Incisal Edge magazine’s fifth annual ranking of the 32 Most Influential People in Dentistry — scientists, practitioners, researchers and even a celebrity or two for good measure — demonstrates how far the industry has come in the last 18 months, and where it goes from here.
How have these top influencers achieved their current status — and where are they, and dentistry itself, headed in a post-pandemic world?
The influencers in 32 categories — one for every adult tooth — have some ideas. And they’re well-placed to implement them.
As one example, Rena D’Souza is the new National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research director in charge of the institute’s $434.6 million budget, by a wide margin the largest amount of money, public or private, being spent on groundbreaking dental research. Dr. D’Souza’s immediate response to the pandemic upon assuming control of the agency was to allocate roughly $4 million in supplemental support to the study of Covid-19.
Learn more about projects those dollars are funding, such as sensors placed on dental professionals and throughout their workspaces that measure aerosol particle size, quantity and composition here.
Then, get to know the 32 Most Influential People in Dentistry, ranked by Incisal Edge:
- Joseph Hogan, CEO, President, and Director, Align Technology, San Jose, California
- Guillaume Daniellot, CEO, Straumann, Basel, Switzerland
- Rena D’Souza, Director, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Washington, D.C.
- The Self-Starter / The Entrepreneurial Dentist, Business-Minded, Newly Energized, Everytown, USA
- Cheryl Pegus, Executive Vice President of Health & Wellness, Walmart, Portland, Oregon
- Don Casey, CEO Dentsply Sirona, Dublin, Ohio
- Michael Graham, Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, the American Dental Association, Washington, D.C.
Marko Vujicic, Chief Economist & Vice President, ADA Health Policy Institute, Chicago, Illinois
- Anthony Baroud, Influencer, Chicago, Illinois
- Kelly Heaps, Vice President, Professional Oral Health, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Bill Dorfman, Influencer, Television Personality, Los Angeles, California
- Wael Garine, Founder, Garine Prosthodontics, West Palm Beach, Florida
Parag Kachalia, Cofounder, Innovative Dental Concepts, San Ramon, California
Amanda Seay, Founder, Dr. Amanda Seay Dentistry, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
- Amir Aghdaei, CEO, Envista Holdings, Brea, California
- Diego Gabathuler, CEO, Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein
- James “Wells” Hutchison, President and CEO, Delta Dental Plans Association, Oak Brook, Illinois
- Gordon Christensen, Founder and CEO, Practical Clinical Courses, Provo, Utah
John Kois, Founder and Director, the Kois Center, Seattle Washington
Frank Spear, Founder and Director, Spear Education, Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington
- Rick Workman, Founder and Executive Chairman, Heartland Dental, Effingham, Illinois
Robert Fontana, CEO, Aspen Dental, East Syracuse, New York
Steven Thorne, Founder and CEO, Pacific Dental Services, Irvine, California
- Casey Hannan, Director, Division of Oral Health, the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, Georgia
- David Katzman, CEO, Smile Direct Club, Nashville, Tennessee
- Greg Minzenmayer, Chief Operating Office, Glidewell Laboratories, Newport Beach, California
- Jonathan Koch, Senior Vice President and CEO, Global Dental Group, Henry Schein, Melville, New York
- Denise Terese-Koch, Dean, Lincoln Memorial Dental School, Knoxville, Tennessee
- Howard Farran, Founder, Dentaltown.com, Dentaltown magazine, Phoenix, Arizona
- Jeff Johnson, Senior Research Analyst, Medical Technology, Robert W. Baird & Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, Washington, D.C.
- Sabiha Bunek, CEO and Editor in Chief, Dental Advisor, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Eric Shirley, President, Patterson Dental, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Bete Johnson, Vice President and General Manager of Dentistry, CareCredit, Costa Mesa, California
- Simon Enever, Founder and CEO, Quip, New York, New York
- Anton Woolf, CEO, Argen, San Diego, California
- Michelle Lee, Executive Director, Organization for Safety Asepsis and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
- Kendall Jenner, Cofounder, Moon Oral Care; Co-Developer; the Kendall Jenner Teeth Whitening Pen, Calabasas, California
Shaun Neff, Cofounder, Moon Oral Care; Co-Developer, the Kendall Jenner Teeth Whitening Pen, Los Angeles, California
- Tom Daulton, CEO, National Dentex Labs Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Petersburg, Florida
Review the complete list of the 32 Most Influential People in Dentistry, along with 16 promising candidates for next year’s list and 10 student influencers making waves before their careers have even begun here. For additional information regarding Incisal Edge, published by Benco Dental since 1997, visit: http://www.incisaledgemagazine.com
About Incisal Edge
Incisal Edge magazine is dedicated to helping readers get an edge — and keep it — in the fast-changing world of healthcare and business. Published by Benco Dental since 1997, Incisal Edge curates the industry’s most progressive thought leadership to concisely and compellingly deliver the latest in dental innovations and the people behind them. Known for its “40 Under 40 — America’s Best Young Dentists,” which highlights the country’s brightest rising stars, the magazine’s content includes “The 32 Most Influential People in Dentistry,” plus columns and features packed with sharp advice, expert success tips on everything from marketing to operations, and the latest clinical advances and essential tools for practicing and living smarter. Incisal Edge magazine’s print edition reaches 130,000 readers quarterly via a direct mail distribution package with Dentaltown magazine. Incisaledgemagazine.com leads with dynamic visuals and follows with exclusive web content, an improved mobile experience, and a centralized nomination hub for the magazine’s signature awards.
About Benco Dental
Benco Dental is Driving Dentistry Forward™ with innovative solutions and a caring family culture. Industry firsts include Painless® electronic ordering, automated supply management, BluChip® customer loyalty rewards, CenterPoint design/equipment superstores and OneVisit™ open architecture CAD/CAM. Over 1,500 dedicated associates, including 400+ sales representatives and 300+ factory-trained service technicians, serve customers at locations nationwide. Independent since 1930, Benco Dental is one of Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Health Care and Biopharma and among Pennsylvania Best Places to Work® for 12 of 15 prior years.
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