Three Giants of TMJ Surgery Join IATMJ as Founding Members

Prof. Louis G. Mercuri, Prof. Larry M. Wolford, and Prof. Peter D. Quinn — pioneering figures of the American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons (ASTMJS) and architects of modern alloplastic TMJ surgery — have formally joined the International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ) as Founding Members.

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A Defining Moment for IATMJ

The International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ) is proud to announce that Professor Louis G. Mercuri, DDS, MS, Professor Larry M. Wolford, DMD, and Professor Peter D. Quinn, DMD, MD have joined IATMJ as Founding Members. All three distinguished surgeons are former presidents and foundational figures of the American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons (ASTMJS), and their decision to unite with IATMJ at its inception marks a watershed moment in the global organization of the TMJ surgical community. Their participation bridges the North American tradition of evidence-based TMJ surgical excellence with IATMJ's newly formed multidisciplinary, international framework.

Prof. Louis G. Mercuri — The Father of Custom TMJ Replacement

Professor Louis G. Mercuri is universally recognized as the pioneer of custom CAD/CAM total temporomandibular joint replacement. In 1989, collaborating with Techmedica, he developed the first computer-assisted designed and manufactured patient-fitted TMJ prosthesis — a breakthrough that transformed alloplastic reconstruction from an experimental intervention into a reliable, long-term solution for patients with end-stage joint disease. His landmark 1995 multicenter report in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery established the clinical evidence base for custom TMJ prosthetics that remains foundational to the field today.

A Cum Laude graduate of Georgetown University School of Dentistry and holder of a Master of Science in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from the University of Illinois Chicago, Prof. Mercuri is a Life Member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, a Retired Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and recipient of the 2009 OMS Foundation Research Recognition Award and the 2010 William J. Gies Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2011, he received an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in the Faculty of Dental Surgery. In 2020, the ASTMJS created the Louis G. Mercuri Lifetime Achievement Award — the highest honor the society bestows — naming him its inaugural recipient. He served as ASTMJS representative at the founding of the European Society of TMJ Surgeons (ESTMJS) in Rome in 2009, and currently holds positions at Rush University Medical Center and the University of Illinois Chicago.

Prof. Larry M. Wolford — Surgeon, Inventor, and Global Educator

Professor Larry M. Wolford is one of the most decorated and widely published oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the world. As Clinical Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Orthodontics at Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Baylor College of Dentistry, and in full-time practice at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Prof. Wolford has performed more total TMJ prosthetic procedures and orthognathic surgeries than virtually any other surgeon globally, with patients travelling to his practice from every continent.

His contributions to surgical innovation are extraordinary in their breadth. He developed the Mitek Anchor technique for TMJ articular disc repositioning — the most widely performed procedure of its kind in the United States — and pioneered the use of periarticular autogenous fat grafting to prevent heterotopic bone formation around total joint prostheses, solving one of the most challenging complications in alloplastic TMJ reconstruction. A Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and recipient of both the William F. Harrigan Award and the William J. Gies Award — among the highest honors in oral and maxillofacial surgery — Prof. Wolford has authored over 185 scientific publications and 150 scientific abstracts, and has trained hundreds of surgeons through fellowship programs at Baylor and Texas A&M.

Prof. Peter D. Quinn — Educator, Innovator, and ASTMJS Leader

Professor Peter D. Quinn, DMD, MD, is the Schoenleber Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, where he chaired the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from 1986 to 2008 and subsequently served as Vice Dean for Professional Services and Senior Vice President for Clinical Practices at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. His academic and clinical career has been centred on the surgical management of temporomandibular joint disease, with particular expertise in TMJ reconstruction, orthognathic surgery, and the development of alloplastic joint replacement systems. He is credited with the development of the first FDA-approved stock total temporomandibular joint replacement prosthesis, a landmark regulatory achievement that expanded access to alloplastic TMJ reconstruction for patients across the United States and internationally.

Prof. Quinn served as President of the American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons (ASTMJS) from 2009 to 2011, guiding the society’s scientific programmes and international collaborations during a pivotal period of global expansion in TMJ surgical practice. He is a Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and a recipient of the Osbon Award for an Outstanding Educator from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (2011), as well as the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Alfred Stengel Health System Champion Award at the University of Pennsylvania. His longstanding commitment to multidisciplinary education in TMJ disease — exemplified by the Penn Center for TMJ Disease and the biannual Penn TMJ Symposium — reflects the values of collegiality, evidence-based practice, and international knowledge-sharing that IATMJ was founded to advance. The Peter D. Quinn Lectureship Fund, established in his honour at Penn Dental Medicine, stands as a testament to his enduring influence across generations of oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

From ASTMJS to IATMJ: The Broader Significance

The American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons (ASTMJS), officially formed in 1986, has been the most rigorous and influential voice for evidence-based TMJ surgical practice in the world. Professors Mercuri, Wolford, and Quinn are not merely members of that society — they are among its defining architects, collectively having served as its presidents and shaped its standards, research agenda, residency programmes, and international partnerships across four decades.

Their acceptance of Founding Membership in IATMJ represents far more than an individual affiliation. It signals the endorsement of the North American TMJ surgical tradition for a new kind of international organization — one that is multidisciplinary, non-distributing, and genuinely global. IATMJ is honored to carry that legacy forward, and to unite the knowledge and authority of Professors Mercuri, Wolford, and Quinn with the clinical communities of Asia, Europe, and beyond.

Join the Member: https://www.iatmj.org/membership