Mahnaz Fatahzadeh, DMD, MSD, CTTS, FICD, DABOM, FRCP (Edin)
Professor, Division of Oral Medicine, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine
Dr. Fatahzadeh is a professor and Director of the Division of Oral Medicine at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Fatahzadeh has been a strong advocate of interprofessional education and collaborative care for over two decades. As a stomatologist, oral disease is the primary focus of Dr. Fatahzadeh’s teaching, clinical care and research. When teaching dental students, she emphasizes that oral health care providers can and should engage in total health promotion (eg. tobacco cessation, diet counseling, HPV vaccination), screen for undiagnosed or poorly controlled medical conditions (eg. hypertension, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea) and collaborate with other health professionals in clinical care and/or research.
Oral health is an integral part of overall health and Dr. Fatahzadeh also advocates for oral screening as part of primary care as it could disclose symptomatic and asymptomatic oral disease, expedite referral/care and improve health outcomes. This is even more relevant for patients burdened with oral disease who face barriers to oral health care and opt to visit a medical provider for an oral/dental complaint. Although oral screening is simple and takes little time to perform, it is often a missed opportunity during medical encounters. This, in part, is a reflection of minimal oral health content and insufficient emphasis on mouth-body connection in the non-dental health profession curricula. Recognizing this curricular gap, Dr. Fatahzadeh developed formal or enrichment oral health modules tailored to the needs of various programs of health profession. The goal was to provide students with a foundational knowledge and essential skillset for oral screening and urgent intervention.
Dr. Fatahzadeh has been a consistent facilitator in multiple interprofessional projects across RBHS including “CVA”, “Joining Forces” and “Oral Cancer-Hospice” since their inception. She has been closely involved with the SPICE program-an IPE project launched by the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine’s Vice Dean Dr. Kim Fenesy. She has served as the primary developer of clinical vignettes and content expert/facilitator at SPICE weekly case conferences for the past seven years (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jdd.13689).
Dr. Fatahzadeh is a 2025 recipient of Rutgers Heath Distinguished Interprofessional Clinical Educator Award – a distinction extended to those who exemplify teaching excellence, contribute to a collaborative learning environment and embody a spirit of interprofessionalism. She was nominated by faculty from Rutgers dental, medical, nursing and physician assistant programs for this honor (https://sdm.rutgers.edu/news/2025/03/bridging-gap-better-patient-care). Dr. Fatahzadeh’s other accolades include induction into UMDNJ Stuart D. Cook MD Master Educators’ Guild, New York Academy of Medicine and Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh as well as receiving the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Award for her screening and educational efforts to improve health of New Jerseyans.
