Meet Missouri’s new State Dental Director

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Dr. Jacqueline Miller, DDS, MS, MPH, has been named the Missouri State Dental Director. Miller practiced orthodontics for 29 years in Washington, Sullivan and Eureka, and she retired from private practice in May of this year.

“Dr. Miller will continue the public health initiatives put forth by the previous director, Dr. Guy Deyton, and we look forward to her helping to increase the dental professionals’ workforce, which has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Paula Nickelson, acting director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services which houses the state’s Office of Dental Health.

Miller will also promote an increase in the Preventive Services Program, which provides fluoride varnish applications, dental screenings, and education and referrals for thousands of Missouri children. She looks forward to utilizing her Masters of Public Health in an “encore career” to improve the oral health of all Missourians.

Miller has served in multiple leadership positions in the American Association of Orthodontists and was the first female to hold the office of president of the Midwestern Society of Orthodontists. She has an extensive career of leadership, advocacy for dentistry and volunteerism both in Missouri and abroad. She has made 24 dental mission trips and participated in Give Kids a Smile and Missouri Mission of Mercy.

Miller graduated with distinction from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry, earning a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. She was accepted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry and graduated with a Master of Science and Certificate in Orthodontics. In July of 2022, she earned her Master of Public Health degree from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences.