James Bekker, DMD is a Pediatric Dentist with many years of pediatric private practice in both urban and rural settings, having practiced in Salt Lake City in an urban setting and in Carbon County Utah, in a rural setting.
He has noted leadership experiences, including Clinical and Medical Director of the Pediatric Dental Graduate program at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. He has served in several important leadership roles in the University of Utah School of Dentistry (UUSOD) since its origin, including the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, which included the initial planning and development for the UUSOD in 2013. Dr. Bekker is now serving as Associate Dean for Professional, Community, and Strategic Relations with direct oversight for the UUSOD Associated Provider network for Medicaid. In that role, he initiated and continues to lead the Associated Providers program throughout the state of Utah helping to find and care for the Medicaid benefit recipients who will contribute to our COMPOSIT program.
Dr. Bekker is a currently a member of the Utah Dental Association Board and has been elected as a delegate from Utah to the American Dental Association House of Delegates. In that role, he advocates for the innovative Medicaid program in the state of Utah and helps to present the success of the Utah program on a national level.
Dr. Bekker helped organize the collaboration of the Dental Hygiene programs currently part of the UUSOD and has been involved in several clinical trials related to his expertise working with pediatric populations. He will direct the projects in COMPOSIT related to rural Medicaid programs.
He was asked to join the leadership team at the UUSOD to develop a dental school based on excellent clinical teaching, service to the underserved, and as a resource to the profession of dentistry in Utah. Having been a part of the school since its inception, he is proud of how far the school has come and is excited about the future.