Dr. Elisa Chavez

Dr. Chávez is a Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco. She graduated from The University of California San Francisco, School of Dentistry and earned her certificate in Geriatric Dentistry from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She has practiced in private, community health, long-term care and hospital settings and PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) serving frail, older adults in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also the Director of the Pacific Center for Equity in Oral Health Care at the Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Dr. Elisa Ghezzi

Elisa M. Ghezzi, DDS, PhD, FGSA, has practiced geriatric dentistry for over 25 years providing dental care for residents of assisted living facilities in Michigan.  She is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences, and Endodontics at the University of Michigan (UM) School of Dentistry.  She received her DDS from UM, completed a General Practice Residency at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN, trained in a geriatric dentistry fellowship at UM, and obtained both an MS in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis and a PhD in Epidemiology from UM School of Public Health.  Dr. Ghezzi serves as the past chair of the Michigan Coalition for Oral Health for the Aging and is a member of the Healthy Aging Committee of the Association for State and Territorial Dental Directors, and the Oral Health Workgroup of the Gerontological Society of America.  Her research has focused on the effects of oral diseases on systemic health.  She has written and lectured extensively on the topic of oral health care for older adults and persons with dementia.