Patrick Louis, DDS, MD, has been appointed interim chair of the School of Dentistry Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He succeeds Peter Waite, MPH, DDS, MD, FACS, who served as chair since 1993 and recently stepped down from the role.
Additionally, Kathlyn (Katie) Powell, DMD, MD, has been named interim director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program.
Louis is a graduate of the LSU School of Dentistry and the UAB School of Medicine. A board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon, he is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Holding the rank of professor in the schools of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Louis previously served as director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program and has served as director of The Kirklin Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic, with a practice that includes dental implants, orthognathic surgery, temporomandibular joint surgery and esthetic and reconstructive surgery. As an active member of the health care community he has served on numerous university, local and national committees and has authored multiple articles in peer-reviewed-journals in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Powell earned her DMD and MD, as well as completed her OMS residency training, at UAB. Having finished a pediatric oral and maxillofacial surgery fellowship, she holds the rank of assistant professor in the School of Dentistry. She practices at the Children’s of Alabama Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic and the UAB Oral and Facial Surgery Clinic of Hoover.
Under Waite’s leadership, the department most recently increased pediatric oral and maxillofacial surgery, including treating cleft/craniofacial patients through the Crippled Children’s Rehabilitation System, developed an oral cancer program, and expanded its clinical operations to the Oral Surgery Clinic at UAB Medicine Hoover.