About Us

Buddhi M. Shrestha, DDS, MS, PhD

Dr Buddhi Shrestha - Director of New York State Oral Health Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and Vice-President for Oral Health at Rochester Primary Care Network (RPCN) - is former Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Community Dentistry at the University of Rochester Eastman Dental Center. He is also the founder and chair of the Rochester Regional Oral Health Coalition (RROHC), a collaboration of Rochester region hospitals, community health centers and other community organizations in Upstate New York. The primary goal of this initiative is to facilitate enhanced access and utilization of dental services for urban and rural underserved populations in Upstate New York.

Dr. Shrestha is well known for his expertise in developing innovative school-based dental programs. Rochester's school-based dental program, under the leadership of Dr. Shrestha, was recognized at the Surgeon General's Conference on Children and Dental Health (2000) as a "success story" on community collaboration and dental health in the United States.

As a Governor’s appointee, Dr. Shrestha is a Member of the State Medical Advisory Committee as well as a Member of the Rural Health Council at the New York State Department of Health in Albany, NY. Previously, Dr. Shrestha served as a member of the Education Board and Oral Health Section Council of the American Public Health Association, Monroe County Board of Health Maternal and Child Health Committee, and the Bureau of Dental Health Strategic Planning Committee in Albany, N.Y. He currently serves as Chairman of the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center Board, a member of the New York State Association for Rural Health Board and a member of the Work Force Committee of the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) and New York State Dental Association’s Task Force on Public Health Dentistry and Access. Dr. Shrestha, a member of Rochester’s ABC Head Start Health Advisory Committee for more than 25 years, is also a member of New York State Oral Health Coalition (NYSOHC) Steering Committee and serves as an Ambassador of HRSA National Health Service Corp Ambassadorial Program.

Dr. Shrestha is the recipient of a number of community service awards, including the “1999 Kenneth W. Woodward Award” by the Rochester Primary Care Network; “Special Recognition by New York State” at the 2002 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Healthy Community Expo II; “2002 Dr. Hermann Biggs Memorial Award” by the NYS Public Health Association for outstanding leadership in public health; and the 2004 Special Recognition Award by Region II Dental Management Coalition “for many years of dedication to the dental profession and relentless pursuit in assuring that all children have the right to receive primary oral health care”.