Clinical associate professor James W. Tom DDS ’99 has been appointed to serve on the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Moderate Sedation Task Force.

Tom was nominated by American Dental Association (ADA) president and Ostrow alumna Carol Gomez Summerhays DDS ’78 to help represent dentistry on the interdisciplinary panel, which will prepare new national guidelines for sedation use in hospitals, surgical centers and all clinical settings.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for dentist anesthesiologists to be recognized by the ADA as the anesthesia practitioners with the most directed scope of training and practice in sedation and general anesthesia,” Tom said.

The committee — comprised of individuals from dentistry, oral surgery, anesthesiology, radiology, cardiology, gastroenterology and emergency medicine — will assess data, peer-reviewed journal articles and studies as well as current clinical opinion from subject matter experts to revise the national guidelines, which were first published in 2002 in the journal Anesthesiology.

“It’s an honor for dentist anesthesiologists to be acknowledged by our medical colleagues and welcomed into contemporary policy making endeavors to ensure patient safety,” Tom said.

Tom earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from Ostrow in 1999 before pursuing a master’s degree and certificate in dental anesthesiology from The Ohio State University in 2001.

Tom joined the Ostrow faculty in 2001. He is a clinical associate professor, teaching courses in intravenous moderate sedation, and is the director of Ostrow’s dental anesthesiology service. He is also president-elect of the American Society of Dentists Anesthesiologists and associate editor for Anesthesia Progress, A Journal for Pain and Anxiety Control in Dentistry.