Dr. Angela Chi brings 20 years of experience to the Hunt School of Dental Medicine
Angela C. Chi, DMD, is the only oral pathologist within a radius of more than 400 miles of the El Paso, Texas, region. She is an oral and maxillofacial pathology specialist at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Hunt School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Chi is board certified in oral and maxillofacial pathology, a specialty of dentistry that focuses on diagnosing and treating diseases in the teeth, mucosa, soft tissue, bones, joints, glands, and skin around the mouth.
“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.”
To better serve urgent needs within the border community, she has established an oral pathology biopsy service and patient consulting service at the Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic, the clinical practice of the Hunt School of Dental Medicine. The Hunt School of Dental Medicine is the only dental school on the U.S.-Mexico border and the first to open in Texas in over 50 years. Patients at the school’s public clinic receive discounted rates for oral health care from faculty and students working to reduce disparities in access to oral health care.
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.”
Read More: TECH TALK - MAR 09, 2022
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At TTUHSC El Paso, we are committed to growing our own health care heroes and changing the state of health care in our Borderplex. For more information about how you can help, please contact andrea.tawney@ttuhsc.edu or craig.holden@ttuhsc.edu or visit ttuhscep.edu/elpaso/ia/giving/.
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