North Texas Dentistry Volume 8 Issue 2 2018 ISSUE 2 DE | Page 14

Dr. David R. Kang was born in Chicago, but
raised in Portland, Oregon. He attended Lincoln
High School and continued his education at the
University of Oregon. There he majored in Biol-
ogy with a minor in Chemistry. Following under-
graduate studies, he moved to Boston, where
he completed a Masters degree in Anatomy and
Physiology. Remaining in the northeast, he
began dental school at Columbia University
where he immediately found interest in Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgery. While in dental school,
Dr. Kang was exposed to Head & Neck Onco-
logic Surgery and immediately realized he had
found his calling. On completing dental school, he moved to Dallas, Texas to begin
medical school and residency training.
Right tonsil HPV 16 positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma
Dr. Kang furthered his studies by completing his General Surgery internship at UT
Southwestern, and then his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training at Parkland Hos-
pital in Dallas, known globally as one of the most prestigious training programs in
the field. Upon finishing his residency training, Dr. Kang pursued additional sub-
specialty Fellowship training in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and Microvas-
cular Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After
receiving his certificate in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and certificate in Super
Microsurgery, he returned to Dallas and became an Assistant Professor in the De-
partment of Surgery Texas A&M College of Medicine, and Assistant Professor in
the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Texas A&M College of Dentistry.
In 2015, Dr. Kang was awarded the prestigious Faculty Educator Development
Award (FEDA) by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
(AAOMS), and in 2017, Dr. Kang became one of the first in the United States to
achieve a Certificate in Added Qualification (CAQ) in Head & Neck Oncologic Sur-
gery and Microvascular Surgery by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgeons (ABOMS). This makes him one of the few in the country, and the only
surgeon in Dallas, board certified as an OMS-Head & Neck Surgeon.
After leaving Texas A&M in 2016, he became Medical Director of Head & Neck Sur-
gery and began to focus his practice on the treatment of the entire head and neck
with a focus on oral cancer. In 2017-2018, Dr. Kang began a Fellowship program,
training future oral and maxillofacial surgeons in oncologic surgery. He continues
to teach dental and medical students, general surgery residents and OMS residents.
He continues to lecture nationally and internationally, and is a peer reviewer for the
Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (JOMS) in the categories of oncology,
reconstructive surgery, and trauma.
REFERENCES
Ang KK, Sturgis EM. Human Papillomavirus as a Marker of the Natural
History and Response to Therapy of Head and Neck Squamous Cell
Carcinoma Semin Radiat Oncol 22:128 (2012)
De Abreu et al. BMC Cancer 18:324 (2018)
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/basic_info/hpv_oropharyngeal.htm
March 14, 2018.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-
agents/hpv-fact-sheet
Human Papilloma virus-Associated Cancers – United Stages 2004-
2008. CDC: morbidity and mortality weekly report 4:20 (2012)
Machado, et al. Head & Neck Oncology 2:6 (2010)
TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) approach for tonsil and base of tongue
oropharyngeal cancers
14 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
Urban D, Corry J. What is the Best Treatment for Patients with Human
Papillomavirus-Positive and -Negative Oropharyngeal Cancer? Cancer
120:1462 (2014)
Yete S, D’Souza W. High Risk Human Papillomavirus in Oral Cancer:
Clinical Implications Oncology 94(3), 133. (2018)