¤ Retirees Dr. Ronald J. Billings Dr. Ronald J. Billings received his DDS and MSD in preventive dentistry from Indiana University and completed a National Institute of Health postdoctoral training program in cariology at the University of Minnesota. He was a member of the faculty of Indiana University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Texas in Houston before coming to Eastman Dental Center in 1984 as the assistant chairman in the Department of Community Dentistry. Billings was the director of the Smilemobile program, a single mobile unit that provided dental care to children in the inner city. It was not long before he recognized that this program needed to expand to meet the dental needs of children in the underserved areas. He actively solicited funding and conducted its first Phone-A-Thon. Under Billings’ leadership, the Smilemobile program was able to secure funding for a second mobile unit and was able to provide dental care to an additional 1,800 needy children. As the associate director for Clinical Affairs, (1989-93), Billings recognized that to better serve our patient population, we needed to understand and address the psychosocial and environmental factors that contribute to poor oral health. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Center’s current social work program, which has helped improve identification and treatment of victims of domestic violence, enhanced care providers’ skills in utilizing bio-psycho-social approach to patient care, and assists patients and their families with issues that inhibit access to care. As the fourth director of the Eastman Dental Center, Billings played an active role in the Center’s merger with the University of Rochester. He later worked with the University’s Health Affairs Division and development office, while continuing to teach and conduct research.
Reflections from a few colleagues
I’ve enjoyed meeting the past directors and greatly value their contributions over the years. Dr. Billings’ contributions are quite notable, particularly his vision and leadership expanding our community outreach program. This area is the foundation for which Eastman Institute for Oral Health is built, and without Dr. Billings’ achievements in this area, we would not be the Institution we are today.
~ Eli Eliav, DMD, PhD EIOH Director & Vice Dean for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center
Ron Billings assumed leadership of Eastman at a very difficult time, and proved instrumental in helping set the stage for the merger into the University. He’s always been very engaged as a mentor and a teacher to numerous junior faculty, who have become successful investigators in our community. His strong interest in oral health disparities drove his public health approach to provision of care. Of his many accomplishments, his outstanding work growing the community dentistry program is among the top. I wish him all the best in his retirement.
~ Cyril Meyerowitz, DDS EIOH Director Emeritus
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