Dr. Robert Levine – 2025 Kumar Patel Prize Recipient

Getting involved in lasers took a number of years. My initial introduction was utilizing bio-fluorescent technology to help Major League Baseball Teams in assessing oral soft damage caused by smokeless tobacco products (in the early 2000s).

I then moved into the domain of surgical lasers used in the treatment of extra- and intra-oral lesions.

My initial introduction was through corporate channels. As I found out later on, most of the information was wrought with inaccuracies and false statements. For example, Hydro-Kinetics.

Evidence-based research was skewed to allow for sales of the equipment. I myself was duped and purchased a piece of equipment that could not provide the desired results.

So here I was, spending $75,000 for a piece of equipment. I learned how to apply laser energy and get the most out of it. Still, my knowledge of laser science was limited.

Then, I was offered a position at A.T. Still University to help develop a Laser program for the pre-doctoral students. I reached out to a few reputable people in the industry who could help me, as I was not a laser science expert. I was a clinician trying to provide a consistent skill set for my students. Developing a program requires strict EBR before it can be launched.

Thus was my entry into academics. My goal was to try and dispel the earlier misconceptions about the capabilities of certain lasers and to educate my students with accurate factual information about laser technology and its role in supporting oral health.

Ultimately, Dr. Peter Rechmann and I were co-developers of the first accepted laser program in a dental school curriculum.

Now that we had a solid academic program, I decided to move into the general dentist population. This is where Dr. Peter Vitruk helped me to fine-tune my programs with his vast expertise in laser physics. I would also be remiss in not giving Dr. Robert A. Strauss kudos as well. I opened a Company, GLOH LLC, to provide online training support to those companies selling lasers. As I found out, most companies gave minimal training at extremely high costs. The goal of GLOH was to offer affordable training. All programs are ADA CERP supported.

So here we are today. We may not all agree on the use of certain laser technologies, yet it is incumbent upon us to let all those using lasers to know the pros and cons of the equipment they have chosen.

Economics is always an issue for new users. Thus, they will go to the least expensive laser as a starter. Though we may not agree with this premise, we cannot live in an all-or-nothing world. Students are graduating with a tremendous debt of over $500K. Corporate dentistry is taking over our profession.

Education is the key. Most schools in the USA do not provide dental training for their students. I was fortunate that our Dean, Dr. Jack Dillenberg, a visionary in this and many other areas of dentistry, supported me in this endeavor. It has been difficult to break into academics, so we must provide cost-effective information to those new doctors.

I am a clinician who could not do dentistry without the support of a laser in so many different capacities.

Again, my thanks to the ALSC for giving me this prestigious award.

Dr. Levine’s Biographical Highlights

Dr.  Levine, President of GLOH and Levine Consulting LLC, has been in the field of dentistry since 1973 and graduated from NY University. He completed a two-year general practice residency from 1973 to 1975 at the Brooklyn VA Hospital and remained as a consultant from 1975 to 1985.

Dr. Levine has 20 years of experience in the laser arena, both in academic and private practice. Dr. Levine has been an assistant professor at the A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH) from 2004 – 2022.  He is also a proud co-developer of the first accepted laser curriculum at an accredited US Dental School. These online dental programs through GLOH are similar to the programs taught at the ASDOH pre-doctoral division.

Dr. Levine is presently the Director of Laser Dentistry at the ASDOH, where he provides clinical hands-on training to his students and post-graduate residents. He is a full-time faculty member at AEGD ASDOH and is involved in multiple laser research projects (Laser Perio Support). He also works heavily in the Special Care Dentistry arena, where he was able to apply laser technology to this special group of patients.

Dr. Levine saw the need to introduce to the dental profession a comprehensive pathway to laser technologies. With these technologies, dentists can see the potential benefits for their patients and practices.

In the age of virtual technology and with time being of the essence, Dr. Levine realized that an online program is the most viable way to pass this information on to a large audience of dentists at a very affordable price.

Dr. Levine can be reached at rlevine@atsu.edu, info@gloheducation.com