Kristie CerutiIn one year, Dr. Richard Kim, DMD, MHCM, FICD, MS, earned recognition for contributions in two areas of oral healthcare: an induction as a Fellow for the Pierre Fauchard Academy and an honor as one of the Top 100 World Doctors.
His contributions on oral healthcare protocols for military soldiers and their families within an international government setting led to the Pierre Fauchard Academy induction.
The Academy is a volunteer-run, non-profit dental organization founded by Elmer S. Best, a dentist from Minnesota in 1936, with an objective of independence from commercial interests in dental research and its publications. Elmer Best endeavored to raise the professional standards.
Memorable mentorship
In 2019, TheDailyFloss.com spoke with Dr. Kim when he visited Harvard University in Massachusetts for a forum that reunited alumni from around the globe.
“I learned how to grow stronger not only as a dental professional, but as a better human individual,” said Dr. Kim, regarding his time at Harvard.
Dr. Kim was chosen as the only dental professional in the United States to be selected for the prestigious Masters in Health Care Management Program at Harvard University TH Chan School of Public Health.
“The alumni and faculty are world-renowned innovators in health care and they will travel from all over the world to discuss and mentor physicians like me to guide health care policies and make access to healthcare a human right.”
From his experience there, he earned the 2017 Patient Safety Professional of the Year Award at the Northeast Atlantic Region Patient Safety Summit.
Dr. Kim’s career consists of more than 15 years of clinical and educational experience in an academic setting and successfully operating private/governmental hospital sectors, providing a full spectrum of oral health care from young children to the developmentally disabled elder population.
He graduated from University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine with an honor distinction in Oral Medicine, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Restorative Dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and Instructor/Mentor in Dental Restorative Procedures for Military/Civilian Dental Residents working for Military Health Government Systems.
A commitment to dental service in the U.S. and abroad
In 2018, Dr. Kim was selected as one of the Incisal Edge 40 Under 40, shown above, which recognizes America’s finest young practitioners renowned for their medical/dental innovations, philanthropy, and commitment to outstanding patient care.
He is also a Fellow for the International College of Dentists, which acknowledged him for his international dental service to non-profit community hospitals in Mexico and Korea and served on editorial boards for patient safety and infection control protocols for the Military Health Systems in the United States.
With his extensive expertise in health care management, Dr. Kim was recognized from the U.S. Commander of Dental Corps with a Commanders Coin of Excellence for guiding government hospitals with financial analysis, negotiation, organizational behavior, operations management, information systems, and quality-of-care management and providing dental care to U.S. Army soldiers and their families before deployment to their next duty stations at other countries around the world.
