Kurt H. Thoma (December 2, 1883 – June 5, 1972) was an American Oral Surgeon known as the founder of the American Board of Oral Pathology. He was also the Editor-in-chief for the

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology ''Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers research in oral surgery, medicine, pathology, radiology, and endodontics published by Mosby. It was originally established ...

Journal for 22 years. To many Kurt was recognized as the Father of

Oral and maxillofacial pathology Oral and maxillofacial pathology refers to the diseases of the mouth ("oral cavity" or "stoma"), jaws ("maxillae" or "gnath") and related structures such as salivary glands, temporomandibular joints, facial muscles and perioral skin (the skin aro ...

and the defender of Oral and maxillofacial surgery and a great teacher of

Oral medicine An oral medicine or stomatology doctor (or stomatologist) has received additional specialized training and experience in the diagnosis and management of oral mucosal abnormalities (growths, ulcers, infection, allergies, immune-mediated and autoim ...

Life

He was born in

Basel, Switzerland , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

and attended the Institute of Technology in Switzerland where he studied architecture. He eventually moved to USA in 1908 and received his dental degree from

Harvard School of Dental Medicine The Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) is the dental school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the DMD degree, HSDM offers specialty training programs, advanced trainin ...

in 1911. He then returned to Switzerland to learn usage of

Procaine Procaine is a local anesthetic drug of the amino ester group. It is most commonly used in dental procedures to numb the area around a tooth and is also used to reduce the pain of intramuscular injection of penicillin. Owing to the ubiquity ...

Dental anesthesia Dental anesthesia (or dental anaesthesia) is the application of anesthesia to dentistry. It includes local anesthetics, sedation, and general anesthesia. Local anesthetic agents in dentistry In dentistry, the most commonly used local anesthetic ...

. He returned to United States later on and served as Professor of Oral Pathology and Oral Surgery at Harvard. He also taught at Boston University and Pennsylvania Dental School. He served as the editor in chief for Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology for 22 years. Dr. Thoma wrote several textbooks and wrote over 300 scientific articles during his career. Thoma was consultant for the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant S ...

, the Veterans Administration,

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

and

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) (1862 – September 15, 2011) was a U.S. government institution concerned with diagnostic consultation, education, and research in the medical specialty of pathology. Overview It was founded in ...

. He was the oral surgeon to the Brooks Hospital in Brookline, Massachusetts for 50 years and was on staff of many Boston area hospitals. In 1912, he married Louise Bird and they had two children, Kurt Richard Thoma and Richard S. Alles.

Textbooks

* Oral Anesthesiology, 1914 * Oral Abscesses, 1916 * Oral Roentgenology, 1917 * Teeth, Diet and Health, 1923 * Clinical Pathology of the Jaws 1925, * Oral Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, 1936 * Oral Pathology, 1941 * Oral Surgery, 1948 (The C. V. Mosby Company)

Awards and positions

* Professor of Oral Surgery -

Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine The Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine is the dental school at Boston University. Its curriculum is based on the Applied Professional Experience (APEX) Program, which gives students practical experience at a dental practice as part of clin ...

* Professor of Oral Surgery & Pathology - Harvard Dental School * Professor of Oral Surgery -

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (often referred to as Penn Dental Medicine or simply Penn Dental) is the dental school of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an Ivy League university located in Philadelphia. It is one ...

* American Board of Oral Pathology - Founder * American Academy of Oral Pathology - President *

Omicron Kappa Upsilon Omicron Kappa Upsilon () is a national honorary society serving the field of dentistry. History The Society originated with the 1914 graduating class of the dental school at Northwestern University in Chicago. The idea for the fraternity came from ...

- President * Professor Emeritus - Harvard Dental School * Curator-

Harvard Dental Museum The Harvard Dental Museum dates from the late 1870s but the exact date of its formation is unknown. The first annual ''Announcement of The Dental School'' indicates a museum was in existence, or at least in prospect, in 1868-69. The original specime ...

* Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology Journal - Editor in Chief (1948-1970) * American Academy of Dental Science - President *

Harvard Odontological Society The Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) is the dental school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the DMD degree, HSDM offers specialty training programs, advanced trainin ...

- President * Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and England - Fellowship * Jarvie Award *

Alfred Fones Alfred Civilion Fones (1869 – March 15, 1938) was an American dentist from Bridgeport, Connecticut, who has been called the founder of the profession of dental hygiene, starting in 1906. Fones created the name "dental hygienist" and in 1913 esta ...

Medal *

Pierre Fauchard Pierre Fauchard (January 2, 1679 – March 21, 1761) was a French physician, credited as being the "father of modern dentistry". He is widely known for writing the first complete scientific description of dentistry, ''Le Chirurgien Dentiste'' (''" ...

Medal * Tomes Lectureship of Royal College of Surgeons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoma, Kurt Hermann 1883 births 1972 deaths American dentists American dentistry academics Harvard School of Dental Medicine alumni 20th-century dentists Swiss emigrants to the United States