, the more you know how little you know.” Every new position has taught me more regarding how much we, as dentists, need someone pulling for us behind the scenes. I believe because I benefit so much from it, it is only right I serve to the best of my ability.
It’s been a year to remember—not only for winning this award, but for the impact of COVID-19. What have you learned about yourself, your practice, your team and your patients as a result—mentally, physically, emotionally? It might be too soon to have an accurate perspective on
ISSUE 6 | NOV/DEC 2020 | focus 23
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