Hong named department head, public health sciences
Dr. Liang Hong joined Texas A&M College of Dentistry Aug. 1 as the new department head of public health sciences. In December, he was named a Faculty Fellow of the Texas A&M Institute for Healthcare Access.
Before joining A&M Dentistry, Hong was professor and director in the Division of Community Dentistry at the University of Tennessee HSC College of Dentistry and professor in UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences and UTHSC College of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine. He maintained a general dentistry practice and treated a variety of patients, including oncology patients at the Special Care Clinic.
“This dental school, the location – the Dallas area and the state of Texas – provides huge opportunities to pursue my professional goal of improving the oral health and access to dental care of the public,” he said. “Oral health indicators in Texas are behind the national average and the objectives of Healthy People 2030. There’s a lot of work to be done here.”
Hong said the move to Texas A&M provided him the opportunity to reach an even larger population.
Hong earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery at the West China University of Medical Sciences College of Dentistry. He attended the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and earned a graduate certificate and Master of Science degree in Dental Public Health, a Ph.D. in Oral Science with focus on oral epidemiology, and a graduate certificate in Operative Dentistry.
Hong earned his second Doctor of Dental Surgery at UTHSC College of Dentistry. He is board certified and a diplomate in the American Board of Dental Public Health and board eligible in the American Board of Operative Dentistry. He has certificates in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care and Clinical Research Training for Principal Investigators. He was faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry.
Hong was inspired to pursue public health dentistry when, in training, he saw many patients in pain, suffering with swelling, infections due to tooth decay or periodontal diseases. These people were sometimes unable to go to work, which set off a chain of hardship for their families, leading Hong to realize the missing element in these situations was preventive dentistry and public health interventions at population levels.
“I decided I should do something in public health dentistry,” he said. “Rather than focus my energies on individual patients, I should work on a broader scale to address the needs of an entire population.”
Dr. Lily Garcia, dean, said Hong has the professional demeanor and experience to advance the departmental staff and faculty through a deliberate focus on dental public health curriculum for the predoctoral and dental hygiene students.
“He has quickly learned the vital role that the faculty contribute to A&M Dentistry clinical outreach,” she said.
Over the course of his career, Hong has published more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts, more than 40 abstracts, along with research reports and a book chapter. He gives presentations and lectures in national and international conferences and meetings, and currently serves in the Scientific Review Group for Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences (MOSS) IRG, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, and the Review Panel for the National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR/STTR Pharmaceutical Manufacture and Medical Devices (Dental Treatment and Therapeutics), and also chairs the Council of Scientific Information, American Association of Public Health Dentistry.
He has been awarded two patents with an additional patent licensing, serves as a journal reviewer for 20 well-recognized scientific journals and has mentored numerous dental students, graduate students and residents, postdoctoral and visiting scholars. Hong also has numerous grants, including NIH-NIDCR grants.