Awards

Buddhi Shrestha, D.D.S., Ph.D.

Myron Allukian Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions in Community Dental Programs 2016 Recipient

During his impressive career, Dr. Shrestha has devoted himself to serving the community, and, specifically, to improving the oral health of New York state residents—particularly that of children who are underserved. Dr. Shrestha was the founding chair of the Rochester Regional Oral Health Coalition in 1999, and he has played a key role in advocating for the passage of state laws for the licensure of dentists trained outside the United States and for allowing the use of school space for health services, including oral health and mental health services. Through his many leadership positions, he expanded oral health access and prevention programs in urban and rural communities in upstate New York through mobile, school-based, and community-health-center oral health programs. He was instrumental in engineering the merger of Rochester's Westside Health Services Community Health Center (also a FQHC) with the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center in 2011. During his tenure as director of community dentistry at the Eastman Dental Center, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center, he expanded the center's SMILEmobile program—dental offices on wheels increasing children's access to much-needed oral health care in Rochester. He also directed the Oral Health Technical Assistance Center at the Rochester Primary Care Network under a grant from the state to provide assistance to communities interested in developing innovative programs to improve access to oral health care for vulnerable populations in upstate New York. During his long and illustrious career, Dr. Shrestha has consistently been a community-oriented practitioner, educator, researcher, administrator, and social change agent. His efforts have contributed to improved oral health both within the state of New York and beyond.