Former TAMBCD professor, CMP director, receives Nobel Biocare award

The Academy of Osseointegration awarded Dr. Stephen Parel the eighth Nobel Biocare Brånemark Osseointegration Award on March 12. Parel, who was a professor at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry from 1998 to 2008, serving as director of the Center for Maxillofacial Prosthodontics at its outset, was presented with the award during the academy’s 2015 annual meeting in Chicago.

TAMBCD constructed a dedicated facility for the center during Parel’s tenure, enhancing care for the college’s maxillofacial prosthodontic patients. Parel has dedicated his career to the subspecialty and worked closely with Dr. Per-Ingvar Brånemark, who pioneered the concept of osseointegration, in which titanium is surgically implanted to bond to human bone. Prostheses are then attached via magnets to the titanium anchors to replace facial parts such as eyes, ears and noses.

The award, made possible by a grant from Nobel Biocare and given through the Osseointegration Foundation, the academy’s philanthropic arm, is awarded annually to a person whose work in implant dentistry impacts research, education or charitable causes.