Bringing a team mindset to the treatment of orofacial pain
Graduating dental student aims to bring a collaborative, patient-centered approach to treating some of dentistry’s most complex and often misunderstood orofacial conditions
Gaser Abdelaziz, DMD26, spent much of his childhood and adolescence as a competitive water polo player, where he developed mental resilience, teamwork, and the ability to make quick decisions under pressure—skills that have shaped his path in dentistry and will guide him as he enters advanced training in the specialty of orofacial pain.
“In water polo, success depends on constant coordination with your teammates, anticipating their movements, and adapting quickly to changing situations in the pool. Dentistry, particularly in complex cases, requires a similar collaborative mindset—working closely with colleagues, specialists, and other healthcare professionals to arrive at the best outcome for the patient,” Abdelaziz said.
The son of a neurosurgeon and a microbiologist, Abdelaziz grew up in a household where conversations about science and patient care were often held at the dinner table. Listening to his parents’ experiences sparked his own curiosity in medicine and planted the idea that a career in healthcare could be both challenging and rewarding.
“Dentistry captured my interest because it uniquely combines intellectual problem-solving with hands-on care. Witnessing how quickly a patient’s comfort and confidence could change after treatment was incredibly powerful,” he said. “That experience showed me that dentistry is not only about technical skill, but about using knowledge and precision to make a meaningful difference in someone’s life.”
When he graduates in May from Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), Abdelaziz will put this mindset into action as he begins his residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the two-year orofacial pain program. The specialty focuses on a wide range of conditions, including temporomandibular disorders, chronic craniofacial pain, neuropathic pain conditions, primary headache disorders, and sleep-related breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea.
Abdelaziz’s path to Harvard began many miles away from Boston. Abdelaziz is Egyptian American and attended dental school in Alexandria, Egypt before returning to the United States to further his training in HSDM’s three-year Advanced Standing DMD program.
“After graduating from dental school in Alexandria, I gained clinical experience working in both hospital and private practice settings. During that time, I became increasingly interested in the more analytical and interdisciplinary dimensions of dentistry,” said Abdelaziz. “I realized that I wanted to continue my training in an environment where dentistry is closely integrated with medicine and where patient care is guided by rigorous scientific thinking.”
While at HSDM, Abdelaziz was active in programs that gave him exposure to various patient populations, research, and educational methodologies. He was part of the Aging and Geriatric Oral Health track, the NIH-funded Harvard Clinical Practice-based REsearch Program for DENTal Students (H-CREDENT), and served as a Scholar in Dental Education. Each program broadened his perspectives on dentistry, dental education, and patient care.
Abdelaziz’s experience treating medically complex geriatric patients gave him insights into how oral health directly impacts overall health.
“Those experiences reinforced that dentistry is rarely about isolated procedures; it is about understanding the patient as a whole person. Treating older adults with multiple comorbidities required thoughtful diagnosis, patience, and careful coordination with other aspects of their medical care,” he said.
His exposure to complex diagnostic cases and patients with chronic facial pain kindled his interest in pursuing specialty training. While practicing in the clinic, Abdelaziz began to see patients whose symptoms could not be explained by a straightforward dental problem. Those encounters made him realize how complex, and often misunderstood, craniofacial pain conditions could be.
“Many of these patients had lived with persistent pain for years, often moving between providers without receiving a clear diagnosis, profoundly affecting their daily life,” Abdelaziz said. “Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to a model of care that restores not only comfort and function, but also a sense of clarity and reassurance for patients who may have struggled for years to understand the source of their pain.”
The program at MGH will keep Abdelaziz at Harvard a little longer—a place where he forged strong bonds with classmates and took advantage of opportunities to learn from faculty across disciplines. In addition to programs at HSDM he participated in initiatives at other Harvard graduate schools, serving as a fellow in the David Martin Leadership program, and earning a certificate in advanced clinical research through Harvard Medical School.
As graduation approaches, he reflected on the Harvard community and the support of his HSDM classmates.
“What I’ll miss most are the conversations with classmates and faculty while working through challenging cases,” he said. “Being part of a class that was both intellectually curious and genuinely supportive made the experience especially meaningful.”