J. David Johnson Jr., DDS, was introduced as the 2021-22 president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) during its annual meeting in September in Nashville, Tenn. 

With AAOMS’s other officers and Board of Trustees, Johnson assumes leadership of the professional organization representing more than 9,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Johnson of Oak Ridge, Tenn., previously served as AAOMS President-Elect, Vice President and District III Trustee as well as AAOMS and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) Foundation Treasurer.

“I look forward to serving as your President in the coming year,” Johnson said during his inaugural address at the House of Delegates’ third session. “We do not know where the road of life will lead us. If we pursue our AAOMS mission, ‘to assure patient access to safe and effective care,’ our association will be going in the right direction.” 

For more than 30 years, Johnson has been in private practice in Oak Ridge and Powell, Tenn. He has served as president of the Southeastern and Tennessee Societies of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, associate professor at the University of Tennessee as well as a member of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) Examination Committee, the OMS National Insurance Company (OMSNIC) Advisory Board and numerous association committees. 

For 15 years, he was the national OMS spokesperson for the American Dental Association. In 2003, he received the AAOMS Presidential Achievement Award in OMS. Johnson graduated summa cum laude (with highest honors) from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and completed his OMS residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville.

“Ten years on the AAOMS Board of Trustees as AAOMS District III Trustee, Treasurer, Vice President, President-Elect and now as AAOMS President are the culmination of my service as an advocate for our specialty,” Johnson said. “My volunteerism has been made possible by too many people to list.” 

Johnson succeeds B.D. Tiner, DDS, MD, FACS, who will serve as Immediate Past President. Other 2021-22 officers elected by the House of Delegates are President-Elect Paul J. Schwartz, DMD; Vice President Mark A. Egbert, DDS, FACS; Treasurer Robert S. Clark, DMD; and Speaker of the House Steven R. Nelson, DDS, MS. In addition, W. Frederick Stephens, DDS, joins the Board of Trustees, serving the western states in District VI for a two-year term and replacing Egbert. Trustees David M. Shafer, DMD, of District I and Debra M. Sacco, DMD, MD, of District III were re-elected to two-year terms.

Schwartz is assistant professor in oral and maxillofacial surgery and dental anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He has served as president of the Maryland Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, AAOMS District II Trustee and an examiner and co-chair of medicine and anesthesia for ABOMS. Before his full-time academic appointment, he practiced full-scope oral and maxillofacial surgery in the Washington, D.C., metro area for more than 30 years.

Egbert has been Chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital since 2000. Previously, he spent 14 years as OMS Chief at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. He is an associate professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Washington and served five years as AAOMS District VI Trustee and eight years as an ABOMS examiner. He also has been president of the Western and Washington societies of oral and maxillofacial surgeons, a director on the OMS Foundation Board, AAOMS Delegate for 14 years and a member of AAOMS committees. 

Nelson was elected to his 20th term as Speaker of the House. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Center and practices at Nelson, Rollert & Wells Associates in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Denver, Colo. He also is chair of the Small Donor Committee of the Colorado Dental Political Action Committee, a member of the Colorado Dental Association Government Relations Council and a volunteer with the Colorado Dental Lifeline Network (after serving as president).

Stephens practices as a member of The Pacific Coast Center for Oral, Facial & Cosmetic Surgery in Pasadena, Calif. He has served on the ABOMS Examination Committee and as president of the California Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons and the San Gabriel Valley Dental Society. He also has served as a commissioner with and subsequent chair of the AAOMS Commission on Professional Conduct as well as an AAOMS Delegate. Stephens is a board member and treasurer and will be the 2022 chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Political Action Committee, and he was a director at-large for the OMS Foundation, receiving its 2015 Gerald E. Hanson Outstanding Service Award. 

Other AAOMS Trustees are Martin E. Eichner, DDS, of District II, J. David Morrison, DMD, of District IV, and Charles A. Crago, DMD, MD, FACS, of District V. The Board also includes Secretary/Executive Director Karin Wittich, CAE.

 

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The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) is the professional organization representing more than 11,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons, OMS residents and OMS professional staff in the United States. AAOMS supports its fellows’ and members’ ability to practice their specialty through education, research and advocacy. AAOMS fellows and members comply with rigorous continuing education requirements and submit to periodic office anesthesia evaluations. For additional information about oral and maxillofacial surgery, visit the AAOMS websites at AAOMS.org and MyOMS.org.