Bumann named Missouri Dental Association Dentist of the Year

Aaron Bumann, DDS ’13, was named the Missouri Dental Association’s 2023 Dentist of the Year, the association announced in July.

Each year, the MDA honors “a member dentist who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Association, to the profession of dentistry, and/or to the community in the past year.”

A pediatric dentist in Kansas City, Missouri, Bumann has a passion for equitable access to health care. “Our real goal as a practice is to take care of our whole community,” he said. That means providing care to low-income families and children on Medicaid, which make up a large portion of his practice. “We’ve always felt very strongly that that’s a part of what we want to be doing.”

Bumann was selected for his work advocating for oral health care access for children, including on the Medicaid Subcommittee of the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health. He is also involved with the American Dental Association, the Missouri Coalition on Oral Health, the American Dental Education Association and the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, and he participates in the MDA’s Dental Day at the Missouri State Capitol each year.

As a dentist we help people on an interpersonal level, but I see value in making the lives of our patients better at a higher level through advocacy as well,” he said. “I want to be as impactful as I can, for as many people as I can.”

Bumann found the honor to be “a surprise.”

“I found it particularly gratifying that my peers in Missouri see advocating for our patients most in need as something worth honoring,” he said “I am proud to be a part of a group of dentists with that kind of heart.”

The association honored and recognized Bumann at their annual awards banquet during the House of Delegates in June. For Bumann, the experience was, “in a word, emotional.”

“I’m a very emotional person, and it was very personal for me to receive this award,” he reflected. “I am passionate about helping all of these kids that have nowhere else to go, and to share that passion with my friends and peers was a wonderful experience. I had the honor of having my parents, wife and children with me to celebrate, which made the event particularly special.”

What remains most impactful for Bumann, though, is his ability to care for children and their families in Kansas City and beyond.

“We have an amazing opportunity to partner with our patients and their families in their journey toward oral health for everyone in our communities,” he reflected. “I encourage every dentist to expand their patient horizons and evaluate if Medicaid can find a place in their offices. It is such a huge joy to make a positive impact in a systemic way, to see the lives of children and families changed. It is worth it!”