October 3, 2020

John Dane, DDS of Lee’s Summit, Mo., has been named the 2020 Missouri Dental Association (MDA) Dentist of the Year.

The Dentist of the Year Award recognizes 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. Dr. Dane was chosen for his outstanding service and leadership as the State of Missouri Dental Director and especially to the dental profession and to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During COVID, Dr. Dane led a group of dentists and other oral health stakeholders to develop the Missouri Dental Practice Recovery Task Force Guidelines, which assisted in the safe re-opening of dental practices in the state. He also worked to address various MO HealthNet (Medicaid) policies and waivers necessary during the pandemic, among other efforts to help the profession in its recovery and to help patients receive dental care. As State Dental Director, and within the Office of Oral Health, Dr. Dane has helped the State of Missouri receive federal grant funding that has enabled programs for teledentistry, community water fluoridation, dental sealant programs for vulnerable populations and other efforts to improve oral health in Missouri.

Prior to becoming State Dental Director in 2016, Dr. Dane was a faculty member of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry for 25 years, and for 13 years was Dental Director of Truman Medical Center, Lakewood, where he worked extensively serving special needs populations and indigent patients.

Dr. Dane is a life member of the American Dental Association and Missouri Dental Association. He is a member of the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, the Academy of General Dentistry and the Special Care Dentistry Association, where he earned a Fellowship in Hospital Dentistry and a Diplomat of the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. In 2018, he became a Fellow of the American College of Dentists. Dr. Dane serves on various boards to address the community needs for dental care, including the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health, the MO HealthNet Dental Advisory Committee and the MDA Dental Well Being Foundation.

Dr. Dane received his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the UMKC School of Dentistry in 1975. He and his wife, Rhesa, reside in Lee’s Summit and have three adult children and seven grandchildren.

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