Dr. Jeff L. Rickabaugh (MDS Ortho alumnus, 1993), an orthodontist who practices in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has begun a three-year term as the Speaker of the House of Delegates (HOD) of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO).
“I am honored beyond words to be elected as the Speaker of the House. It is a privilege to serve the AAO and its members, as well as our millions of patients. It is our goal to ensure delivery of the highest quality of care to patients through meeting the varied needs of AAO members,” said Dr. Rickabaugh.
The HOD is the policy-making body of the AAO and convenes at the AAO Annual Session. The Speaker of the House is a member of the AAO Board of Trustees (BOT) and an officer in the organization. The Speaker presides at meetings of the HOD as it elects officers, adopts the annual budget and acts upon reports submitted. The Speaker also serves as the liaison between the AAO BOT and the HOD, and performs customary and parliamentary obligations as required.
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Dr. Rickabaugh earned his DDS from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1982. He served eight years in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps before he completed the orthodontic residency program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, where he earned an orthodontic certificate and a Master of Dental Science degree in 1993. He opened his orthodontic practice in Winston-Salem later that year.
Dr. Rickabaugh has served the dental profession and the orthodontic specialty through leadership positions in many professional organizations throughout his career. He is a past president of the Forsyth County Dental Society (FCDS) and the North Carolina Association of Orthodontists (NCAO). In his work with the Southern Association of Orthodontists (SAO), Dr. Rickabaugh was the North Carolina director to the SAO, and an SAO delegate to the AAO HOD.
Dr. Rickabaugh is an expert in the removal of ceramic orthodontic brackets. He published a paper on the topic in The American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, the world’s leading scientific journal. He also holds a U.S. Patent for an apparatus used in removing ceramic orthodontic brackets.
Dr. Rickabaugh resides in Winston-Salem. In his free time, he enjoys watching baseball and volleyball games, going to DASH games, and boating, as well as hunting and competing with his German shorthaired pointers.