Rate My Professor Zeina Al Naasan

Zeina Al Naasan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Otago. Her academic background includes a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Master of Science (MSc), Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) in Periodontology from the University of Otago, and Membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgery in Periodontics (MRACDS Perio). She maintains professional registrations with the Dental Council of New Zealand and holds memberships in the New Zealand Dental Association, New Zealand Society of Periodontology, and the Centre for Global Migrations at the University of Otago. In her clinical and teaching roles, she provides supervision in periodontics clinics for undergraduate courses such as DENT 261, DENT 361, and DENT 461, as well as postgraduate clinics.

Al Naasan's research interests center on oral health promotion, equity, migration, and oral and periodontal health. Her 2021 DClinDent thesis, "Community based oral health promotion among adult Syrian former refugees," examined interventions for refugee populations in Dunedin, New Zealand. Notable publications include "Evaluation of a tailored oral health promotion intervention for Syrian former refugees in New Zealand" (2022, Health Promotion International, with Jonathan Broadbent, Moira Smith, and Warwick Duncan); "I lost my first tooth here: Syrian former refugees' experiences of oral healthcare in Dunedin, New Zealand" (2024, New Zealand Medical Journal); "Patients experiences with tooth loss and replacement with single-tooth implants – a qualitative study" (2025, New Zealand Dental Journal, with Matthew Loh and Lee Adam); and "Amharic oral health tools for refugees: a hybrid review of OHIP-14 and WHO adaptations" (2026, BMC Oral Health, with Betelehem Ketema, Karen Lansdown, and others). She delivered presentations at the 2025 Faculty of Dentistry Clinical and Research Excellence Symposium on topics including silver diamine fluoride, peri-implantitis management, and tissue restoration. Al Naasan coordinates DENT 261, co-coordinates the Postgraduate Diploma in Periodontics, coordinates the DENT 461 Periodontics module, and teaches in the Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (Periodontics) program. In 2025, she began a part-time PhD at the Sir John Walsh Research Institute on "Improving self-performed oral health – a digital technology solution," supported by a $150,000 Health Research Council Health Delivery Explorer Grant.