Dr. Theodora Danciu is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial pathologist and Clinical Professor in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at University of Michigan School of Dentistry. She is the Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Biopsy Service. Dr. Danciu maintains an active clinical practice where she not only provides histopathological interpretation but also diagnoses and manages patients with complex mucosal diseases. She is part of an interprofessional practice model where she works closely with Michigan Medicine Oncology, Rheumatology and other services, to optimize patient care. She received her DMD, DMSc in Oral Biology and specialty training at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She continued her training as a post-doctoral fellow in cellular and molecular biology and served as Instructor in the Department of Developmental Biology at Harvard University before joining the University of Michigan in 2007. Dr. Danciu teaches across the pre- and post-doctoral curriculum in didactic and clinical settings. She has presented lectures, seminars and web casts on oral pathology/medicine in the US and internationally. 

Eleni (Elina) Gagari obtained her DDS from National and Kapodistrian University School of Dentistry and her DMD from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (faculty development program). She is licensed to practice denitstry in both United States and Greece. Dr. Gagari completed a certificate in oral and maxillofacial pathology/Doctor of Medical Sciences program at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. While in the US she pursued an academic holding the positions of instructor, assistant professor and associate professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, NYUCD and TUSDM respectively. During her career in the US she was an elected member of the Executive Council of AAOMP and served in the Nomination, Constitution and By-Laws, Public Relations and Fellowship committees. Dr. Gagari was an active member of the AADR/IADR and was the recipient of a K12 faculty development grant from NIH. While at TUSDM, she served as Director of the Oral Pathology Biopsy Service. In 2008 Dr. Gagari moved to Greece where she took over one of the world’s largest oral mucosal disease clinical services in the Department of Dermatology in NKUA School of Medicine. In 2008 the clinic was receiving 2000 patient/visits per year. In 2018, the oral mucosal disease center received 6800 patient visits and is considered the foremost patient referral center for oral mucosal disease in Greece. A particular focus is precancerous lesions of the oral cavity where Dr. Gagari has an active collaboration with Univ of Michigan. Dr. Gagari is a sought-after lecturer and is considered a highly skilled educator and mentor in her chosen field.

Pathology of the oral mucosa entails a vast array of diseases that often confuse even the most experienced clinician. This course aims to use a “basic lesion” classification of oral mucosal pathology to help navigate and prioritize diagnosis and management of the patient.

Part 1: Red and White Lesions of the Oral Mucosa

“Redness” and ‘whiteness” are mainstays of clinical oral pathology. Utilizing these two parameters, separately and in combination, we will go through actual patient cases, ranging from the commonly encountered to the rare and/or complicated ones and discuss how to reach realistic, concrete decisions for the patient’s oral health care in clinical real time. Emphasis will be given on how to select appropriate diagnostic methodology and how to initiate and handle interdisciplinary communications where applicable for the patient’s condition. An update on treatment will be provided where it is useful to the dental practitioner.

Part 2: Ulcerative Oral Conditions

Oral ulcers or “sores “are among the most frequently encountered chief complaints in the dental practice. Using the characteristics of an ulcer (appearance, chronicity, pain, location and number of lesions) this part of the course prepares the clinician to systematically develop diagnostic assessment and treatment planning for a broad range of oral ulcerative conditions. Using clinical cases encountered in the largest oral medicine referral center in Michigan, we will present diagnostic decision trees and discuss which additional tests including tissue biopsy are necessary to arrive at a final diagnosis. Finally, we will provide therapeutic guidelines for common oral ulcerative conditions.

At the conclusion of this course, participants will:

1. Document the clinical characteristics of common oral lesions accurately
2. Use lesional characteristics to form and prioritize a differential diagnosis list
3. Decide which diagnostic methodology(ies) is/are applicable and at what sequence they should be implemented
4. Decide on patient referral and initiate communication with other clinicians
5. Be familiar with and/or implement treatment based on accurate diagnosis of oral lesions

Cancellation and Refund Policies