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With the opening of the Hunt School of Dental Medicine, world-class faculty have joined the school to form a solid foundation for educating El Paso’s dental students.

Professor Angela C. Chi, D.M.D., is board certified in oral and maxillofacial pathologist in the region. Her specialty of dentistry focuses on diagnosing and treating diseases in the mouth and jaw.

“Oral pathology is a very specialized area of dentistry, but we also have primary training as dentists,” Dr. Chi said. “Although there are pathologists who are M.D. trained to help with pathology of the head and neck region, oral maxillofacial pathologists have the unique background to understand both the dental component and the pathology.”

Dr. Chi graduated with a Doctor of Dental Medicine from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in 1998. She served in the United States Navy Dental Corps while completing an advanced education in the general dentistry program, and practiced as a general dentist in Japan, where she cared for sailors aboard the USS Kitty Hawk.

“It was important to have that experience as a general dentist prior to my training in oral pathology,” Dr. Chi said. “It’s been beneficial to wholly understand more of the clinical aspects of patient care.”

In addition to her clinical experience, Dr. Chi has co-authored more than 100 publications, including Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, a textbook widely used in schools across the U.S. and abroad.

Her experience will help as she mentors Hunt School of Dental Medicine students embarking on their journey to become future dentists. Her goal is to prepare students for every aspect of dentistry.

“What’s really important for our students is to understand the connection between oral and systemic health – that’s a big part of oral pathology,” Dr. Chi said. “Our goal is to prepare confident competent dentists who are ready to handle whatever comes their way and to look at oral health care holistically.”