Dr. Suresh Nayar

Dr. Suresh Nayar was appointed an associate professor in the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta and as a  prosthodontist at the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM) in July 2013. He is also an adjunct associate professor with the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta.

Dr. Nayar graduated from Government Dental College in Calicut in Kerala, India in 1993. After completion of a Masters in Prosthodontics from Manipal University, India, he worked as a prosthodontist in the Middle East before embarking on further specialist clinical training in the United Kingdom. Here he was awarded specialty memberships from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MRDRCS) and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (MRDRCPS) in 2007. He subsequently was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FDSRCS) in 2008. During his specialist clinical training, he embarked on a Research Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree that he completed in 2012.

After completion of his specialist training, he was appointed as a consultant in restorative dentistry and oral rehabilitation at the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and as an honorary senior clinical lecturer/honorary consultant at the University of Sheffield in 2009. His clinical remit included management and restorative rehabilitation of patients with head and neck oncology, congenital and developmental deformities, and craniofacial trauma.

He has been the honorary web editor of the European Prosthodontic Association since 2008, and was the honorary secretary of the British Society of Prosthodontics from 2009 to 2012. He was an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons of England and for the General Dental Council (GDC) of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2013. He was also the regional advisor in restorative dentistry for Royal College of Surgeons, England from 2010 to 2013.

His current research interest includes patient reported outcome measures and improving quality of life in head and neck cancer patients, methods to reduce the effects of radiotherapy on head and neck cancer patients, and development of a digital impression technique, among others. He has been the PI on three grant proposals and was recently awarded a grant to improve the quality of oral and dental health for head and neck cancer patients. He is a part of the ‘”See me, hear me, heal me”: Exploring Patients’ Experiences with Head and Neck Cancer’ project team, a project that was awarded the Kule Research Team Grant and an Alberta Innovates Health Solutions grant. He has been a steering committee member of the Head and Neck Cancer Priority Setting Project in Alberta. He chairs the Oral and Dental Care Clinical Guideline Review Team for the Provincial Head and Neck Tumour Team which has recently published clinical practice guidelines for Alberta.

He was a member of the Waitlist Management Committee at iRSM which was awarded the Covenant Health Mission Award in 2016 in the Social Justice Category. He is currently in the process of setting up a patient support initiative for head and neck cancer survivors.

His teaching commitments include clinical teaching to maxillofacial prosthodontic fellows, medical and dental residents and students, dental hygiene students, and visiting scientists and clinicians. He also supervises the MSc program in surgical design and simulation in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta.