Sumita Sam, DDS

After finishing her residency in oral and maxillofacial pathology at the University of Florida College of Dentistry in 2022, Sumita Sam, D.D.S., returned to UFCD in February 2024 as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Oral Pathology. In her role, Sam is instructing dental students and pathology residents in both didactic and clinical settings, while participating in UFCD’s Biopsy Service, reading both external cases and internal cases within the College of Dentistry’s Faculty Practice.

Sam earned her undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in psychology in 2013 from the University of Detroit Mercy, and stayed in Detroit to earn her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Detroit Mercy in 2017. She spent two years practicing dentistry before her first stint in Gainesville where she completed UFCD’s certificate program in oral and maxillofacial pathology from 2019-2022.

Sam entered academia as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Oral Pathology, Radiology and Medicine at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Dentistry, where she spent two years instructing both dental students and hygiene students on various oral pathology topics. She played an intricate role in UMKC’s Oral Pathology Biopsy Service, and was instrumental in serving as a mentor during clinical consultations for dental patients in both the student and faculty practice clinics.

From a leadership perspective, she created and executed an oral pathology Objective Structured Clinical Examination, or OSCE, to advance diagnostic proficiency for fourth-year dental students, and served on the UMKC School of Dentistry’s Patient Care and Quality Assurance Committee.

Sam is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, a fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, and a member of both the American Dental Education Association and Florida Dental Association. She’s published in several peer-reviewed publications and has multiple others currently under review.

Her interests and areas of expertise include: diagnostic oral pathology, biopsy sign-out duties, lecture preparation and deliver, exams and assessment planning, clinical teaching and mentorship, clinical consultation, clinical treatment planning and research methodology and collaboration.

• Diplomate

  American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology