Oral and maxillofacial surgeons honored for accomplishments in research, education, other areas

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) honored more than 30 award recipients for their accomplishments in education, research, advocacy and humanitarianism at the association’s 2021 Annual Meeting, Scientific Sessions and Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn. 

The awards presentation was held during the Opening Ceremony of the 103rd AAOMS Annual Meeting – the largest gathering of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the country – in September. 

The Annual Meeting was dedicated posthumously to AAOMS fellows, members and residents who lost their lives to COVID-19. Since 2020, the pandemic has significantly impacted the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) specialty and AAOMS members’ practices. Dr. B.D. Tiner, 2020-21 AAOMS President, asked the Association Advisory Committee on Awards Nominations to dedicate the 2021 Annual Meeting to the memory of those members who have lost their lives. 

M. Franklin Dolwick, DMD, PhD, of Gainesville, Fla., received the Robert V. Walker Distinguished Service Award honoring significant contributions to the OMS specialty. He is recognized as an innovator in TMJ arthrography and procedures for treating TMJ internal derangement. He developed the TMJ arthrocentesis procedure in 1989 that has been used to alleviate pain in thousands.  

Dr. Dolwick also has served on TMJ research committees for AAOMS, the ADA and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, written more than 100 articles and coauthored four textbooks. He is former Chair of the OMS Department at the University of Florida, where he has served as a full-tenured professor, craniofacial-cleft palate team member and sleep medicine faculty. Until 2015, he was Residency Program Director. His other honors include the 2013 Donald B. Osbon Award for Outstanding Educator, the OMS Foundation’s 1993 Research Recognition Award for temporomandibular disorder studies and the 1980 Meritorious Service Award from the U.S. Air Force. 

Other AAOMS award winners are: 

  • Board of Trustees Special Citation Award – James R. Hupp, DMD, MD, JD, MBA, FACS, of Spokane, Wash., and Daniel M. Laskin, DDS, MS, of Richmond, Va. 
  • Clinical Research Award – R. Bryan Bell, DDS, MD, FACS, of Portland, Ore. 
  • Committee Person of the Year Award – David A. Fenton, DDS, MD, FACS, of Bristol, Conn., and Daniel J. Meara, DMD, MD, MS, MHCDS, FACS, of Wilmington, Del. 
  • Daniel M. Laskin Award for an Outstanding Predoctoral Educator – Glenn J. Reside, DMD, MS, of Chapel Hill, N.C. 
  • Donald B. Osbon Award for an Outstanding Educator – David C. Stanton, DMD, MD, FACS, of Philadelphia, Pa. (posthumously) 
  • Faculty Educator Development Award – Ashley Manlove, DMD, MD, of Champaign, Ill.; Gwendolyn Reeve, DMD, FACS, of New York, N.Y.; Rabie Shanti, DMD, MD, of Philadelphia; and Yedeh Ying, DMD, MD, FACS, of Birmingham, Ala. 
  • Honorary Fellowship – Laney Dezelan of Fishers, Ind., and Michael J. Herrmann of Albany, N.Y. 
  • Humanitarian Award for Fellows and Members – Vernon P. Burke, DMD, MD, FACS, of El Paso, Texas, and Robert M. Lamb, DDS, Edmond, Okla.  
  • John F. Freihaut Political Activist Award – Larry J. Moore, DDS, MS, of Altadena, Calif. 
  • Outstanding Legislator of the Year Award – U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) 
  • Presidential Achievement Award – James A. Davis Jr., DDS, Tallahassee, Fla. 
  • Resident Scientific Award – Rachel B. Lim, DDS, MD, of Seattle, Wash., and Christopher K. Ward, DMD, of Toronto, Ont. 
  • Special Honorary Fellowship – British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons President Austen T. Smith, MB, BCh (Wales), BDS (Wales), FDSRCSEd, FRCSEd (OMFS) and IAOMS Immediate Past President Gabriele N. Millesi, DMD, MD 
  • William J. Gies Foundation Award – John H. (Jack) Campbell, DDS, MS, FACS, of Buffalo, N.Y. 

OMS Foundation awards also were announced. In alliance with AAOMS, the Foundation strives to enhance patient care quality and safety through advancing innovation in OMS research and education:

  • Torch Award – Kathy A. Banks, DMD, of Barnegat, N.J. 
  • Research Recognition Award – Anh D. Le, DDS, PhD, of Philadelphia 
  • Gerald E. Hanson Outstanding Service Award – David E. Frost, DDS, MS, of Chapel Hill 
  • Daniel M. Laskin Award – “Oral Lichen Planus-Associated Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Is Associated With Improved Survival and Increased Risk of Recurrence.” Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vol. 78, Issue 7, p. 1,193-1,202, by David L. Best, DDS, MD; Curtis Herzog, DDS; Corey Powell, PhD; Thomas Braun, PhD; Brent B. Ward, DDS, MD, FACS; Justine Moe, DDS, MD, all from Ann Arbor, Mich.