Gretchen Gibson, DDS, MPH

Assistant Group Practice Leader & Associate Professor

Gretchen Gibson, DDS, MPH received her dental degree from Louisiana State University College of Dentistry.  She completed a General Practice Residency and Geriatric Dental Fellowship through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). She earned a Master of Public Health degree through UNT Health Science Center in Ft Worth, Texas, and completed a Dental Public Health Residency at Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas. Her early research focused on salivary hypofunction while a provider in the salivary dysfunction clinic at Baylor College of Dentistry. 

Dr. Gibson provided dental care to veterans for over 30 years at various veteran affairs (VA) hospitals. She focused on older and medically compromised patients, and established a nursing home based dental clinic within Dallas.    

Throughout her career, Gibson worked in the VA on a national level. She served as director of the National Homeless Veterans Dental Program, advocating for dental care as part of homeless rehabilitation programs. She published research related to the effects that dental care had on homeless rehabilitation outcomes.  

Gibson served until 2023 as the director of the Oral Health Quality Group, a national research group committed to evaluating VA dental and medical data to inform evidence-based protocols and guidelines for veteran dental care. This group published multiple evidence-based recommendations and guideline papers for VA Dentistry, utilizing extensive literature analysis.

Her research endeavors include extensive work on the use of fluoride in high caries risk adults, as well as the impact of a fluoride-based quality measure on caries outcomes. Her work includes clinical data analysis to establish efficient clinic models for VA Dentistry. Most recently Gibson has worked with dental and non-dental researchers to evaluate the antibiotic and opioid prescribing patterns of VA dentists and the effectiveness of stewardship interventions within VA Dentistry.

Dr. Gibson has also had a career-long passion for education. She taught geriatric dentistry in multiple institutions and continuing education courses.  She developed a hospital-based Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency at the VA in Fayetteville, AR and has worked with residents and geriatric dental fellows throughout her career.  

NCBI link to publications:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/gretchen.gibson.1/bibliography/public/