Ali Salehpour, DDS, MD
UCLA Medical Center
Observership with David Urbanek, DMD
May 2022
St. Louis, MO
Dr. Ali Salehpour was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, a major suburb of Los Angeles, California. He is the oldest of three children. He went to Chaminade College Preparatory for both middle school and high school, graduating as one of the top students in his class. He then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with High Distinction in General Scholarship, with a major in Integrative Biology and a minor in Persian Language.
Dr. Salehpour took a year after graduating from UC Berkeley to do research in the world-renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of Interventional Cardiology, doing clinical research in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
He then matriculated into the Doctor of Dental Surgery program at The Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC, where he excelled clinically and academically, earning Dean’s List Honors for every trimester he was enrolled. During his time at USC, he discovered his love for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and was president of the Oral Surgery Selective.
After a rigorous application process, Dr. Salehpour was offered a position at the 6-year dual-degree UCLA Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery program from July 2017 – June 2023. He received his MD degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completed a general surgery post-graduate internship at The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. During this internship, he provided care for some of the region’s most medically complex patients in Anesthesiology, General Surgery, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Neurosurgery, Urology, Surgical Oncology, Colorectal Surgery, Endocrine Surgery, Head & Neck Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Renal Transplant Surgery, and Vascular Surgery.
Dr. Salehpour is an avid traveler and has been to over 40 countries, as well as every continent in the world except Antarctica (though it’s on his list!). He was extremely lucky to meet his beautiful wife Tala at USC, and she currently practices as a cosmetic dentist in Los Angeles. He enjoys spending his free time with her and their mini goldendoodle, Rico.
Dr. Salehpour hopes to join a full scope Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery private practice after graduation. His areas of interest include dentoalveolar procedures, complex hard and soft tissue grafting and implant placement, trauma, and orthognathic surgery. He is excited to gain more education and experience in these aspects of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery through the clinical observership and implement them in his practice.