About the Author

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Petra Wilder-Smith [BDS (Hons), LDS RCS (Eng), Dr Med Dent, PhD (Habil)] is Professor at the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. She has been Director of the Dental Program at the Institute since 1998. She is also Visiting Professor at the Aachen University Dental School in Germany and a Senior Fellow at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Irvine. Dr. Wilder-Smith is a member of many dental and imaging-based organizations, and a Fellow and Board Member of the American Society for Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. She has received numerous clinical and research awards. She is an Associate Editor for Lasers in Surgery and Medicine and an editorial board member for more than 20 prestigious peer-reviewed journals. She has also been Guest Editor for a special edition of the International Journal of Dentistry and has authored more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Janet Ajdaharian (BA, BSc) is a Junior Specialist at the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA, where she is a senior project manager for clinical and translational research. Her areas of expertise include laser use in dentistry/oral medicine for non-invasive diagnostics and therapeutics and the use of optical coherence tomography for early detection and monitoring of oral precancerous and cancerous changes. Her work includes collaborations to develop and validate a simple oral cancer screening tool for use by non-expert screeners, and using optical techniques for the early detection of oral effects of cancer therapy. She has co-authored several journal articles in her areas of interest.