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“Now, more than ever, dentists are not just men. Dentists are women, people of color and people with nontraditional backgrounds.”

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Fox McCaffrey Dental Group, Sun City, Arizona

Although Emily E. Bujnoski, DMD, MPH, is just starting her dental career, she primarily cares for an older patient population at her practice in Sun City, Arizona. Her patients are often medically complex, taking multiple medications and physically handicapped.

“I pride my practice on our ability to serve these special needs patients and provide them with the dental care they deserve, even as other aspects of overall health begin to compromise,” Bujnoski said.

Working in a 55+ community has afforded Bujnoski a greater appreciation for the unique barriers the senior population faces in achieving good oral healthcare and her role in providing solutions.

“I want to improve access to care for this population in whatever way I can — fighting for more equitable distribution of Medicare reimbursements for dentistry, providing teledentistry services for those who are unable to visit us in-office and improving the setup of our office to ensure comfort for all,” Bujnoski said.

Bujnoski was nominated by Rachel J. Malterud, DMD, MPH, who watched Bujnoski’s impressive rise in the Arizona AGD, which began when she was in dental school.

“In 2021, she acted as the chair of the Membership Reference Committee and spoke eloquently on the house floor, only a year out of dental school,” Malterud said. “Locally, she helps to run the Arizona AGD Fellowship Review Program. During her tenure as Fellowship chair, she has mentored nearly 100 doctors in pursuing their AGD Fellowship.”

In the same way she advocates for seniors who are in a different stage of life, Bujnoski also fights for providers with different backgrounds to pursue leadership roles in dentistry. She said her participation in the American Dental Association’s Institute for Diversity in Leadership gave her valuable skills that she hopes will change the face of organized dentistry.

“Now, more than ever, dentists are not just men,” Bujnoski said. “Dentists are women, people of color and people with nontraditional backgrounds. I am passionate about bringing all of these diverse backgrounds to the leadership table. It is my hope that
organized dentistry will become increasingly more diverse and representative of who we are.”