Dental school professor and oral health expert inducted into prestigious national fraternity

The 2023 West Virginia University School of Dentistry inductee of the Alpha Beta Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) is an accomplished oral health provider experienced in various dental specialties. 

Dr. Bryan Whitaker, chair of the diagnostic sciences department, received his bachelor of arts in zoology degree from the University of Arkansas and his doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry. He has completed residencies in oral and maxillofacial pathology at the Emory University School of Medicine and endodontics at the Medical College of Georgia, along with a fellowship in forensic odontology at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine.

Whitaker is immersed in WVU’s dental school as an associate professor teaching courses in general and oral and maxillofacial pathology, endodontics, principles of urgent care and forensic odontology. He is a provider who leads the urgent care clinic at WVU Dental, the dental school’s direct patient care component. Providers under Whitaker’s direction include experts in oral medicine, oral and maxillofacial pathology and oral and maxillofacial radiology.

“I knew the more knowledge I could gain, the better I could serve. So, I worked diligently to further my education and experience in academia and patient care. I am most thankful for the opportunity to work with, train and mentor dental students. Like the people who have advised and aided me on my professional journey, I hope to positively impact the lives of the students I’m fortunate to teach,” Whitaker said following his OKU induction.

OKU was organized in 1914 as a national dental honor society "to encourage and develop a spirit of emulation among students in dentistry and to recognize, in an appropriate manner, those who shall distinguish themselves by a high grade of scholarship".

Whitaker rises to the top as a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and a Specialist Member of the American Association of Endodontists. He is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists, the Pierre Fauchard Academy, the Academy of Dentistry International and the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Whitaker is also an active member with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Dental Association, the West Virginia Dental Association.

As a collaborator, Whitaker has served on the Advisory Circle for the ADA, the ADA’s Council on Scientific Affairs, the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst Insights Council, and the Executive Council of the Arkansas State Dental Association. He has held the offices of Vice Chair of the WV Oral Health Coalition’s Board of Directors, President of the Arkansas State Dental Association’s Northwest District Dental Society, Arkansas State Dental Officer and President of the Academy of Interdisciplinary Dentofacial Therapy.

Having directed more than 50 dental courses, in addition to his published work and research, Whitaker has been a participant in service events nationally and internationally.

As a provider with WVU Dental, he continues to be a part of and lead efforts in oral health awareness, specifically awareness of oral cancer. As a professor, Whitaker, along with his wife Carol, are academically driven. In 2022 they made a gift to WVU Foundation to establish a student scholarship.