Dr. Niessen is the inaugural dean of the Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine. Previously, she was a professor at the Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla, where she also served as dean from 2013 to 2019. She received her DMD degree, her public health degree (MPH), and her master’s in public policy degree all from Harvard University. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health and the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. She is a past president of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. She is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and American College of Dentists and International College of Dentists. She has authored more than 70 publications and a textbook titled Geriatric Dentistry: Aging and Oral Health. She has lectured throughout the world on geriatric dentistry, medically complex patients, and women’s oral health. She has been honored as one of the Top 25 Women in Dentistry Leaders and received the Shils Award in 2014.

Geriatric Dentistry

Aging Successfully

Women’s Oral Health