History

The inspiration for THE DENTAL ADVISOR began with a trip to the Chicago MidWinter Meeting in 1977. The large number of vendors, dental products and equipment left John W. Farah, DDS, PhD, with a lasting impression, but more importantly, with questions on the quality and reliability of those products.

Dr. Farah enlisted the support of John M. Powers, PhD, to develop a tool to help dental professionals navigate the extensive selection of products on the market. Inspired by Consumer's Reports, they resolved to create a publication that disseminates science-based information on dental materials in an understandable and clinically relevant manner.

The first issue of THE DENTAL ADVISOR was published in 1984. It was the first science-based publication of its kind, featuring product ratings, long-term clinical information, and comparative product tables. Since its early days, THE DENTAL ADVISOR has broadened the mission from simply providing objective information to the marketplace to improving the level of products and care available to the patient.

Over the past 25 years, THE DENTAL ADVISOR has grown with the support of several professionals, including: Drs. William Gregory, Kamal Asgar, Robert Craig, Ronald Jordan, Karl Leinfelder, Ralph Phillips, Jon Goldberg, and Peter Yaman. More recently, Drs. Lori Brown, Santine Anderson, John McLaren, Charles McLaren, Larissa K. Bishop, Bill Stevenson, Bob Stevenson, Sabiha Bunek, Mark Waranowicz, Darren Marsh, and Kathy O'Keefe have become regular contributors.

In 2009, Dr. John A. Molinari joined THE DENTAL ADVISOR as Director of Infection Control. With this addition, THE DENTAL ADVISOR evaluates clinical and microbiological properties of infection control products.