Leonard Linkow, DDS, DMSc, died on January 26 at age 90. He was known as the father of oral implantology.
Dr. Linkow was the only dentist so far nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1969). He held 36 different patents when he died and was responsible for innovations including the following:
- The blade implant
- The self-tapping ventplant root form implant
- The tripodal subperiosteal implant
- The internal hex design for root form implants
Dr. Linkow was a radio operator in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. After turning down a professional baseball contract, he graduated from the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry in 1952 and practiced in New York City. He treated more than 100,000 patients and was a past president of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He also wrote 19 textbooks and about 200 articles for dental and medical journals, and he has three institutes named after him.
He was a clinical professor of implant dentistry at NYU at the time of his death.
