J. David Morrison, DMD, was introduced as the 2024-2025 president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) during its annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., in September.
Alongside AAOMS’s other officers and board of trustees, Dr. Morrison assumes leadership of the professional organization representing more than 9,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Dr. Morrison, of Loveland, Ohio, previously served as AAOMS president-elect, vice president, District IV trustee, and caucus chair. He has been an AAOMS house delegate for more than 20 years and a member of multiple AAOMS committees.
“I am deeply honored to serve as the next president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons,” Dr. Morrison said in his inaugural speech. “Our collective mission is to ensure the patients we serve receive the highest standard of care. We will continue to advance our specialty, always keeping the well-being and safety of our patients at the forefront of all we do.”
Dr. Morrison works as an associate professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio and is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS). He has been president of the Ohio and Cincinnati Societies of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, served as a director on the OMS Foundation Board, and was a partner at Oral and Facial Surgery Associates in Cincinnati for more than 28 years.
He earned his doctor of dental medicine degree from the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and completed his OMS training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center/Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Morrison succeeds Mark A. Egbert, DDS, FACS, who will serve as immediate past president. Other 2024-25 officers elected by the house of delegates include president-elect Robert S. Clark, DMD; vice president Charles A. Crago, DMD, MD, FACS; and speaker of the house Steven R. Nelson, DDS, MS.
In addition, Julia R. Plevnia, DDS, FACS, joins the board of trustees, serving District V for a two-year term, replacing Dr. Crago. Trustees Gregory M. Ness, DDS, FACS, of District IV, and Martin E. Eichner, DDS, of District II, were re-elected to two-year terms.
Dr. Clark, of Lexington, Ky., served as vice president for a year, AAOMS treasurer for four years, and District III trustee for four years. An ABOMS diplomate, he served on the board’s Oral Examination Committee for seven years and is a past president of the Kentucky Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Dr. Clark is a founding partner and board member of OMS360 in Cumming, Ga., and a partner with the Kentucky Center for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Lexington.
Dr. Crago, of Deep River, Conn., served six years as District V trustee and in the AAOMS house of delegates for over 25 years. In addition, he was District V caucus chair and has served on a variety of AAOMS committees. He recently retired after 40 years in private practice and was most recently the managing partner of a seven-doctor, five-office oral and maxillofacial surgery practice serving most of North Dakota. He also served as president of the state societies of New Mexico and North Dakota, was president of the Southwest Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and has been an ABOMS diplomate since 1988.
Dr. Plevnia, of Parker, Colo., has been a member of the AAOMS house of delegates for over a decade and most recently served as caucus chair in District V. Her career background includes service in the U.S. Army, where she taught in oral and maxillofacial surgery programs at military hospitals in Washington, D.C., Washington, and Colorado. After leaving the military, she became an owner, partner, and practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon with Dry Creek Oral Surgery in the Denver metro area. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Dentists and president of the Colorado Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Dr. Nelson, of Denver, Colo., was elected to his 23rd term as speaker of the house and received AAOMS’s Presidential Achievement Award in 2022. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children’s Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Center team and in private practice at Nelson & Wells Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Denver. He served on the board of the Colorado Dental Association and for many years was President of the Colorado Dental Lifeline Network, where he remains an active volunteer.
Other trustees include Edward J. Miller, DMD, District I; Debra M. Sacco, DMD, MD, District III; and W. Frederick Stephens, DDS, District VI. The board also includes treasurer Jeffrey H. Wallen, DDS, and secretary/executive director Karin Wittich, CAE.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: LanaSweet/Shutterstock.com.
