Jaramillo shares expertise with endodontic residents in Honduras

Professor David E. Jaramillo, DDS (right), receives a certificate of appreciation after serving as a guest professor at the Universidad Católica de Honduras in Tegucigalpa.

David E. Jaramillo, DDS, professor in the Department of Endodontics at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, recently shared his expertise in endodontics with residents at the Universidad Católica de Honduras in Tegucigalpa.

Jaramillo was invited to serve as a guest professor for a two-day lecture series July 20-21, providing 16 contact hours of instruction for residents in the university’s advanced endodontics program. Residents from the university’s San Pedro Sula campus traveled to Tegucigalpa to join their colleagues for the program.

During the lectures, Jaramillo explored the progression of dental disease, beginning with caries and its effects on pulp tissue and continuing through infection, pulp degeneration, and the development of biofilm within the root canal system. He then connected those concepts to strategies for disinfecting the root canal, drawing on his research in endodontic irrigation.

Jaramillo also introduced residents to several contemporary technologies and techniques used to improve root canal disinfection, including lasers, ultrasonic-activated devices, multisonication, and hydrodynamic cavitation.

For Jaramillo, the opportunity to teach internationally extends beyond sharing clinical knowledge.

“The most important thing for me is to pass on to the residents the love and passion for research and to reinforce the importance of always basing their knowledge on scientific evidence,” he said.

The invitation came through Jaramillo’s mentor, Alberto R. Arriola, DDS, of Mexico, who also serves as an invited professor at the university. Arriola recommended Jaramillo to the university’s advanced endodontics program, which hopes to make his invitation an annual opportunity.

The visit continues Jaramillo’s longstanding commitment to sharing endodontic knowledge with dental professionals and students around the world. He has lectured internationally throughout his career, with a particular focus on endodontic microbiology and irrigation of the root canal system.

“It is important to share my knowledge with residents,” Jaramillo said. “But the most important thing is to pass on to them the love and passion for research.”