Please email your stories to dentalalumni@case.edu. Past issues of all publications and general news stories are available in the news archive.
3/2020 - Jed Best '79
Dr. Best's New York practice was featured in an article for Dental Economics for its nearly 30 years of successful operation, putting patients first and investing in technologically advanced equipment. Read the article here.
2/2020 - Kari Cunningham '10 '12
Dr. Cunningham is a Board Certified pediatric dentist and the owner of Panther Pediatric Dentistry, so named for the mascots of Euclid High School and the University of Pittsburgh, both of which she attended. She is the only pediatric dentist in her hometown of Euclid, Ohio, and recently started a mobile dental health program in nearby Willoughby-Eastlake. She has been an adjunct faculty member at CWRU and RB&C since 2012, and is now the Dental Director of the Rainbow Center for Women and Children in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood.
Dr. Kari Cunningham was the African American Alumni Association’s Rising Star Award winner in 2016. She credits God with her journey. It is her passion to serve as a role model for her patients and their families, inspiring them to dream big. When she is not taking care of children’s smiles, you can find her spending time with family, traveling, planning events or enjoying live jazz around town.
Her advice? Be humble; be patient; be kind; be grateful; be ready! (Panther Pediatrics website)
12/2019 - Sam Muslin‘77
In his 40-plus-year dental career, Dr. Sam Muslin has enjoyed well-earned success, but claims that his biggest accomplishment to date is achieving a satisfying work-life balance. With complete dedication to his patients, he knew from the start that his practice must allow for family time in equal measure—that being a youth soccer coach was just as important as being an innovative professional. Born in Pennsylvania and raised in California, Dr. Muslin returned to Santa Monica after graduating from the dental school in 1977 and leased space in his own dentist’s office to start his practice. Although he was told that it would be a great challenge to succeed in this coastal city, he was undaunted and has thrived there ever since. Even the devastating January 17, 1994 earthquake (6.7 magnitude) that destroyed his office did not deter him. With the help of his wife Cathy, a real estate broker and certified designer, they were able to rebuild in a year and a half.
Dr. Muslin is unequivocal in the credit he gives to the School of Dental Medicine for the academic, technical, and problem-solving training he received that he deems “nothing short of phenomenal.” After completing the dental school’s requirements in three years, he approached the then-dean, Dr. Thomas Demarco, to ask about early graduation. Instead, Dr. Demarco assigned him to a series of complex cases from full mouth reconstructions to periodontal surgeries—working, in turn, with each of the department chairs. Dr. Muslin’s gratitude for the dean’s interest in him remains a motivating factor for his success. At the center of Dr. Muslin’s philosophy is that dentistry is first about health and is more than a beautiful smile—it is about the entire face. In other words, he strives to deliver functionality and health benefits, with surprising cosmetic results. To this end, he developed a unique form of non-invasive bite correction dentistry that focuses on jaw position—it is described on his practice website: https://www.FaceLiftDentistry.com. “Many years ago, I gave away my general dentistry practice in order to focus on the non-invasive bite correction method,” notes Dr. Muslin.
2/2019 - Tim Benich ’73 and Ace Goerig '71
The series featured presentations from Timothy (Tim) Benich, DDS ’73 from Atlanta, Georgia and Albert (Ace) Goerig, DDS ‘71, M.S. from Olympia, Washington. Both Drs. Benich and Goerig have been long-time advocates for the School of Dental Medicine as volunteers, donors, and reunion participants. “Alumni Spotlight resulted from current students expressing their interest in learning about additional successful practice management techniques from alumni in the ‘real world,’” says Paul Wolansky, Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations. “Dr. Benich and Dr. Goerig are both successful in their communities and are both passionate supporters of the school. They are great role models in every way for our students.”