The career plan had been largely charted out for Peter Polverini by a family friend: He’d go to dental school, pick a specialty and go to work.
What Polverini actually did was quite different.
A scientist at heart, he pursued basic research in vascular biology as well as pathology — such an unconventional blend for a dental student and scientist that he believes he had trouble convincing potential employers to hire him out of school. But the offbeat mix of disciplines served him well, and Polverini went on to become dean of the School of Dentistry, a practitioner and a pathology professor at the Medical School.
During his lecture Thursday as the Jonathan Taft Distinguished University Professor of Dentistry, Polverini will describe how his work as a scientist and dean inspired his vision of an integrated, personalized health care environment for dental patients.
Distinguished University Professor is the highest professorial honor bestowed on U-M faculty. The lecture will take place from 4-5 p.m. in the Rackham Amphitheatre, with a reception following from 5-6 p.m. in the Assembly Hall.
On his early career, Polverini said, “I think employers looked at me and thought, ‘You studied what?’ I didn’t fit the mold as to what people expected of a dentist-scientist at the time.”
But as a practicing oral pathologist, scientist and academic, he holds a unique panoramic view of the field. He borrows from each experience when exploring new approaches to education and care delivery, and he’s willing to take risks to implement fresh ideas because they’ve paid off in his own career.
After graduating from Marquette University’s dental school, Polverini — who was interested in cancer — leapt at the chance to join a research lab at Harvard, working in the small but emerging field of vascular biology, while simultaneously studying pathology.
Vascular biology was “about as far away from dentistry as you could get,” but his unorthodox choice yielded a fantastic opportunity when he was hired as one of two dentists in a field of physician-scientists studying cancer in the pathology department at Northwestern University.
By the time he became dean in 2003, he knew dental students needed more science. So, during his tenure he revamped the curriculum by integrating more science and implementing the pathway system, which gave students the opportunity to explore leadership, research and health care delivery in greater depth.
It’s all about preparing students as dentistry evolves from a silo profession into a collaborative one, Polverini said.
“Dentistry will follow in the footsteps of precision medicine, and there will be more personalized care within dentistry,” he said, explaining the need for well-rounded practitioners. “Maybe this won’t be for another 10 or 20 years, but I do think it’s going to happen.”
For instance, mounting evidence suggests that biomarkers exist for periodontal disease. Once these markers have been identified, dentists will be better able to assess which patients will develop an aggressive form of periodontal disease and start treatment earlier to alleviate or minimize it.
“Dentists will spend more time working to manage a patient’s health rather than managing a patient’s chronic illnesses,” he predicted.
Now Polverini works to help shape oral health care policy and find ways to build oral health — which is often an afterthought — into the foundation of overall health.
“My big push now is to get people to understand that without oral health you won’t be able to maintain overall health.”
