Irwin Elliot Smigel (October 9, 1924 – October 17, 2016) was an American aesthetic dentist, innovator and philanthropist.

Biography

Smigel, who was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, founded the American Society for Dental Aesthetics (ASDA), and was President of the ASDA until his death in 2016. Smigel was involved with many major developments in dentistry over the past three decades, including: tooth bonding, laminates, veneers, changing facial structures and teeth whitening. New York University College of Dentistry dubbed him "The Father of Aesthetic Dentistry" in 2000. In 2009, The National Museum of Dentistry, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, created a permanent exhibition called The Smile Experience celebrating Dr. Smigel's contributions to dentistry. Smigel and his wife, Lucia Smigel, have two children, the writer/comedian

Robert Smigel Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The pup ...

and Bellanca Smigel Rutter, and six grandsons. He died in Manhattan from pneumonia on October 17, 2016.

Career

Smigel graduated from the

New York University College of Dentistry The New York University College of Dentistry is the dentistry school of New York University. As the third oldest dentistry school in the United States, it offers both graduate programs and clinical training in oral healthcare. History The College ...

in 1950. In the late 1970s Smigel appeared on ABC's "That's Incredible" where he performed "live" tooth-bonding on a patient for the first time on national television. He was called the "pioneer of tooth-bonding" on that show.

Later years

Smigel practiced on Madison Avenue in New York City and was a visiting lecturer for several postgraduate aesthetic dentistry programs, including the University of Minnesota Dental School, SUNY School of Dentistry – Buffalo, University of Missouri Dental School,

Case Western University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case Western Reserve Uni ...

and the Baylor University School of Dentistry. He lectured throughout the country to practicing dentists and worldwide in countries including India, Korea, Israel, Turkey, Japan, South America, Canada. The Irwin and Lucia Smigel Fund was created to allow young professional actors and performers who could not afford aesthetic dentistry to obtain this type of dental work at The New York University College of Dentistry.

Publications

* Numerous articles in Dentistry Today and many other dental trade journals.

Honors

American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, 1994: Outstanding Contribution to Aesthetic Dentistry Award.

creation of the Irwin Smigel Prize in Aesthetic Dentistry presented to dentists for outstanding contributions to the world of aesthetic dentistry. In June 2009, the

National Museum of Dentistry The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry – located in Baltimore, Maryland, and opened in 1996 – preserves and exhibits the history of dentistry in United States and throughout the world. Situated on the campus of the Universit ...

, an affiliate of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, honored Smigel in a new historical exhibition called The Smile Experience.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smigel, Irwin 1924 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American Jews New York University alumni American dentistry academics 20th-century American dentists 21st-century American Jews