Gina Thornton-Evans, DDS, MPH, will lead several key activities focused on monitoring the oral health of the U.S. population and directing a training program for dental public health professionals. As a Dental Officer, she serves as the division’s lead on Healthy People 2030 activities, the Oral Health Topic Area CDC agency lead, and oversees all efforts related to highlighting the Leading Health Indicator for Oral Health. She has represented the Division of Oral Health on various CDC committees and workgroups related to health disparities, health equity, social determinants of health, periodontitis, diabetes, and maternal and child health.

In 2019, Dr. Thornton-Evans received the U.S. Public Health Service Herschel S. Horowitz Oral Health Research and Policy Award for leadership in advancing the surveillance of national measures, specifically those measures related to periodontal disease, monitoring the performance of national oral health objectives over several decades, and leading efforts to improve the oral health of the U.S. population. In 2021, she was appointed as a Santa Fe Group Senior Scholar. 

Dr. Thornton-Evans received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Sincerely, 

CDC Division of Oral Health