Dr Karen Crews

Dr. Karen Crews is a general dentist at Beach View Family Dental Clinic. She is a former director of the Division of Oral Oncology and Bio-behavioral Medicine in the department of otolaryngology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Prior to her appointment in the School of Medicine she served on the faculty and as an assistant dean in the UMMC School of Dentistry (20 years). Dr. Crews held numerous leadership roles in the School of Dentistry and continues to have an appointment as Professor Emeritus in the department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery and Pathology. Recognized for excellence in teaching, she received the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry Clinical Faculty Award, the American College of Dentists Faculty Award, and the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Stephen H. Leeper Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was a recipient of the Gold Excellence in Research Award and has authored over 75 publications, abstracts and book chapters on the oral and systemic effects of tobacco and the role of the healthcare provider in treating tobacco dependence. In addition, she served as the Principal Investigator and Director of the ACT Tobacco Treatment Education and Research Center (1999-2014), which was awarded over twenty million dollars in NIH, State and Industry grants and contracts. Currently, Crews has been a Fellow in the American College of Dentists, International College of Dentists, the Pierre Fauchard Academy, a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon national dental honorary, the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Oral Medicine. She has been an active member of the Mississippi Dental Association for over 25 years. Her responsibilities within organized dentistry included serving on committees such as the Legislative affairs, Continuing Education and was selected to serve on ADA Council of Scientific Affairs from 2006 -2010. She represented the Council on Scientific Affairs at several annual ADA meetings as a speaker on such topics as oral cancer prevention, tobacco cessation and current concepts. In 2013, Crews was awarded the Mississippi Dental Association’s Humanitarian Award for her work in tobacco cessation across Mississippi and to establish clinics for underserved citizens in Jackson and the Mississippi Delta. In 2019, she served as President of the District V Dental Society in Gulfport. Dr. Crews was a member of the American Heart Association’s Circle of Red as well as other volunteer and civic organizations. She is married to Bill Crews, a business associate with Sysco Jackson. They have two sons, Leigh Alexander (Alex), a real estate developer and property manager in Jackson and William Spence (Will), a fourth-year medical resident in Radiology at UMMC who is married to Elizabeth Lee, a dentist in Madison. Karen and Bill have five grandchildren, Rivers Mae, Emma, Miles Alexander and Lily.