Aurelio Alonso, DDS, MS, PhD, has nearly 22 years of experience in Orofacial Pain. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Director of Orofacial Pain in the Duke Center for Translational Pain Medicine, and the Director of Operations at Duke Innovative pain Therapies. Dr. Alonso is an internationally-respected orofacial pain clinician and one of only five dentists certified by the American Board of Orofacial Pain in North Carolina. He is also notably the first boarded orofacial pain clinician at Duke. With Dr. Alonso’s addition to this team, Duke Anesthesiology is now the only department of anesthesia in the nation that has an orofacial pain program.
Dr. Alonso joins Duke from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was an assistant professor in the School of Dental Medicine. After completing his doctor of dental surgery from the University of Ribeirao Preto in 1997, Dr. Alonso completed a fellowship in occlusion and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) at São Paulo State University in Brazil. During his training at São Paulo State University, he also earned a certificate of prosthodontics and subsequently, completed a fellowship in cosmetic and restorative dentistry. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Alonso completed graduate training in TMD and orofacial pain from the UMDNJ New Jersey Dental School and University of Minnesota. He received his MS in dentistry and PhD in oral biology from the University of Minnesota. He is also trained in dental sleep medicine and oral appliances for the management of snoring and sleep apnea. Dr. Alonso is a diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and a fellow of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. He has published several abstracts and peer-review publications in the prosthodontic and orofacial pain fields. His clinical research interests are in myofascial pain, primary headaches, sleep disorders and the use of stem cells in the management of chronic orofacial pain condition.