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University of Kentucy College of Dentistry 
Building a Foundation for the Future
 
Orofacial Pain

Faculty and Residents

One of the strengths of the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Program is the faculty who join together to provide the educational, clinical and research experiences for the residents. Treating and researching orofacial pain is truly an interdisciplinary activity. The following is a brief description of the individuals that make up the faculty in the Orofacial Pain Center.

 

 

Dr. deLeeuw

Reny de Leeuw, DDS, PhD
Division Chief

Dr. de Leeuw is a graduate of the University of Groningen, School of Dentistry in Groningen, The Netherlands. She completed a five-year Ph.D. Program at the University of Groningen in 1994. Her dissertation investigated the long-term outcome of osteoarthrosis and internal derangements of the TMJ. She has published several research articles on this topic in international journals. After she completed a three-year Certificate Program in Orofacial Pain at the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Center, she joined the faculty, where she is now Associate Professor and Division Chief. Dr. de Leeuw is also the Director of Graduate Studies for the College of Dentistry. Dr. de Leeuw is the editor of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain's 4th edition of the Guidelines on Orofacial Pain. She is past president and fellow of the American Academy of  Orofacial Pain, and Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain. Her present research interests are in functional MR imaging of pain, and PTSD in orofacial pain patients.

 

dr. okeson

 

Jeffrey P. Okeson, DMD
Program Director. Director of Education

Dr. Okeson is Professor, Chair of the Department of Oral Health Science and Director of the College's Orofacial Pain Program, which he established in 1977. Dr. Okeson has more than 220 publications in the area of occlusion, TM disorders and orofacial pain in various national and international journals. The sixth edition of Dr. Okeson's textbook Management of Temporomandibular Disorders and Occlusion is published by C. V. Mosby (Elsevier) Publishers.  This text is used in most of the United States dental schools as well as in many other countries.  It has been translated into eleven different foreign languages. In addition to this text, Dr. Okeson has authored the sixth edition of Bell’s Orofacial Pains which is published by Quintessence Publishing Company and widely used in orofacial pain programs throughout the world.

Dr. Okeson is a past President of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain and former editor of the Academy’s Guidelines. He is a founding Diplomate and past President of the American Board of Orofacial Pain. Dr. Okeson is a very sought after lecturer on the subject of TMD and orofacial pain and has presented more than 1000 invited lectures on the subject of TMD and orofacial pain in 49 different states and in 47 different countries. He has received the campus wide University of Kentucky “Great Teacher Award”, the Provost’s Distinguished Service Professorship, the American Academy of Orofacial Pain’s Service Award  and the first ever “Distinguished Alumni Award” from the College of Dentistry. Dr. Okeson has also received “The International Dentist of the Year Award” from the Academy of Dentistry International. This is the highest award recognized by this Academy and was given to him in recognition of his worldwide efforts in providing education in the area of temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain.

Dr. Carlson

Charles R. Carlson, PhD
Director of Behavioral Medicine. Director of Research

Dr. Carlson received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1983, and completed a clinical residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1984. He came to the University of Kentucky in 1988 where he is an associate professor in the Departments of Psychology and Oral Health Science. He is an active researcher in the area of orofacial pain and has published articles in the Journal of Orofacial Pain, Pain, and Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. His primary interests are (a) the role of the autonomic nervous systems in the mediation of pain in the shoulder and neck regions, and (b) the development of self-regulation therapies for management of pain.

Dr. Lindroth

John Lindroth, DDS

Dr. Lindroth received his dental degree from West Virginia University in 1977. After 12 years in general practice he enrolled in the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Mini-Residency Program which he completed in 1990. Dr. Lindroth then completed the full time Orofacial Pain Residency at the OFP Center in 1992. From 1992 until 1997 he maintained a practice limited to orofacial pain and TMD in Charleston, West Virginia. Dr. Lindroth joined University of Kentucky faculty full-time in 1997 and he presently participates part-time in the Orofacial Pain Graduate Training Program.

 

A Harrison

Anne L. Harrison, MSPT, PhD.

Dr. Harrison is an associate professor in the Division of Physical Therapy within the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at UK. She obtained her MS in PT from University of Indianapolis, and her PhD in Gerontology from the University of Kentucky. She is also on faculty in the Doctoral Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, and the Doctoral Program in Gerontology.

Dr. Harrison has extensive clinical experience in outpatient orthopedics, and currently works on an interdisciplinary team in the Orofacial Pain Clinic at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. In the Physical Therapy curriculum, she teaches Functional Anatomy, Pathomechanics, and Gerontology, as well as specialty electives in Orofacial Pain Management. In the Gerontology Doctoral program she teaches Biology of Aging.

Dr. Harrison's general research foci are in the areas of motor control and interdisciplinary approaches to health care. She is currently participating in a grant funded by the Arthritis Foundation to compare radiological and functional examination strategies for people with osteoarthritis. She has received internal grant funding to complete pilot projects examining biopsychosocial outcomes in older adults with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

 

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Lyle Carlson, PhD

Dr. Lyle W. Carlson received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Dakota.  He completed a clinical psychology internship/residency and a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC.  The focus of his practice is the assessment and treatment of adults for symptoms of anxiety or depression.  Dr. Carlson specializes in helping individuals cope with chronic pain associated with medical conditions.  Additionally, as a neuropsychologist, he performs assessment on individuals who have experienced brain dysfunction due to injury or disease.  Prior to his arrival at Renewed Hope Counseling Center, he was the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI where he managed one of the Army’s multidisciplinary chronic pain programs.  Dr. Carlson also specializes in the use of clinical hypnosis as an effective treatment strategy for those patients with neuropathic pain conditions.

Alan Wilkinson, DMD (part time)

Dr. Wilkinson received his Dental Degree from the University of Louisville in 1972. After 15 years in general practice he became very interested in problem pain and enrolled in the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Mini-Residency Program, which he completed in 1988. He then completed the full-time Orofacial Pain Residency at the OFP Center in 1990. He maintains a practice limited to orofacial pain and TMD in Louisville, Kentucky.