Steven Patterson

Biography

Dr. Patterson is a graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Alberta (DDS 1986). He later completed a graduate degree in public health, receiving his M.P.H. from the University of Washington (1996). Dr. Patterson has also completed a certificate program in Addictions Studies through the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta (2001). He is currently Associate Chair (Academic) and Professor in the School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta. His responsibilities in the dental school include overseeing all academic and curricular affairs for the dental program and teaching dental, medical, and dental hygiene students in a variety of areas including: public health, patient-centred care, addictions & tobacco cessation, prevention of dental disease and ethics & professionalism. As a teacher he has been the recipient of several national teaching awards, the W.W. Wood for Excellence in Dental Education (2005) and the Bisco National Dental Teaching Award (2013) as well as the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry's E.N. Skakun Award for Service to Education. He is also currently the Research Director of the Tobacco Cessation Program and a past recipient of the Barb Tarbox Award of Excellence (2012) for his work in the tobacco reduction field. In his practice setting, Dr. Patterson is the Director of the Dental Public Health Centre at the University of Alberta and serves as an Associate Dental Public Health Officer for Alberta Health Services and as consultant supervising dentist for First Nations Inuit Health, Health Canada, Alberta Region. On a national front he has served six years on the executive of the Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry including two years as the President of this dental specialty association (2007-2009). Dr. Patterson has special research interests in the area of interprofessional education, addictions and tobacco cessation, prevention of dental caries, access to oral health care and delivery of health care services and has presented numerous continuing education courses and workshops nationally and internationally. He and his wife Shirley have six children and nine grandchildren and reside in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

Research Interest

Research Tobacco Cessation Interprofessional education Caries prevention in First Nations Populations Education of dental professionals.