Above and Beyond
Honouring the Alumni of Influence awardees
Many U of T Dentistry alumni give more, do more and care more. This certainly describes the three recipients of the 2024 Alumni of Influence Awards. These U of T Faculty of Dentistry grads go the extra, extra mile to serve their patients, communities and country. Their accomplishments offer moving evidence that excellence in dental education, special needs care and public health dentistry positively changes lives.
Jim Yuan Lai 0T0 MSc Perio
Is there anything that Jim Yuan Lai can’t do? It’s a reasonable question given that professor Lai is not only the award-winning vice-dean of education at the Faculty, but also a fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, president of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD), a major and dental officer specialist in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserve Force, a St. John Ambulance aide-de-camp for the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and a loving dad.
“I really enjoy what I do, so it’s not onerous,” Lai says with a modest grin.
His unique combination of dentistry and education expertise reflects a winding scholastic path. His U of T undergrad studies led to a DDM from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Attracted by the strong research program at U of T, Lai returned for his master’s in periodontology.
“It was such a positive learning environment as a student,” says Lai, who became a faculty member in 2001 and progressed through a series of key roles while earning an MEd from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a doctor of education from UPenn.
During his tenure at the Faculty, Lai has helped transform the undergraduate curriculum, as well as the
periodontics graduate program to better balance award-winning research with clinical education. “I think the clinical experience that our graduate perio students get is the best in Canada and the United States,” he says.
It’s no wonder that Lai has earned the ACFD National Dental Teaching Award, been awarded the Canadian Forces’ Decoration, been named a Knight of Justice in the Order of St. John, and received Vice-Regal Commendation and Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals from the Governor General of Canada.
Lai loves his Thursday nights with the Reserves, treating soldiers and training military dentists, as well as travelling with the Lieutenant Governor. Still, his primary passion is education.
“It’s a privilege to educate dentists and specialists to improve the oral health of society,” Lai says. “The quality of the students and faculty at the U of T Faculty of Dentistry is special.”
MARY-ELLEN CASCONE 8T9
Love what you do and be decent to people, and you’ll live a happier life. That’s the golden rule for Mary-Ellen Cascone, co-director of dental residency and division head of the Dental Program for Persons with Special Needs at Mount Sinai Hospital, and a Faculty instructor in dentistry.
Cascone prioritizes the dignity and needs of her patients. That can mean booking longer sessions, so she can treat between spasms for a client with Huntington’s disease, or regularly reminding a senior with dementia why her teeth are being cleaned. By taking this extra care, she and her colleagues — whom she calls incredibly dedicated — can sometimes complete the treatment so the patient can avoid needing general anesthetic for routine care.
It’s not always possible to safely treat this population without putting them under, a service for which there is a two-year wait. “It’s a shame,” she says of Ontario’s overall poor system for treating adults with special needs. There are other dentists with her skill set, but not many, and often patients have to travel to get appropriate care.
At the hospital, she finds serving on boards and committees has made dentistry more visible. When colleagues refer patients to Cascone, she will spot conditions such as osteosarcoma, or a tooth infection that’s triggering life-threatening endocarditis.
Cascone loves working with students. “They have such a positive attitude and a pure joy of learning,” she says, adding how eye opening it is for them to come to the hospital. “It shows them that life isn’t just a textbook — there are people behind the teeth.”
Her classmates from the Faculty applaud her approach. As Kathryn Moore, a fellow 1989 grad and Peterborough-based dentist, says: “Mary-Ellen is an example of selfless service, compassion for patients, dental excellence and passion to pass along her knowledge to future dentists.”
At 62, Cascone is thinking about succession planning, but knows only some will derive meaning and purpose from this work that is challenging, including physically, and comes with relatively low renumeration.
“My proudest thing is that I don’t give up on people,” says Cascone. “I love my job.”
SANJUKTA MOHANTA 9T9
“Dentists should be speaking up for those who struggle to speak for themselves,” says Sanjukta Mohanta, who does just that. She advocates to improve public dental health as a member of the Ontario Dental Association’s (ODA) Health Policy and Government Relations Committee, provides care at a government-funded clinic in Brampton, volunteers at the Filling the Gap clinic in Rexdale, and leads the educational New Dentist Study Club, which she founded. She also serves on several boards, including that of the Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry.
Mohanta flies into remote northern communities for two-week stints, as part of the ODA Remote Areas Program, where residents of Indigenous communities get little preventive or specialty care. “Many have untreated dental disease and are living in pain.”
Years ago, Mohanta chose the Faculty because of its reputation, and calls her 1999 classmates her DFFs, or “dental friends forever.” After graduation, she found private practice isolating, but discovered a better fit with a mix of public health work, volunteering, advocacy and education.
She speaks proudly of sharing recommendations with leaders such as Jagmeet Singh when he was a Brampton MPP. But it’s her one-on-one discussions with Peel city councillors and delegation speech to keep fluoride in drinking water that bring her the most satisfaction.
“When city council voted, I was amazed to see every councillor stand up in favour of keeping fluoride in the water,” she says of the final meeting on the issue in 2017. “It was my proudest moment as a dentist.”
She encourages her dentistry colleagues to give back, too. “One in three Canadians have no dental benefits,” says Mohanta, who has received an ODA Award of Merit and an ODA Service Award. “We can be of service in volunteer roles, but we can also help others by providing discounts and accepting public dental programs.”
With her big smile and big heart, it’s no surprise that Mohanta is also a caring mom who loves to have fun at home and with her long-time friends in the profession. “I am excited to organize my class’s 25th reunion. The Class of 9T9 is going to party like it’s 1999!”
Photos by Stef & Ethan