Frank A. Catalanotto DMD

Dr. Frank Catalanotto is currently a Professor in the Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science at the UF College of Dentistry. He graduated from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1968 and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in pediatric dentistry at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston. He has been on the faculty of five dental schools including UFCD where he served as Dean from 1995-2002. While Dean, he initiated the UF Statewide Network for Community Health to provide increased community based educational opportunities for dental students and residents, while also significantly increasing access to oral health care for underserved patients. He also served as Chair of the Department of Community Dentistry at UFCD from 2009-2015.

Dr. Catalanotto has been active in dental education, research and advocacy organizations for much of his career. He has been a member of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) National Affairs Committee, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Legislative Advisory Committee including several terms as chair, and founding chair of the Legislative Advocacy Committee of Oral Health America (OHA), where he currently serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2017, thru December 31, 2019. He served on the ADEA Administrative Board of the Council of Deans, the ADEA Board of Directors as vice-president for Deans, and as President of ADEA from 2002-03. He was vice-chair of the Board of Directors of Sarrell Dental Centers, a major dental non-profit in Alabama. He has recently been elected as Chair of the Board of Directors of the ACORN Clinic and as a member of the Alachua County Health Care Advisory Board. He is a member of the Alachua County Health Care Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Alachua County Safety Net Coalition. Many of these organizations have a focus on improving access to care for all. Dr. Catalanotto is a member of the North Florida Regional Council of Florida Healthcare Workforce Group and a member of the Medical Care Advisory Committee Dental Care for Children Subcommittee for the state of Florida.

Dr. Catalanotto is the co-author of more than 100 scientific publications and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for numerous federal, state, and foundation grants totaling almost $11,000,000 in external funding since returning to a faculty position at UFCD after stepping down as Dean in 2002. His academic and professional interests include community-based dental education, ethics/social responsibility, oral health disparities and racial equity, advocacy for health care reform, and access to dental care. In addition to the above topics, Dr. Catalanotto’s current advocacy efforts are focused on the new emerging oral workforce models. He is a frequent lecturer and consultant on issues related to access to care with a focus on emerging oral health workforce models. Dr. Catalanotto is happy to report that there is life after being a dental school dean.