Townsend Appointed Chief of Dentistry at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

April 5, 2018

Janice A. Townsend, DDS, MS, has been appointed chief of Dentistry at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and is slated to arrive in July.

“I am extremely pleased to announce Dr. Townsend as our new dentistry chief,” said R. Lawrence Moss, MD, surgeon-in-chief at Nationwide Children’s. “She has established herself as a national leader in oral health, and we have great confidence in her vision for one of the finest and most decorated pediatric dentistry programs in the country.”

Dr. Townsend has written extensively on dental education, pain management after dental procedures, dentistry for special needs children, and a host of other topics. She acquired her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Marquette University School of Dentistry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her Master of Science degree in pediatric dentistry from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, and a certificate in pediatric dentistry from Nationwide Children’s. Dr. Townsend is currently the chair of pediatric dentistry at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Dentistry in New Orleans.

“I am thrilled to be coming back to Nationwide Children’s and honored to be able to lead this very robust program,” said Dr. Townsend, who will also serve as the chair of the Division of Pediatric Dentistry at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. “This is an exciting new era in pediatric dentistry, and I am honored to be part of a team that strives to provide the best possible care every day to children across the country and around the globe.”

Attributing Dr. Townsend’s successful recruitment to “a true team effort,” Dr. Moss, also the E. Thomas Boles Jr. Professor of Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, expressed deepest appreciation to Dennis McTigue, DDS, interim chief of Pediatric Dentistry for the past six months. Dr. McTigue will continue to serve as interim chief until Dr. Townsend’s arrival. Dr. Moss also recognized Dr. Patrick Lloyd, dean of The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, for serving as co-chair of the search committee.

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Janice Townsend, DDS, MS

About Nationwide Children's Hospital

Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.