New dental faculty

As South Carolina’s only dental school, we view additions to our faculty as additions to the bench strength of oral health education, research, and care for the whole state.

Welcome, Dr. Mark Miller, Dr. Ben Chien, Dr. Michael Garvin, and Dr. Robert Utsman!

Dr. Mark Miller, associate dean for Hospital Affairs, oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) residency program director and associate professor, holds secondary appointments in the College of Medicine's Departments of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics.

He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) and holds a certificate of added qualification in pediatric craniomaxillofacial surgery from ABOMS. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He received his M.D. from the University of Florida College of Medicine and D.M.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. He completed an internship in general surgery, residency in OMFS at the University of Florida, College of Medicine – Jacksonville, and a fellowship in pediatric craniomaxillofacial surgery at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida.

He comes from UT Health San Antonio, where he was associate professor and vice chairman of OMFS and held appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery.

Dr. Ben Chien, chief of our Division of Regenerative Sciences & Periodontology and professor, most recently served as clinical professor and pre-doctoral program director in the Division of Periodontology at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. Prior to that, he was dean of the School of Dentistry at China Medical University, which is where he received his D.D.S. degree.

He received his Ph.D. in oral biology and certificate in periodontics from the State University of New York at Buffalo.


Dr. Michael Garvin, a South Carolina native and an alumnus of MUSC and The Citadel, returns to the college as the urgent care clinical director and assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical and Community Health Sciences, Division of Emergency Services.

Following retirement from his decorated military career in 2017, Dr. Garvin served as the assistant faculty director of the Community Service Learning Center-Sylva of the East Carolina School of Dental Medicine.



Dr. Robert Utsman joins us as an orofacial pain management specialist and associate professor in the Department of Biomedical & Community Health Sciences, Division of Diagnostic Sciences & Services.

His previous roles were at Calderon Guardia, the largest hospital in Costa Rica’s public healthcare system, and the Latin American University of Science, where he was an associate professor.