Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Jeremy Kerr, left, and his son Tyler, right, pose with Sam McKenna, MD, DDS, who performed corrective jaw surgery to repair their underbites and crossbites.
July 21, 2021

Father, son benefit from jaw reconstruction guided by 3D virtual planning

By Jill Clendening
June 9, 2021

Nerve repair advances lead to improved restoration of facial sensation

VUMC’s oral and maxillofacial surgeons care for patients with facial trauma and perform orthognathic surgery, which corrects jaw irregularities and realigns the jaws and bite. These specialists also perform benign tumor and cyst resection and reconstructive surgery, so they are very familiar with measures to preserve and, in some cases, repair the trigeminal nerve.

By Jill Clendening
Members of the Vanderbilt Oral Health team include (front row, from left) Julie Rezk, DMD, Margaret Maclin, DMD, (back row, from left) Kelly Norris, DMD, Tyler Ames, DMD, and Samuel McKenna, MD, DDS. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons not pictured include Susie Lin, DDS, MD, Ashish Sharma, BDS, MSD, and Luis Vega, DDS.
April 15, 2021

Vanderbilt Oral Health consolidates, expands services in new location

With the opening of Vanderbilt Oral Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s dental and oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) services are now together in one convenient location on Belcourt Avenue in Nashville, just across from the Belcourt Theatre.

By Jill Clendening
February 11, 2020

He’s a dentist. He plays hockey. He is VERY careful about his teeth.

Tyler Ames, DMD, has seen the worst of what a hockey puck or stick can do to the mouth. He loves hitting the ice anyway with his team the Gravediggers.

By Nancy Humphrey
Tyler Ames, DMD, designs customized oral stents for head and neck cancer patients.
June 6, 2019

Custom stents saving smiles for some oral cancer patients

When Laura McClure-Barnes, MD, learned she needed radiation therapy following surgery for adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer of the salivary glands, she knew that radiation could damage healthy tissue and bone near the tumor.

By Jill Clendening
September 29, 2016

Lack of oral care can lead to life-threatening situations

Following trips to two different hospital emergency rooms, 24-year-old Geoffrey Slayden was raced by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) for surgery and a week of hospitalization, including several days in intensive care on a ventilator and feeding tube. The culprit: abscessed teeth.

By Jill Clendening
July 23, 2015

Total replacement of TMJ gives patient reason to smile

Curtis Lee Estep sat in a clinic room at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) earlier this year, smiled and opened his mouth widely, as if taking a big yawn.
By VUMC News and Communications
June 11, 2015

Vanderbilt Dental Clinic adds staff, expands services

The Vanderbilt Dental Clinic is expanding its range of services and growing its number of clinicians in a bid to offer patients the convenience of having access to comprehensive oral health care in one location.
By VUMC News and Communications
January 22, 2014

Questions about braces? This live chat is for you

By VUMC News and Communications
March 27, 2013

Vanderbilt experts suggest ways to avoid sugar overload this Easter

Too much sugar can pose serious risks to children’s dental and behavioral health—risks that can be minimized by some careful thought and planning, Vanderbilt experts say.
By VUMC News and Communications
August 23, 2012

Bogota stint gives oral surgery resident glimpse of global need

While Benjamin Foley, D.D.S., was on a two-week surgical rotation in Bogota, Colombia, the impact of limited access to health care was as clear as the fused jaw of a 6-year-old child.
By VUMC News and Communications