During the 2019 Annual Session, the AAO, the AAO Foundation and the American Board of Orthodontics will recognize honorees at the Excellence in Orthodontics Luncheon and Awards Ceremony (Sunday, May 5 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles).

The Excellence in Orthodontics Luncheon and Awards Ceremony keynote speaker will be Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard, one of this generation’s most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash and holiday favorite How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Tickets to this event may be purchased via Annual Session registration. Learn More AAO award recipients will include:

Outstanding Contributions Award: Mr. Paul Gange Sr.

Recipient of the new Outstanding Contributions Award for non-orthodontists who have impacted the specialty, Paul Gange Sr. is the president of Reliance Orthodontic Products. He founded the company in 1981 with the goal of providing consistent, high-quality adhesives in a variety of delivery systems at a reasonable cost. The company works extensively with orthodontists as every product is field-tested for two years prior to being marketed. Mr. Gange has also trained doctors and orthodontic staff worldwide on the use of bonding products. He has been a speaker at numerous AAO Annual Sessions and has presented an AAO webinar on bonding.

Humanitarian Award: Dr. Moody Alexander

Having adopted three of their seven children from Ethiopia, Dr. Moody Alexander of Arlington, Texas and his wife, Emily are advocates for orphans internationally. Since 2010, they have led groups to Ethiopian villages each year with their dental mission organization, EthiopiaSmile. The group provides dental care for several hundred Ethiopians per trip, primarily orphans, widows, elderly individuals and those with dental infections. The service is greatly needed in a country of 80 million people that has fewer than 100 trained dentists nationwide.

Dr. Alexander is the son of Dr. R.G. “Wick” Alexander and the nephew of the late Dr. C. Moody Alexander, who served as Chair of the Orthodontic Department at the Baylor Dental School.

James E. Brophy Distinguished Service Award: Dr. Jaime de Jesús-Viñas

Dr. Jaime de Jesús-Viñas of San Juan, Puerto Rico was the Chair of the AAO Task Force on Practice Based Research Networks, which assisted with formation of the AAO PBRN’s first national prospective study on anterior open bite. Dr. de Jesús also served as a delegate from the Middle Atlantic Orthodontic Society (MASO) to the AAO House of Delegates, serving on the HOD Ad-Hoc Task Force that revised the AAO by-laws to streamline HOD proceedings. In addition, he served as Chair of the AAO Council on Insurance. Dr. de Jesús, the son of the late Dr. Jaime de Jesús Sr., is a past president of MASO and of the Sociedad de Especialistas en Ortodoncia de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Orthodontic Society).

Lifetime Achievement Award in Orthodontic Research: Dr. Peter Buschang

An anthropologist with a PhD degree, Dr. Buschang is Regents Professor and director of orthodontic research at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry. A faculty member at Baylor since 1988, he has guided hundreds of student research projects, the majority of which have been published in refereed journals. Dr. Buschang has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, numerous book chapters, and several books, with his achievements having garnered honorary memberships in both the AAO and the Edward H. Angle Society. His earlier research focused on craniofacial growth, the evaluation of treatment effects, and motor-oral function, while his more recent research addresses the effects of distraction osteogenesis, especially dentoalveolar distraction.

In addition to receiving the Research Award during Annual Session, Dr. Buschang will present the 2019 Angle Lecture, “30 Years of Achievements – Our Proudest Moments.”

AAO Foundation, American Board of Orthodontics to Present Awards

Award recipients at the Excellence in Orthodontics Luncheon and Awards Ceremony will also include:

AAO Foundation Louise Ada Jarabak Memorial International Teaching and Research Award: Dr. Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman

Professor Emeritus of Orthodontics at the Radboud University Medical Center Department of Dentistry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Dr. Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman spent 30 years as an orthodontic faculty member. She also lectured at Catholic University Leuven, Belgium, and spent 33 years as Head of the Cleft Palate Craniofacial Centre of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen. Since 2006 Dr. Kuijpers-Jagtman has been editor-in-chief of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research, published by Wiley Blackwell. A past president of the European Orthodontic Society, Dr. Kuijpers-Jagtman led the development of strong continuing education programs for in orthodontists in Europe.

American Board of Orthodontics Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award: Dr. Michael Riolo

A board-certified orthodontist since 1981, Dr. Michael Riolo joined the American Board of Orthodontics Board of Directors and served as ABO president for 2004-2005. From 2006 to 2008 he was an examiner for ABO board examinations. Dr. Riolo was noted for his work in making possible early certification of residents and recent graduates of orthodontic programs.

In addition to his involvement in the ABO, Dr. Riolo is a past president of the Michigan Association of Orthodontists (MAO). In 2017 the ABO presented Dr. Riolo with the Earl E. and Wilma S. Shepard Distinguished Service Award.