Dr. Le receiving the OMS Foundation David Stanton Resident Research Award.Faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the UAB School of Dentistry contributed to the 2025 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., through research presentations, national awards, and professional service.
John M. Le, MD, DDS, assistant professor, was honored with the OMS Foundation David Stanton Resident Research Award, recognizing his outstanding research paper published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: “Is the Use of Dexmedetomidine Upon Emergence from Anesthesia Associated With Neck Hematoma Formation Following Head and Neck Microvascular Reconstruction?” The award highlights work completed during Le’s residency.
Dr. Arrasmith receiving the AAOMS John F. Freihaut Political Activist Award.Warren Arrasmith, DMD, an adjunct faculty member, received the AAOMS John F. Freihaut Political Activist Award for more than four decades of grassroots advocacy on behalf of the oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty. His long-standing support of OMSPAC and legislative efforts earned him national recognition.
Dr. Morlandt presenting at AAOMS 2025 Annual Meeting.In addition to these honors, UAB presenters shared research and led educational sessions across multiple tracks. Le presented on airway management in microvascular reconstruction of the oral cavity in the Reconstruction of the Head and Neck Track. Department chair Patrick Louis, MD, DDS, led a full-day comprehensive review session entitled “Zygoma Implants: Pearls and Pitfalls,” and Anthony Morlandt, MD, DDS, spoke on neoplastic pathology of the temporomandibular joint in the Pathology and TMJ Plenary. Fourth-year resident Collin Ritchie, MD, DMD, mentored by Brian Kinard, MD, DMD, presented “Evaluation of Lingual Fracture Pattern following Sagittal Split with the 'Low and Short' Medial Osteotomy” in the Orthognathic and Cosmetic Track: Hot-off-the-Press and Abstract Session.
Mena Morcos, DMD, a first-year OMS resident and fourth-year dental student Edwin Rojas presented their abstract, “Basketball-Related Craniomaxillofacial Injuries: A NEISS Database Study,” which investigates risk factors associated with hospitalization from basketball-related craniomaxillofacial trauma and was published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (JOMS). The team is submitting a manuscript of this work to the journal with additional contributions from third-year dental student Bryce Thornton. Rojas noted that the collaboration began at the 2025 AADOCR/CADR meeting in New York and includes students from multiple institutions, highlighting the importance of networking at national meetings.
Faculty Jay Ponto, MD, DDS; Kathlyn Kruger Powell, MD, DMD; and Yedeh Ying, MD, DMD, also served as poster judges during the meeting, contributing to the peer review and selection process supporting the next generation of contributors to the specialty.