Kirkpatrick named interim chair of endodontics

Professor Timothy C. Kirkpatrick, DDS, has been named interim chair of the Department of Endodontics at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, Dean John A. Valenza, DDS, announced effective Jan. 1, 2022.

He succeeds Professor Renato M. Silva, DDS, MS, PhD, who served as department chair from 2016 through 2021 (and interim chair in 2015).

“I appreciate the confidence Dean Valenza has placed in me for this new role,” said Kirkpatrick. “Dr. Silva leaves the department in excellent shape, and I hope to build upon this foundation now and in the future.”

Kirkpatrick, who directs the Advanced Education in Endodontics Program, joined the School of Dentistry faculty in 2018 and holds the Frank B. Trice, DDS, Professorship in Endodontics.

He earned a bachelor of science degree from Baylor University in 1985; a DDS from UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry in 1989; a certificate in Advanced Education in General Dentistry from the University of Florida at Gainesville in 1990; and a certificate in endodontics from Wilford Hall Medical Center in 2000.

Kirkpatrick retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2017 after 25 years, having served as program director of the Wilford Hall Medical Center Endodontics Residency (2006-13) and the Keesler Medical Center Endodontics Residency (2013-17). He was also the endodontics consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General from 2010-17.

After the Air Force, Kirkpatrick was a professor and chair for the Department of Endodontics (2017-18) at The University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry before coming to UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry.

Kirkpatrick became a diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics in 2004. He served six years as a director of the ABE, serving as president from 2020-21.

“I feel blessed to work here at UTHealth School of Dentistry with an incredibly gifted group of students, faculty, and staff who are focused on our department’s unifying mission of providing high-caliber endodontic education in the development of outstanding health care professionals.”