BTG Alumni Speaker Series: The Mouth is the Mirror to the Body

In this lecture, attendees will dive into the importance of oral-systemic health, address the current barriers to accessing oral healthcare, and explore innovative models to improving oral health for all.

Roopali Kulkarni, DMD, MPH

Dr. Roopali Kulkarni is a board-certified oral medicine specialist. She is an Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and serves as the Assistant Director of the postgraduate oral medicine residency program. She graduated from Northwestern University (Go ‘Cats!) in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Psychology and a minor in Classics. She then pursued both her Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.) and Master of Public Health degrees 

(M.P.H.) and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019. She completed her postgraduate residency training in Oral Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, serving as Chief Resident her second year. She currently teaches predoctoral and postdoctoral students clinically and didactically. She was the 2022 recipient of the Penn Dental Medicine Earle Bank Hoyt award for dedication and excellence in teaching. Her scholarly activity focuses on research within oral medicine and public health. She is an active researcher in the World Workshop on Oral Medicine and is a Senior Fellow at the Penn Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. In addition to her faculty responsibilities, she treats patients within the University of Pennsylvania Health System and is the Section Chief of Oral Medicine at the ChristianaCare Hospital System. Dr. Kulkarni has maintained active involvement in association work. She serves as a Co-Chair for the Bridging the Gaps Alumni Network and on the Penn Dental Medicine Alumni Society board. She also serves as a national media spokesperson for the American Dental Association, on the Philadelphia County Dental Society board, and on multiple councils and committees in the Pennsylvania Dental Association, American Dental Education Association, and the American Academy of Oral Medicine. She travels across the country providing continuing education lectures on topics in oral medicine, public health, and leadership development. Her passions lie in community service, wellness, advocacy, dance, and music!