Dr. Kimberly Ruona

Biography

Kimberly S. Ruona, DDS, earned her dental degree from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1992 and returned in 1995 to begin her teaching career at her alma mater. In 1997, she was selected as a junior faculty member to participate in the Summer Institute in Clinical Dental Research Methods at the University of Washington and subsequently completed two years of postgraduate training in advanced restorative dentistry. Prior to relocating to Houston in 2010, she practiced general dentistry in Port Orchard, Washington, for 11 years, during which time she served on the Protocol Review Committee of Northwest PRECEDENT—regional practice-based research networks established in 2005 by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. In 2020, Dr. Ruona completed five years of service as associate dean for patient care. Under her leadership, the UTSD established a collaboration with UT Physicians Community Clinic to serve patients and support the vision of improving oral health and overall health. Her community outreach efforts following Hurricane Harvey were recognized with the American Dental Association Foundation’s Tarrson Award in 2018. Currently, she chairs the Judicial Committee of the Greater Houston Dental Society, which is the largest component of ADA chapters and serves as a member of the journal’s Editorial Advisory Board. Her teaching interests include evidence-based dentistry, comprehensive care, treatment planning, and adult restorative dentistry, and she developed the practice management elective titled 'Dental Insurance Management for Private Practice' offered since 2012. Dr. Ruona’s current research interests are in quality improvement, patient safety, dental coding, and electronic health record enhancements.

Research Interests

Experience