Merve Benli Joins UF College of Dentistry as Clinical Associate Professor
For an oral cancer survivor fighting to regain normalcy after recovery, the simple joy of sharing a meal with family can be eclipsed by severe facial and jaw defects. Meanwhile, temporomandibular disorder, or TMD, patients suffer from chronic, radiating muscle pain that often erodes sleep quality and disrupts the enjoyment of routine activities.
Restoring quality of life for patients with these kinds of daily burdens requires a clinician who sees and understands the intricate intersection of regenerative medicine, advanced digital technology and individualized treatment planning.
That is the expert vision Merve Benli, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., brings to the University of Florida College of Dentistry. Benli joined the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences as a clinical associate professor in December 2025, arriving in Gainesville with an academic passport stamped by some of the world’s leading institutions for oral care and innovation.
After earning her D.D.S. with honors from Hacettepe University in Turkey, she completed a master’s in dental materials at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and a doctorate in prosthodontics from Istanbul University.
Benli then spent her postdoctoral years cutting her niche, curating a specialized clinical skillset. She honed her surgical precision in implantology at the University of Strasbourg and the Global Institute for Dental Education in California. Next, she went on to explore the frontiers of tissue healing at INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research.
This focused period of education and training culminated with a prestigious Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh. There, she studied data from 1,000 patients, investigating the genetic markers that cause some dental restorations to fail regardless of the material used. Looking past the mechanical durability of a crown or implant, she focused on the biological indicators of patient vulnerability to dental failure.
Engineering Relief
Benli uses her global training to lighten the physical and emotional burden of the patients she treats.
With already more than 40 research publications to her name, Benli understands that a scientific breakthrough is only as good as its performance in the clinic. Success is measured by how well her evidence-based innovations help patients reclaim the basic functions they have lost.
Precision prosthetics
For patients missing portions of their palate or jaw, Benli engineers ultra-thin obturator prostheses. By using 3D-printing technology to refine these devices to a wall thickness of just 1 millimeter, she significantly reduces their weight. This precision restores a cancer survivor’s ability to chew and speak with a level of comfort that traditional, heavier prosthetics cannot match.
Non-invasive TMD relief
Her work with chronic pain follows a similar logic of high-tech, custom-fit care. To combat TMD-related aches, she is establishing the clinical use of “earplug therapy,” which utilizes individually manufactured inserts designed for the unique internal anatomy of each patient’s ear. This non-invasive approach offers a significant reduction in pain intensity without the need for more aggressive interventions.
Smarter splints for grinding teeth
Her research into occlusal splints (the custom mouthguards used for nighttime teeth grinding) focuses on the chemical and mechanical properties of high-performance polymers. By evaluating how materials produced through computer-aided design and manufacturing hold up against the pressure of sleep bruxism, Benli shows that lasting relief is often a matter of better material engineering rather than surgical correction.
Benli sees patients through the UFCD faculty practice, bringing these digital designs and novel pain therapies directly to the people who need them most.
Team-based Treatment and Training
Like many UFCD clinicians, Benli’s clinical experience has a strong foundation in the understanding that oral health is a primary indicator of systemic wellness.
As a 2024–2025 Maralynne D. Mitcham Interprofessional Fellowship recipient, she established a Geriatric Oral Health Program at the Medical University of South Carolina. This program focused on interprofessional teamwork to address the unique needs of elderly patients, treating dental care as an essential component of their general health.
She applies this same multidisciplinary focus to her research on autoimmune conditions, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE. Because SLE patients face higher risks for periodontal disease and jaw joint disorders, Benli advocates for coordinated care between dentists, rheumatologists and primary physicians. Her research emphasizes that the oral cavity often provides early clinical evidence of systemic issues, making dentists essential partners in the long-term management of autoimmune health.
At the College of Dentistry, Benli has begun translating this collaborative mindset into the classroom and clinic. She leads didactic, preclinical and clinical instruction in prosthodontics for DMD students, while also supporting graduate education in operative and general dentistry. By integrating her knowledge of digital technologies directly into clinical training, Benli provides students and residents with the technological foresight to manage complex dental care for aging patients and others with multifaceted medical needs.