Brian J. Howe DMD, MS, FICD

Brian J. Howe DMD, MS, was born and raised in La Crescent, MN and attended Luther College (Decorah, IA) graduating in 2002 with a BA in Biology.  He went on to attend Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (Boston, MA) where he received his DMD in 2006. After graduation, Dr. Howe practiced general dentistry in Madison, WI (2006-2011). To further his education, he enrolled in a Master’s of Oral Science program at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry (Iowa City, IA) in the Department of Oral Pathology, Radiology, and Medicine, graduating in 2013 with an MS in Oral Science.  Dr. Howe returned to private practice in Iowa City, IA while continuing his research endeavors; however, his passion for teaching and research brought him back to education. In 2015, he joined the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Dentistry. He teaches pre-doctoral student in the student clinics as well as directing the Treatment Planning and Clinical Practice and Professionalism courses. He was a Group Leader, overseeing competency and mentoring of fourth year dental students in the Department of Family Dentistry until 2019 when he was appointed as the Director of Clinics for the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics.  Dr. Howe continues to practice general dentistry in the College’s Faculty Practice.  

Dr. Howe’s research focus is discovering patterns in dental anomalies in children with orofacial clefting and using machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to mine data for patterns. Other research areas involve using image classification algorithms to identify dental anomalies from intraoral photos and using Artificial Intelligence to help integrate technology into clinical operations. In 2017, Dr. Howe was the IADR William J. Gies Award winner for Clinical Research for his publication Spectrum of Dental Phenotypes in Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefting. He is also a peer reviewer for multiple medical and dental journals.

Dr. Howe is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists and a member in the American Dental Association, Iowa Dental Society, American Dental Education Association, International Association of Dental Research, and the American Cleft Palate Association.