The International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS) has enjoyed a relatively short but fascinating history. It has involved outstanding individual and national leadership of the specialty from all parts of the world. The organization has grown to now have 72 national affiliate members and more than 4,000 individual fellows who have an enormous impact on education to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and in the delivery of quality oral and maxillofacial surgical care around the world.
From its origins in 1962, the IAOMS has been a friendly community of surgeons, bound together by a common enthusiasm for the well-being of their patients and the advancement of their specialty. Its structure has evolved as its membership has grown.
Now the IAOMS sits atop a pyramid of regional and national associations of oral and maxillofacial surgeons. It has a permanent office in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, USA, a permanent executive secretary in the form of the ever industrious Lynne Sayler, a director of marketing and development, Kerry Spaedy, and an executive committee of top surgeons from all four corners of the globe.
