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Dr. Kirt Simmons

Director, Craniofacial Orthodontics
Arkansas Children's Hospital, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences
1 Children's Way, slot 707
 

Brief Biography:


Kirt Edward Simmons earned D.D.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and then completed a residency in orthodontics and an NIH fellowship in craniofacial anomalies at the University of North Carolina.  He then taught full time at Indiana University and the University of North Carolina for 10 years before becoming the first Director of Orthodontics at Arkansas Children's Hospital, where Dr. Simmons provides all orthodontic treatment services for the Craniofacial Deformities and Cleft Lip and Palate Teams, as well as treating special needs patients. His research pursuits have included craniofacial anomalies, bone physiology, dental implants, orthodontic pain, TMD, and the effects of endocrine disorders on facial and dental growth.

 

Dr. Simmons has been President of the Arkansas Association of Orthodontists, presently serves the Southwest Society of Orthodontists as Vice-President, is a member of the Committee on Information Technology of the AAO and also serves as our representative on the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics. Dr. Simmons is the dental/orthodontic consultant for The MAGIC Foundation, Wide Smiles, the Turner’s Syndrome Society, and the Noonan’s Syndrome Society.

Dr. Simmons’ career-long primary interest has been treatment of patients with cleft lip/palate and craniofacial anomalies. He is currently a Section Editor of the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. Dr. Simmons has contributed multiple chapters on orthodontic treatment of cleft patients to both plastic surgery and orthodontic textbooks.

 

Academic positions:


Kirt Edward Simmons earned D.D.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and then completed a residency in orthodontics and an NIH fellowship in craniofacial anomalies at the University of North Carolina in 1989.  He then taught full time at Indiana University and the University of North Carolina for 10 years before becoming the first Director of Orthodontics at Arkansas Children's Hospital, where Dr. Simmons is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Arkansas Medical School.

 

Research interests:


His research pursuits have included development of the spinal cord, craniofacial anomalies, bone physiology, dental implants, orthodontic pain, temporomandibular dysfunction, and the effects of endocrine disorders on facial and dental growth.

 

 

Any other information:


 

Member, American Association of Orthodontists Foundation Planning and Awards Review Committee (AAOF PARC), 2005-present.

Section Editor, Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 2006-present.

 Book chapter, “Orthodontic Role in Clefts”, Maxillofacial Surgery 2nd Edition, 2007.

 American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association Journal strategic planning meeting, 2007.

 “The Cleft Lip and/or Palate Patient” and “Orthodontics and Periodontal Prophylaxis” presentations to senior hygiene students, College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, April 2007.

 Chair, Orthodontics Concurrent Session American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association Annual Meeting, 2008.

 Book chapter, “Orthodontics and Craniofacial Deformities”, Orthodontic Secrets, 2008.

 Appointment by the American Association of Orthodontists as representative to CDC symposium “Craniosynostosis: Developing Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment and Management”, 2009.

 Chair, Orthodontics Concurrent Session American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association Annual Meeting, 2010.

 

 

 

Medical Advisory Board of the MAGIC Foundation, national support organization for growth problems, 1991-present.

 Orthodontic consultant to Wide Smiles, a quarterly publication for parents of children with cleft deformities, 1992-present.

 Orthodontic consultant to Turner Syndrome Society, 1996-present.

 Dental consultant to Noonan Syndrome Support Group, 1997-present.

 Performed dental screenings at Cri-du-Chat Conference in Minnesota, 2007.

 Appointment to Program Committee of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 2009.

 Elected to Executive Council of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 2009-2010.

 Appointment to Education Committee of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, 2010.

 Presentation “Orthodontic Care of the Cleft Lip and Palate Patient”, Dr. Mark Ray, Knoxville, Tennessee, February 20, 2010

 

 

What I think of the idea behind WebmedCentral:


Great idea!  As a section editor of a print publication I am well aware of the slow time it takes to get articles published and the cumbersome process.