Students, clinicians make their mark at American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association Meeting
The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry’s Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic was well represented at this year’s American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association Annual Meeting in Boston, with members of the clinic contributing through national leadership, presentations and scholarly work.
Eric Riklin, PhD, LP, pediatric clinical psychologist, served as Chair of the Mental Health/Psychosocial Special Interest Group and led an instructional course titled “Followers, Feeds, and Favorites: Navigating the Impact of Social Media on Youth with Facial Differences and Their Families in Craniofacial Team Care.” This session examined how social media influences identity development, self-esteem and peer relationships among youth with craniofacial conditions, while also equipping providers with strategies to help families navigate both the opportunities and risks of digital engagement. Riklin also chaired a panel highlighting the role of professionals with lived experience within multidisciplinary craniofacial teams, underscoring the importance of integrating patient and family perspectives into comprehensive care. In addition, he presented “Utilizing Community Outreach to Develop Psychology Services: A Collaborative Approach to Tailored Mental Health Care in an Interdisciplinary Craniofacial Team.”
Nurse Coordinator Karla Olesen, BSN, RN, PHN, LDA, chaired a panel of nursing professionals serving unique populations and presented on care for Native American communities in Minnesota. Her presentation addressed persistent barriers to healthcare access, culturally responsive care, the historical context of inequities experienced by Native populations and the ways in which recent community stressors, including the effects of federal enforcement operations and local violence, have compounded challenges to trust and access in healthcare. Panel discussion highlighted the intersection of these stressors with health and mental health outcomes and emphasized the resiliency of Minnesota communities in responding to adversity, underscoring a “Minnesota strong” commitment to supporting individuals and families through trauma-informed, culturally respectful engagement.
Speech-language Pathologist Anna Thurmes-Barigayomwe, PhD, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical assistant professor of pediatric dentistry and former commissioner on the ACPA Commission on the Approval of Teams from 2019-2023, returned to the ACPA this year to chair the Speech-Language Pathology Special Interest Group, providing leadership on advancing team-based approaches to communication and feeding outcomes for patients with craniofacial conditions.
Renie Daniel, DMD, MD, FACS, director of the Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic, chaired a panel on global health, focusing on the ethical, cultural and socioeconomic factors that shape cleft and craniofacial care delivery worldwide. As an active surgical educator and volunteer with Operation Smile, Daniel brought firsthand experience in providing care in resource-limited settings. Her leadership in this space highlighted the importance of sustainable surgical education, capacity building and culturally informed care, as well as the responsibility of craniofacial teams to address global disparities through ethical collaboration and long-term partnerships.
Learners from the School of Dentistry were also well represented through research presentations. François Proulx, DMD, GPR, Chief Resident in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, presented a poster with Daniel titled “Optimal Timing for Orthodontic Tooth Movement into Grafted Alveolar Sites in Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate: A Systematic Review.” Carson Ulrich, DDS ’29, collaborated with Speech-Language Pathologist Angie Morillas, MD, CCC-SLP, on a poster titled “What Do We Mean by Breastfeeding? A Literature Review on Feeding Terminology in Cleft Lip and Palate.”
Together, these contributions highlight the Cleft & Craniofacial Clinic’s leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration and commitment to advancing clinical care, research, education and global engagement in the field of craniofacial health.