Brent Larson, D.D.S., elected 2018-2019 president, American Association of Orthodontists
Brent Larson, D.D.S. (ODON ’90), professor and director of the Division of Orthodontics at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, was elected the 2018-2019 president of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). Dr. Larson also has a private orthodontic practice in Rochester, Minnesota.
Prior to joining the University School of Dentistry, Dr. Larson was the orthodontic program director at Mayo Clinic and an assistant professor in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.
Throughout his career, Dr. Larson has been actively involved in organized dentistry and orthodontics including service as a site visitor for the Commission on Dental Accreditation for Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. He is a past president of the Minnesota Association of Orthodontists. He chaired the AAO Task Force on Orthodontics Faculty Recruitment and Retention. Dr. Larson is a past chair of the AAO Council on Information Technology, AAO Council on Orthodontic Education and AAO Foundation Planning and Awards Review Committee.
Dr. Larson has served as educational liaison to the editorial board of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. He spent 15 years as a reviewer and synopsis writer for Practical Reviews in Orthodontics, a monthly literature review publication distributed around the world.
Dr. Larson’s scholarly articles have been published in refereed journals including the AJO-DO, writing on clinical and educational topics, and more recently on 3-D imaging and orthodontic treatment outcomes. He lectures around the U.S. and world on advances in clinical orthodontics, the application of technology to improve patient care and orthodontic educational issues.
Dr. Larson is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and International College of Dentists, and a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics.
Dr. Larson is the 2018 recipient of the Louise Ada Jarabak Memorial International Teachers and Research award presented by the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation. Other awards include the Distinguished Dental Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Association of Orthodontists Fredsall Distinguished Service Award, the Earl E. Shepard Award of Distinction from the American Board of Orthodontics for the highest achievement on the written board exam, and four times as Teacher of the Year in the Mayo Clinic Department of Dental Specialties. He is a member of the Mayo Clinic Teacher of the Year Hall of Fame.
Dr. Larson received his undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and his D.D.S from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He completed a general practice residency in dentistry at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. He served as a general dentist at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York and as chief of orthodontics and quality assurance coordinator at Torrejon Air Base in Spain. Dr. Larson completed the orthodontic residency program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also earned a master’s degree in orthodontics.