Abbey Kristin Onan, D.D.S.
Valuable Mentorship and the ADEA/MDFD Allow Dr. Abbey Onan to Follow a Path Into Academic Dentistry
Over the past several
years, the ADEA/W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has funded several iterations of
the Minority Dental Faculty Development (ADEA MDFD) program. The program has
funded 14 dental schools in their efforts to achieve equity, diversity and
multicultural value in dental education. WKKF funding allowed these
institutions to recruit and develop underrepresented minority students and
faculty entering academic careers. The cascading effects of the mentoring
received by the trainees is documented in their real-life experiences,
professional careers and lifelong commitment in service as mentors to future
students and colleagues and in their inspiring personal interviews. Their
stories are documented in Profiles of Success.
Abbey Kristin Onan,
D.D.S., a Native American of Cherokee origin, was born in Tulsa, OK, but calls
Edmond, OK, her home because her family moved there during her early years. She
reflects that her hardworking and loving parents instilled in her the
encouraging words that “you can be anything you want to be.” She never felt
gender limitations as she completed her undergraduate education at the
University of Oklahoma in 1999 and graduated from University of Oklahoma
College of Dentistry (OU COD) in 2004. Dr. Onan spent nearly three years in
private practice as an associate—one year in Oklahoma City and two in
Chicago—before returning to Oklahoma to establish her solo private practice.
Upon returning from Chicago, Dr. Onan started teaching part-time while plans
were being drawn for her new office. Two weeks before breaking ground, her
mentors encouraged and facilitated academia as a career path.
Dr. Onan values the
mentoring she received from James Kessler, D.D.S., Chair, Department of
Restorative Dentistry, and Stephen Young, D.D.S., M.S., former Dean of OU COD,
who encouraged her to consider a teaching career, as well as her immediate
supervisor, Luis Blanco, D.M.D., M.S., Chair, Fixed Prosthodontics. They made
it possible for her to decide to leave private practice and join the dental
faculty full time. She values that the ADEA/MDFD program contributed to the
competitive compensation package that allowed her to join the faculty as a
full-time instructor and the help she received from the loan repayment program
sponsored by the state of Oklahoma.
Her reflections include
both Kevin Avery, D.M.D., and Dr. Kessler as important mentors in her focus on
Native American culture. An invaluable experience at the Native American Center
of Excellence in Ketchikan, AK, was made possible for her by Dr. Avery. She
notes, “I would not have known about the resources available without Dr. Avery.
In fact, I would not have known about the WKKF program that initially helped
fund my education.”
Dr. Onan has developed
a strong sense of humanistic clinical practice and collaborative care across
disciplines. She is now a group practice director in the Comprehensive Care
program. Her schedule allows time for faculty practice, which she considers as
both an income supplement and a clinical proficiency determinant. She values
the diverse group of students with whom she interacts daily. The team of clinical
students under her supervision range from D2 to D4. Dr. Onan says she mentors
them daily. Dr. Onan invites the students to potluck dinners at her home, where
she helps create a sense of community through shared foods, cultures, interests
and discussions.
In addition to clinical
teaching, she directs a Treatment Planning Seminar once a year using a case
presentation format and guest faculty. She is also responsible for special
needs patients in the Comprehensive Care Clinic and has served as a faculty advisor
to the Good Shepherd Mission, a dental clinic operated by students.
Her faculty
responsibilities include service on major committees, including the University
of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Discrimination and Harassment Committee, the
Faculty Senate of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the OU
Dentistry Faculty Practice Advisory Board and the Comprehensive Care Strategic
Planning Committee. She values these old and new service opportunities,
recalling that she was the youngest representative from the College of
Dentistry to the school’s Faculty Senate.
Dr. Onan, now a
Clinical Associate Professor, shares her personal story with students and
potential faculty recruits. She tells them that she did not set out to be a
dental faculty member. Sharing this story helps her recruit gifted individuals
to academic dental careers, and she has been recognized by students as an
“outstanding” instructor.
Dr. Onan believes that
“dentistry is an amazing profession because it allows both art and technical
skills to treat the human body.”