Nancy Ceja

Staff Writer

Brian Crawford, Program Chair of ISU’s Department of Dental Sciences became a part of the State Board of Dentistry in early February and will continue to be a part of the program for the next five years.

Crawford has been a major part of the Bengal family for well over 10 years. He was selected as the program director in the Idaho Advanced General Dentistry Program in 2016. Crawford also holds a doctorate in Dental Surgery, which he received from the University of Illinois in Chicago.

As a part of the Idaho State Dental Association (ISDA) and Southeast Idaho Dental Association, he was nominated to be the prime choice for the Board of Dentistry by both organizations. The dentistry board is only made up of eight distinct dentists from various dentistry fields across the whole state.

The dentistry board is only made up of five varying dentists, two dental hygienists, and one public member, and are usually elected positions. The State Board of Dentistry is usually in charge of licensing the state’s dental industry, responding to the public on complaints and comments, observing and helping on skill-testing in beginning dentists and providing recommendations to the legislative branch for the state of Idaho.

Crawford commented to the Idaho State Journal about how exciting it will be to serve the people of Idaho in his newly appointed role. He states he wants to improve ISU’s dentistry seniors in training, hopefully, care for patients both on and off campus, and to improve the education of dentist students.

As usual, the ISU dental care facility is open to all students, faculty and the residents of Pocatello. Since their payments are on a sliding fee, it’s easier for citizens to be able to get the dental care and hygiene checkups everybody needs for a healthy and beautiful smile.