Tam Van, DDS
Geriatrics Dental Program Director
Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
Dr Tam T. Van is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. She has served as the Director of the Geriatrics Dental Clinic since 2007. Currently she is involved in academics, teaching pre-doctoral students to manage dental care for special needs elderly patients. Her dental expertise is in management of special needs patients, including those with complex medical conditions. Dr. Van has collaborated with many types of healthcare professionals to insure safe and effective practice management for a better “total patient approach” to care.

Presenting at the Nexus Summit:

With increasing attention on addressing the national opioid crisis, new legislation and guidelines have been enacted concerning the prescribing and management of analgesic (i.e., pain) medications. Non-opioid regimens are recommended for postoperative dental surgery pain. However, many new dental graduates have insufficient standardized experiences in selecting postoperative pain management after dental procedures. At the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), a clinical interprofessional education (IPE) pilot project involving dental and pharmacy…