Dr. Flavia Pirih Appointed Chair of Regenerative and Reconstructive Sciences

Flavia Pirih, D.D.S., Ph.D. '06, has been appointed as chair of the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Division of Regenerative and Reconstructive Sciences, effective immediately.

Regenerative and Reconstructive Sciences encompasses the Sections of Endodontics, Periodontics, Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, and Special Patient Care and Maxillofacial Prosthetics.

Dr. Pirih will concurrently serve as professor and Tarrson Family Endowed Chair in Periodontics, a position she has held since 2021. A full-time faculty member at the School since 2010, she was director of the pre-doctoral program in the Section of Periodontics for 10 years.

“I would like to thank Dean Paul Krebsbach for trusting me with this new role as the chair of the Division of Regenerative and Reconstructive Sciences,” Dr. Pirih said. “I am excited about these new challenges and responsibilities. My goal is to ensure our division continues to flourish so that we can further elevate patient care and the education of UCLA Dentistry students.”

After receiving her dental degree from Brazil’s Universidade Federal do Parana in Brazil in 1999, Dr. Pirih earned a Ph.D. in Oral Biology from UCLA in 2006. Upon graduation, she completed both a periodontics residency and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan in 2009.

Among many professional affiliations, Dr. Pirih is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, and a past president of the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation.

Dr. Pirih’s research focuses on understanding the basic and clinical aspects of periodontitis and peri-implantitis, with the goal of developing new strategies to prevent and treat both conditions. She conducts translational research that examines the role of genetics in the susceptibility of patients to periodontitis.