The AO is the world’s premier implant organisation. It was founded in 1986, by an original group of clinicians who returned to the US from the famous 1982 Toronto conference in which Professor Per Ingvar Brånemark first exposed his research on endosseous implants to the world. While the academy recognised the global nature of osseointegration becoming an international organisation, it has remained very much based in the US and until now has only ever been served by American presidents, many of whom were and continue to be household names in the world of implant dentistry.
Michael joined the AO as early as 1992 and served on numerous committees before becoming the editor of the Academy News in 2002; shortly thereafter he became an associate editor of the International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants. In 2006, Michael was elevated to the board of directors, only the second time a non-American had served on the board. Rising through the ranks, he became a member of the executive in 2013, in which he served as secretary, vice president and president elect.
“It is a massive honour and a huge responsibility to take on the presidency of the AO” says Michael Norton. “I cannot over emphasise how thrilled and excited I am and I would like to express my indebtedness to friends and colleagues on the board that they have seen fit to entrust in me the position of president.
“Being the first non-American president is a big deal not just for me but for AO as it breaks with tradition and looks outwards to a truly global future.”
Today the membership of the AO exceeds 5,500 dentists from over 70 countries around the world. Its annual meeting regularly attracts over 2,000 attendees and it is Michael Norton’s hope that there will be a groundswell of interest from non-American members and non-members alike to attend both the 2017 meeting in Orlando as well as his own meeting in Los Angeles in 2018. He said, “I want as much support from around the world as I can muster so that we can show that the AO is truly the global force it has always aspired to be”.
Visit www.osseo.org to become an AO member or register for this year’s annual congress.