CMS has appointed Natalia Chalmers, DDS, PhD, as its first chief dental officer, the agency announced Aug. 30.
Dr. Chalmers' new position is a vital role in the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to whole body care and reducing healthcare disparities, according to a news release.
Dr. Chalmers currently serves as dean's faculty at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Dentistry. She most recently was a dental officer for the FDA and previously was a dental officer for CMS from August 2020 until March 2021. She also was formerly the director of analytics and publication for the DentaQuest Institute and a fellow of the National Institutes of Health.
She earned her dental degree from the Faculty of Dental Medicine at the Medical University in Bulgaria and her doctorate from the University of Maryland in Baltimore. She also earned a master's in health sciences from the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., and a certificate for drug development and regulatory sciences from the University of California at San Francisco.