As ociation Awards
The MDA Annual Awards of Dentist of the Year, Distinguished Service and Outstanding New Dental Leader honor individual dentist members for their contributions to the dental profession and their communities.
Dentist of the Year Dr. Jacqueline Miller
This award recognizes a member who has demonstrated outstanding service to the dental profession and/or his or her community in the past year.
D
r. Jackie Miller served as State Dental Director in the Offi ce of Dental Health (ODH) for the
state of Missouri from August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2024. She accom- plished a great deal on behalf of the oral health of the public as well as the profession during her time in the role. She actively engaged with Missouri dentists, and with organized dentistry, and was part of a key group to create the curriculum and training processes for the Oral Preventive Assistant pilot program, a type of expanded function dental auxiliary to help provide increased access to dental care.
During her time at ODH, she was instrumental in pursuing other eff orts related to workforce development. This includes partnering with high schools in Pike/Lincoln and St. Charles counties to off er dental assistant training, as well as helping to implement a project to use teledentistry as a method for dentists to supervise hygienist and assistants in nursing homes and other under-served, high-risk popula- tions including veterans. Her leadership and collaboration with MO HealthNet (Missouri Medicaid) was also signifi cant to expand coverage of dental services.
As evidence of her dedication to her community, her profession and the oral health of the public, Dr. Miller went back to school to complete a Master of Public Health in 2022 from A.T. Still University, Kirksville, Mo. As Missouri State Dental Director, Dr. Miller secured a competitive Centers for Disease Control grant, as well as numerous other grants and initiatives to promote dental health across the state of Missouri.
Currently, she is an Orthodontic Curriculum Consultant for Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine in Joplin, responsible for developing and teaching orthodontic curriculum to undergraduate dental students. She provided orthodontic care in the communities of Washington, Union and Sullivan for 30 years.
Outside of past and current work, Dr. Miller regularly gives back to her community and beyond. She is a founding member of the Washington
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Overseas Medical and Dental Mission which has been taking place since 1992. She has been Vice President for 32 years, packing and coordinating 32 dental mission trips, and participating in country on 26 dental and construction mission trips as of 2024. She authored numer- ous grants funded through community organizations to fund this work. She also is active in Washington Rotary Club, Dental Screenings and Presentations at area schools, volunteering at the Pregnancy Assistance Center and more.
In addition to the MDA and ADA, Dr. Miller is a member of the Greater St. Louis Dental Society and American Association of Orthodontists. She is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists and American College of Dentists, as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontists.
In addition to completing her MPH degree in 2022, in 1991 she gradu- ated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry and in 1993, completed her Master of Science and Certifi cate in Orthodontics from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry. Dr. Miller and her husband, Timothy Huber, reside in Union, Mo., and have fi ve children.
You are being acknowledged as Dentist of the Year for your collective work while State Dental Director, but especially for your engagement and leadership to facilitate the creation of the curriculum and training processes for the Oral Preventive Assistant pilot program. What was challenging and rewarding about that process? The development of the Oral Preventive Assistant (OPA) pilot program was truly a collaborative eff ort. I was honored to work alongside a dedicated group of Missouri dentists who generously volunteered their time and expertise, as well as the Missouri Dental Association, which provided essential leader- ship and support to bring the program to life. One major challenge was navigating the regulatory framework to defi ne a new dental workforce role that prioritized prevention and expanded access, particularly in underserved areas. It required collaboration across multiple stakehold- ers — educational institutions, regulatory bodies and dental profession- als — to ensure the program was comprehensive and feasible. Another challenge was helping our dental partners across the state understand what the OPA program was — and just as importantly, what it was not. There was some initial fear and misinformation that this might some- how compete with existing roles. However, that was never the goal.
The OPA was designed to increase access to basic preventive dental care — such as screenings, scaling above the gumline, fl uoride varnish
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