Head and Neck Specialists
November 18, 2022

Charleston, SC –Trident Medical Center oncologic dentist Betsy Davis, DMD, MS, Head and Neck Specialists, has focused her career on using 3D printing and other technology to create prosthetic eyes, ears, nose and other parts of the head and neck that patients have lost due to cancer. For her work, and for the lives she’s restored, the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics has honored Dr. Davis with its highest award –The Andrew J. Ackerman Memorial Award. The lifetime achievement award recognizes her significant contributions to the advancement of facial prosthetics.

“I think head and neck cancer is the most devastating cancer because it can’t be hidden,” said Dr. Davis. “We live in a world where we are often judged by our appearance. My colleagues and I work to make a difference in how our patients look, eat and swallow. I believe our work is about function, quality of life and restoring the whole patient. I love what I do.”

Dr. Davis was a presenter at the inaugural Head and Neck Oncology Symposium November 12, 2022 at Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms, SC. Nearly 50 physicians from the Southeast attended the event. Regarding Dr. Davis’s award, keynote speaker Mark S. Chambers, DMD, MS, Chief and Medical Director, Section of Oral Oncology and Maxillofacial Prosthodontics Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said, “Maxillofacial prosthetics is so rewarding for patients who lose a portion of the cranial facial region from cancer –their head and neck; or their oral cavity; or missing an eye, or nose or an ear -to be able to rehabilitate through a prosthesis that is customized. That is what Dr. Davis is able to afford patients in the Carolinas and elsewhere that travel to her in Charleston. Maxillofacial prosthetics is a unique subspecialty. It is one with enrichment for a patient to have quality of life and not be self conscious about missing a part of their head and neck due to cancer. It gives them dignity that they need and deserve. That’s what Dr. Davis does for our patients in maxillofacial rehabilitation.”

Learn more about Head and Neck Specialists at Your Head and Neck Specialists.