John Zuniga, D.M.D.

Dr. Zuniga is a Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Neurology and holds the Robert V. Walker D.D.S Chair in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He joined the faculty in January, 2006. He came to UTSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he served in the School of Dentistry as the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Graduate Program Director for 13 years and was the Co-Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Pain and Neurosensory Disorders program. Dr. Zuniga is the chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the Department of Surgery. The division is dedicated to the improvement of the oral, maxillofacial, dental and craniofacial health of our patients through research, service and education. Dr. Zuniga’s clinical interests are in temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and neurosensory disorders. He is an experienced trigeminal nerve microsurgeon and has performed over 400 nerve repairs for a variety of clinical conditions affecting the trigeminal nerve of the oral and maxillofacial region. Over 60% of his practice is dedicated to treating chronic orofacial pain conditions, including TMD, trigeminal neuralgia, burning mouth syndrome, atypical odontalgia and atypical facial pain. He specializes in the surgical treatment of TMD and can provide services ranging from conservative non-surgical care to total joint reconstruction. He also has a clinical interest in benign pathology, dentoalveolar surgery and trauma of the oral and maxillofacial region. Dr. Zuniga’s major research interests are in chronic and acute orofacial pain and trigeminal neurosensory disorders. He has authored over 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts, abstracts and book chapters in these areas. He was awarded the 1998 Daniel Laskin award for Most Outstanding Publication in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,  the 2008 William J. Gies Award for Clinical Research in Journal Dental Research, and the 2012 William J. Gies Award In Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the Advancement of Dentistry. He has been the Principal Investigator or co-Investigator in 26 grants and contracts from federal, industry or foundation sources.  His interest in trigeminal neurosensory disorders involves understanding sensory and special sensory (i.e., taste) function and dysfunction in humans and their response to surgical and non-surgical (i.e., sensory retraining) treatments. He recently completed a multisite, randomized clinical trial conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern on the benefits of a new analgesic medication to treat moderate to severe pain.  New trials on the benefits of processed nerve allograft on reconstruction of jaw pathology is ongoing.  Dr. Zuniga is active locally, nationally and internationally in the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery where he served 6 years on the Examination Committee. He serves on the Editorial Board of several journals and is an ad hoc reviewer for several journals in Neuroscience and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He serves on several committees for the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and is a voting member of the Dental Products Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration.