Combining arts and dentistry: A Q&A with new Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Elisabeta Karl

On the wall above her desk, Dr. Elisabeta Karl has two side-by-side paintings, each depicting a white bridge over water. Though similar, the images differ in their details.

Those paintings, which are interpretations of the same image by her twin school-aged children, help remind Karl of the methodology she applies to higher education.

In her office, paintings by Dr. Karl's twin children show different perspectives of the same image.

"They were seeing the same image, and look how different they are," Karl says. "It's fascinating to me to think about where or how our personalities develop. What makes us different from another person? What defines us as a unique human being?"

Karl has explored the answers to those questions throughout her career in dental education, which includes a Doctor of Dental Science degree and master's degree in pediatric dentistry from University of Brasilia in Brazil, as well as a Ph.D. in oral health sciences from the University of Michigan. At Michigan, she led research on the effects of fine arts - such as classical music and visual arts - in dental education settings.

After a decade in Ann Arbor, Karl joined the Marquette University School of Dentistry in August as associate dean of academic affairs. In a Q&A, Karl expands on her previous research and what she hopes to implement into the dental school's curriculum.

What made you decide to make the move to Marquette?

When I saw the job posting, I started to read about Marquette. One thing that really appealed to me was the mission. It was clear that you were part of something bigger, and I really like that. Something touched me and I said, "Wow, that is such a great way to think about your life, about your work."

Many times, I felt at bigger institutions like Michigan that you're a very small part of everything. As I learned Marquette's values, I really liked the difference in perspective. When I came here for the interview, I noticed that everybody was doing different things in their individual roles, but everybody was working toward the greater mission. That was something that really appealed to me right away.

This is a new position for you professionally. What about the role of associate dean of academic affairs attracted you?

Before this job, I was serving as director of a new oral health sciences master's program [at Michigan]. There, on a smaller scale, I had similar roles with the students. For example, I reviewed the curriculum, and I addressed faculty and students in the program. I think that gave me a very good idea of what it is to be in the shoes of an academic affairs dean. I've found that I enjoy being a mediator and coming up with plans to address situations of conflict. I don't enjoy the conflict itself, but [instead] finding solutions; finding ways that make both the faculty and students feel happy with the outcome.

Much of your career focus has been on advancing education, with some unconventional research that includes music therapy for dental students. What about your background led to that path?

I always had this idea that dentistry is more than working on teeth. I don't see oral health separated from bodily health; I think those two things should be taken in consideration together. I think that's part of how I was trained. I came from a very small university where dentistry is a department inside the health sciences school, so my training was very interprofessional and I always saw dentistry as a very interprofessional field. That included work with other fields, including the arts.

What do you believe is the correlation between dentistry and fine arts?

If we look at the patient using ways to assess a piece of art as we assess the human being, we gain so much. We see the background of the patient's mouth, and when we teach in a way of seeing things through an artist's lens, it helps the students understand what they're doing. Students work with their hands as dentists, and artists work with their hands to create their pieces. There can be a lot of similarities.

How do you hope to implement that into the MUSoD curriculum?

One of the things that I want to continue working on at Marquette is this partnership with the arts. I'm already working with some of the museums on campus to use the arts to help students learn dentistry in a more humane way. Not only using the arts to be better dentists, but also using the arts to understand their context. For example, music can help us in so many ways; relaxation to feel better or change our moods, but also in the sense that musicians and dentists can have much in common. In a concert, each musician has to play their part perfectly, like a dentist working on a patient. It's very common to see students anxious before a practical exam or a procedure. Musicians have that too, and I think when the two groups talk to each other, they learn different ways to cope with that anxiety.

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