Dr. Steven Eckert receives AO's highest honor

The award is the highest tribute the academy can pay to an AO member, given in recognition and appreciation for outstanding clinical, educational or scientific achievement, contribution to implant dentistry and/or exemplary service to the academy.

Having joined AO in 1990, Dr. Eckert’s early path to the academy was carved out through his relationship with AO’s inaugural president, William R. Laney, DMD, MS. After graduating from The Ohio State University and subsequently completing a general practice residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, Eckert moved to Rochester, Minn., to attend the Combined Prosthodontic and Maxillofacial Prosthetics Program at the Mayo Clinic.

During his time at Mayo, where he began his tenure as an associate consultant, he ultimately became a full professor and served as graduate program director for prosthodontics for approximately 15 years. During that time, Eckert successfully challenged the prosthodontic specialty board and eventually became an examiner in prosthodontics, an honor that is considered to be the highest professional achievement in prosthodontics. Also during his time at Mayo, Eckert met and formed a close working relationship with Dr. Laney, a vastly influential mentor who Eckert gratefully describes as “someone who was always there.”

Introduced to AO through this significant relationship, Eckert attended several early academy meetings as a guest before ultimately becoming an inaugural member and one of its most illustrious contributors. During his membership, Eckert served on five different committees, was selected to participate on the board of directors and ultimately served as its 21st president from 2007-2008.

During his presidency, Eckert led negotiations between the academy and corporate leaders to develop the protocols used today in the selection of course curriculum and presenters for educational events. Offering course content that followed CERP regulations was of paramount importance and finding a balance between educational integrity and corporate interests became a priority during his year as president. Another goal for Eckert was shifting the academy into the international realm, growing its membership to match the surge of implant dentistry beyond the borders of North America.

Prior to his involvement with the academy, Eckert had already embarked on an even more exacting undertaking as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants (JOMI), engaging in a remarkable stretch of duty lasting until he retired his editorship in 2022. One of his first priorities was looking at submission and acceptance rates and questioning how best to apply more critical evaluation of submissions, thus publishing better articles in the journal. By lowering the acceptance rate, it increased the ability to be more critical of submissions considered to be “borderline”, thus improving the selectivity and, ultimately, the journal content.

Eckert also increased his focus on seeking good science from international submissions. His goal was to intentionally reflect the growing international representation of AO’s members by publishing these submissions in IJOMI as well as ensure there was a global flavor on the editorial board.

Adding to the accolades of his acclaimed career, Eckert was the 10th recipient of the prestigious Nobel Biocare Brånemark Osseointegration Award, bestowed to him in 2017 by Myron Nevins, DDS, then president of the Osseointegration Foundation.

Today, Eckert continues to serve as director of research for ClearChoice, a position he has held since 2010. In this capacity, he remains instrumental in implant dentistry by managing the largest accumulation of data on implant procedures in the world.

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