Dr. Richard J. Vargo is an associate professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology in theUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Department of Diagnostic Sciences.
Dr. Vargo was previously an associate professor and director of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at A.T. Still University – Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH) and at the St. Louis Dental Center in St. Louis, Mo. As a faculty member at ATSU-MOSDOH, he received several teaching awards for his didactic and clinical teaching.
He also was an oral and maxillofacial pathologist with the SSM Health SLUCare Physician Group at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, where he had a robust clinical oral pathology practice in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and a surgical oral pathology practice in the Department of Pathology; an adjunct assistant professor at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine; and on the expert panel of the Missouri Telehealth Network’s Oral Health ECHO.
Dr. Vargo received his undergraduate degree, with distinction, from the University of Virginia, graduating early in 2010. He earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 2015, where he received numerous awards and honors, including the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence. Subsequently, he completed a residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and earned diplomate status with the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in 2018. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, the American Academy of Oral Medicine, and the International College of Dentists. He completed his MBA with a Healthcare Administration Specialization at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Business in 2022.
Dr. Vargo has lectured extensively to oral healthcare providers across the country on various oral pathology topics and maintains an active social media presence educating dental students, dentists, and dental hygienists as @PGHOralPathology (formerly @STLOralPathology).