Steven Senft
’98, Hotel & Restaurant Management
‘07, MBA, College of Business Administration

The work of oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Larry Moore brings smiles to patients of his Chino Hills office and to people across the country who benefit from his advocacy efforts.

At his office, the Chino Hills Oral Surgery Center, and at local hospitals, Moore performs oral and maxillofacial surgery to relieve pain and correct a wide variety of tooth and jaw problems. In his leadership role with the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), Moore promotes access to care for reconstructive surgery on birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Moore now serves as vice president of AAOMS and hopes to advance to the presidency in two years. The association motto, “Saving Faces, Changing Lives,” resonates soundly with him. He travels to Washington, D.C., at least twice a year to discuss legislation such as the Children’s Access to Reconstructive Evaluation & Surgery Act (CARES Act).

In response to an increasing number of insurance companies denying coverage for corrective surgery, the CARES Act would require insurance companies to cover the treatment of a child’s congenital or developmental deformity.

“To operate on a child who suffers from a cleft palate, for example, is not a cosmetic procedure; it affects a person in terms of general health and psychology,” Moore says. “My work gives me a way to be of service to humanity, and it is a great career.”

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a surgical specialty of dentistry. These surgeons are educated  in dentistry and receive hospital-based training in the medical disciplines of anesthesiology, general surgery, internal medicine, emergency medicine and plastic surgery.

Dr. Larry Moore with his wife, Dr. Jill Adler-Moore

At one point, however, a great career was something Moore was not always assured he’d have. After high school, he enrolled and then dropped out of college. His family did not have a tradition of education, and Moore was uncertain whether college was right for him. He worked for several years before returning to college. The second time around, he selected Cal Poly Pomona and majored in microbiology.

“The small class sizes and easy access to professors made Cal Poly Pomona the right school for me,” Moore says. “In the sciences, especially, it’s a hands-on approach. Intentionally and intelligently, Cal Poly Pomona limits class sizes so the students can really benefit from the experienced professors.”

When Moore finished his bachelor’s of science degree in 1976, he went on to earn a master’s degree in oral biology and a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from UCLA. He completed his internship in oral and maxillofacial surgery in 1982 and his residency in 1984 at Harbor – UCLA Medical Center.