Mark Kacerik, R.D.H., M.S.

Mark Kacerik, M.S. Image
Associate Professor
Chair, Allied Health Department

School of Health Sciences
Education

M.S. Education; University of Bridgeport
B.S. Dental Hygiene; University of Bridgeport
A.S. Dental Hygiene; University of Bridgeport
Certified in the Delivery of Local Anesthesia, State of Connecticut
American Heart Association Instructor Certification, BLS for Health Care Provider

About Mark

Mark currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Allied Health in the School of Health Sciences. He joined the University of New Haven in 2000 as a full-time faculty in the dental hygiene program. Professor Kacerik has over 25 years of teaching, administrative, and clinical practice experience.

He teaches at all levels of the dental hygiene curriculum and is responsible for coordinating the sophomore clinic at the University of New Haven, which provides students with the foundation for future dental hygiene practice.

Professor Kacerik’s professional speaking engagements included invitations from the American Dental Hygienists' Association, Connecticut Dental Hygienists’ Association, and Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene National Honor Society.

He is a peer-reviewed author and contributor to several highly regarded dental hygiene textbooks. He has served on the editorial review board for the Journal of Practical Hygiene, the National Board Dental Hygiene II Test Construction Committee, and the Standard Setting Committee for the Dental Hygiene National Board Exam. Service to his professional association includes Secretary of the Connecticut Dental Hygienists' Association, President of the Bridgeport Dental Hygienists' Association, Connecticut Dental Hygienists’ Association Delegate, and Student American Dental Hygienists' Association advisor.

Professor Kacerik is President of the Delta Lambda Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha, the national honor society of the dental hygiene profession. The purpose of Sigma Phi Alpha is to promote, recognize, and honor scholarship, leadership, and service among dental hygiene students and graduates of dental hygiene programs.

Select Publications

Paulis M, Kacerik M "Abstracts from the 2018 Annual Conference of the American Dental Hygienists' Association" Journal of Dental Hygiene 2018; 92, 73

Kacerik M, Prajer R: "2017 ADHA Annual Conference Research Abstracts" Journal of Dental Hygiene 2017; 91, 70

Kacerik M: "The Effects of Oral Piercing: The Hygienist's Role in Patient Education and Care" Journal of Practical Hygiene 2008; May/June, 6-9

Kacerik M: "Adjunctive Therapy to Periodontal Debridement" Journal of Practical Hygiene 2008; March/April, 8-12

Kacerik M: "The Role of Periodontal Inflammation in Atherosclerosis" Journal of Practical Hygiene 2007; July/August, 20-21

Kacerik M: "Criteria for Achieving Effective Plaque and Calculus Removal" Journal of Practical Hygiene 2006; September, 20

Prajer R, Kacerik M: ‘Treating Patients with Alzheimer's Disease" Dimensions of Dental Hygiene 2006; September, 24-26

Kacerik M: "Advancements in Instruments for Periodontal Debridement" Journal of Practical Hygiene 2006; May, 21-31

Kacerik M, Prajer R: "The Benefits of Xylitol for Fresh Breath and Caries Prevention" Journal of Practical Hygiene 2006; Jan/Feb, 31-32

Kacerik M, Prajer R, Conrad C: "Ethics instruction in the Dental Hygiene Curriculum" Journal of Dental Hygiene 2006; 80, 1-13