Members have noticed that the Academy News mailing envelope was somewhat larger in May.  This is because the AO Board of Directors agreed to include a copy of its inaugural and recently produced historical publication, spanning the years from the organization’s inception in 1985 to the year ending in 2007.  As a standard goal in every version of the Academy’s Strategic Plans, the Board has always insisted that special efforts continue to be devoted towards assuring that the organization’s values and achievements are communicated to its members. 

It goes without saying that many hours of service have been dedicated to this effort to preserve the Academy’s past.  The 40-page, four-color booklet includes over 100 photographs.  Whether you are a new AO member or one of the founding fathers who played a key role in the AO’s development, we are sure you will enjoy learning more about those unselfish individuals who devoted a great deal of time and effort to the introduction of osseointegration.

The Academy now has over 5,700 members representing over 70 countries and continues to grow in size and importance.  Thomas Jefferson once said, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”  We think you will enjoy the history of the Academy’s past as the AO Board of Directors continues to plan for the future.  We hope reading it will deepen your respect for the achievement of AO’s founders and osseointegration’s pioneers.

To condense the Academy’s 22-year history into 40 pages was an arduous task that took over two years.  Listing the many accomplishments and finding the right photos to document the Academy’s past involved conducting interviews with many long-time AO members and tapping into their own personal photo albums and archives.

As the history was compiled, it often struck us what a large role chance and serendipity seemed to have in AO’s founding.  In the very beginning, Dr. Per-Ingvar Brånemark’s decision to use titanium in his experiments was chance.  He had hoped to use another metal.  The capability of bone to bond with titanium was initially greeted as an annoyance, its significance not to be understood until later.  The selection of a patient with dental problems was also chance.  Dr. Brånemark is not a dentist.  His original plan had been to work with victims of motorcycle accidents on knee joint and hip joint surgery.

The role of chance continued with the introduction of osseointegration in North America.  Prosthodontist Dr. George Zarb was on a sabbatical in Sweden.  He had not gone there to look into osseointegration, but after paying a courtesy visit to Dr. Brånemark, he returned to Toronto to do replication studies and later establish the first North American training center.

Dr. Daniel Sullivan thought he was getting a nice break from the rigors of dental practice when he attended the Toronto conference that Dr. Zarb had organized for Dr. Brånemark to introduce osseointegration in North America.  He took his wife, anticipating a mini vacation, and instead found “three days of enlightenment” that so totally involved him he had little time to spend with his wife.

Later, Dr. Sullivan had difficulty securing an invitation for training in Göteborg, because he did not then have a faculty appointment.  Finally, he made it because no U.S. dental school sent a representative.  His team, including oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Paul Krogh, ended up placing the first endosseous implants in the U.S.

We are indebted to many for their contributions to the history.  The history project started with a draft prepared by Academy Historian Dr. Akshay Kumar, who practices with one of the organization’s early founders, Dr. Charles Berman.  The text also benefits hugely from the participation and contributions of many members, beginning with the current Board of Directors, whose comments on an earlier draft, suggestions and encouragement contributed greatly to the completion of the publication.  Dr. Ed Sevetz persuaded Dr. Per-Ingvar Brånemark to contribute a foreword, and Dr. Steve Eckert helped us interpret it.

Dr. Kumar responded to many questions about his first draft and selected many photos to use for illustration.  Dr. William Laney, editor par excellence, tirelessly edited three different versions of the document and contributed his very special expertise to the quality of the publication.  He provided guidance and a book by Elaine McClarence that allowed us to expand the discussion of the early origins of osseointegration.

The Director of Graphics for AO’s management firm, Executive Administration, Inc., Tammy Spejcher, and Academy Associate Director Mike Slawny created the history’s attractive design and coordinated the final production process.  An outside graphic design professional who often contributes to AO projects, Tonya Alling, also deserves our gratitude for giving the book its final look.