by Christopher Piehler
This year, Orthodontic Products launched an annual program to spotlight deserving orthodontists. Before we started our latest endeavor, we polled our readers and asked if you might be interested either in appearing in the Best of 2011 or in nominating a colleague who you found deserving of recognition. Many of you responded positively, and here are the results of your positivity.
We received nominations from orthodontists, their staffs, their referring dentists, and other colleagues. Nominators from across the country (and, indeed, from around the world) sent us short profiles that explained what makes each nominee exceptional among his or her peers. Unlike so much that happens on the Internet, ours was not an anonymous process dominated by negativity. Our goal was to have as many members of the orthodontic community as possible proudly point out the strength of their profession.
In the pdf of nominated professionals you will see names of those who run one small practice and those who juggle many locations; you will recognize long-established orthodontists who have bonded and debonded several generations in the same location; and you will be introduced to younger orthodontists who have brought notable excitement and enthusiasm to their new calling. Some of these orthodontists came to the profession through a family connection; others were motivated by a love of science or the desire to interact with dozens of different people each day.
Their business plans and treatment techniques may differ, but everyone listed here shares one common thread: the desire to serve their patients and their communities—to be not just another item on a teenager’s to-do list, but a memorably positive part of the lives of the families they treat.
Christopher Piehler, Editor
Orthodontic Products
