World-Renowned Scholar Joins U of T’s Faculty of Dentistry

Source: www.news.utoronto.ca/

The long-standing relationship between the University of Toronto and Nobel Biocare has brought Professor Asbjørn Jokstad from the University of Oslo, Norway, to join U of T’s Faculty of Dentistry as the Nobel Biocare Chair in Prosthodontics. The chair, created in 2004 through a $2-million gift from Nobel Biocare, promotes significant contributions to prosthodontics scholarship.

The prestige associated with the Nobel Biocare chair allowed the faculty to attract international scholars of the highest calibre to the position, resulting in Jokstad’s recruitment. U of T is the only Canadian university with endowed chairs in dentistry, and the faculty’s three such positions attest to its pervasive commitment to research and teaching excellence.

“Dr. Jokstad is among the most highly regarded academic prosthodontists in the world,” says Professor David Mock, dean of dentistry. “He is devoted to improving the scientific basis for clinical research and teaching in dentistry. His skill in evidence-based dentistry and applying electronic tools to dental education is a welcome addition to our already world-class faculty.”

Jokstad replaces the chair’s inaugural holder, retiring Professor George Zarb, North America’s foremost expert in implant dentistry. Zarb’s research and innovative teaching programs for Canadian dental faculty members initially brought Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark, the founder of Nobel Biocare and inventor of modern dental implants, to work with U of T in the early 1980s.