Dr. Maria Tassopoulou-Fishell is the new full-time faculty in the orthodontic department at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Dental Medicine. She completed her dental training at the University of Athens-Greece School of Dentistry (DDS 95). In 1997, she started her three-year residency at the University of Pittsburgh. During her residency, she performed a research study involving the load-deflection characteristics of titanium alloy wires used in orthodontics. Upon completion and successful defense of her thesis she was granted a Master of Dental Science. For the following years, she worked at her husband’s private orthodontic practice (John Fishell; Pitt DMD 96, Pitt Ortho 99). There she was involved with a large volume of private practice orthodontic patients.

Dr. Tassopoulou-Fishell has now joined the orthodontic department as an assistant professor. She is teaching orthodontic residents a variety of didactic and laboratory topics. Dr. Tassopoulou-Fishell is currently responsible for developing a new department protocol for the use of mini implants in orthodontic treatment. Also, she is interested in providing orthodontic care for special needs patients at the upcoming center for people with special needs. Dr. Tassopoulou-Fishell is also a mother of two boys, Konstantinos and Paris.      

For the new University Fiscal Year, starting July 2007, the Orthodontics Department will be transitioning from static models (made of orthodontic stone) to computer models.  This step, along with the dental school moving to electronic records, will help to keep our department and school abreast of current dental innovations and trends.