Amos S. Deinard, MD, MPH, FAAP, passed away at the age of 86 on March 9, 2022, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Deinard was a longtime member of MNAAP.
Dr. Deinard’s motto was, “Go forth and varnish” and he was an ardent supporter of pediatric oral health initiatives. In 2005, he helped found and direct the Minnesota Oral Health Project, an educational/research project, where the primary mission has been to increase public awareness of the caries crisis affecting high-risk children, improve access to early caries prevention services through training and support for medical and dental providers and to educate caregivers about healthy dental practices.
In 2015, Dr. Deinard received the American Public Health Association’s John W. Knutson Distinguished Service Award in Dental Public Health. He remains the only non-dentist or dental hygienist to have received that recognition in the 40 years that the award has been presented. In December 2020, the Minnesota Department of Health Oral Health Program and the Minnesota Oral Health Coalition jointly awarded Dr. Deinard with a lifetime achievement award for his unwavering commitment to the oral health of Minnesota’s children.
(Biographical information taken from the Star Tribune obituary and the Minnesota Oral Health Coalition)
