Meet Children’s of Alabama’s first pediatric oral surgeon Kathlyn Powell
A triage technician checks Mahogany Shipp's blood pressure. (Donna Cope / Alabama NewsCenter)
Improving children’s lives is Dr. Kathlyn Powell’s main goal as a pediatric oral surgeon.
“I really enjoy working with children,” said Powell, who joined Children’s of Alabama as the state’s first dedicated pediatric oral surgeon Sept. 1. “I have a strong desire to do work that makes children’s everyday lives better.”
At Children’s Clinic 12 in Birmingham, the hospital provides a state-of-the-art setting for providing children’s comprehensive oral and maxillofacial care. Powell is excited about the benefits the clinic will provide as she cares for children’s medical needs: facial trauma; bone grafts; dental implants and extractions; impacted teeth and wisdom teeth; oral lesions, cysts and tumors; management of facial asymmetries or deformities and TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorders; and sleep apnea. She will also work with the Cleft and Craniofacial Center and Aerodigestive Program.
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Powell said the opening of the new clinic has been extremely positive.
“I really enjoy the overall caring and wonderful work environment that Children’s provides,” she said. “Our clinic staff is very goal-oriented to make sure that our kids get the best quality care they can receive. They love their jobs and love treating the kids here, and work to create a very positive environment for children with these types of needs.”
While the clinic manages impacted teeth and dental implants for children, as well as treating TMJ and managing the effects of juvenile arthritis in children, Powell also treats patients with facial trauma caused by accidents.
“We’ve been able to treat several patients ranging from routine dental abscesses to facial trauma to patients that have open and cleft palate, all the way to temporomandibular joint disorders,” said Powell, who completed her residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at UAB.
Powell spent more than 10 years training. She graduated from Auburn University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences. She graduated from UAB Dental School in 2009 and earned her medical degree in 2012. Powell completed an oral surgery residency at UAB, a six-year program with training for dental surgery and anesthesia, in 2015. She completed a pediatric oral and maxillofacial surgery fellowship in June 2016 with Dr. Peter Waite at UAB at Children’s Hospital.
Powell was immersed in dentistry early on, receiving inspiration from her father, Dr. Robert Kruger, a dentist in Union Springs.
“My dad encouraged me to go to dental school, and I realized that oral surgery had a broad scope,” Powell said. “There are special needs in treating children – with an infant, you look for more signs and symptoms because they can’t verbalize what’s bothering them. Children are sometimes easier to treat than adults. They tend to be resilient, heal quickly and usually do remarkably well, as far as being treated.”
Powell and her husband live in Mountain Brook with their children, 5-year-old Emma Kathlyn and 2-year old Robbie.
Patients can call 205-987-1173 to schedule appointments. For the past three years, Children’s has been ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation by US News and World Report.
