American Board of Orthodontics
The first and only ADA-recognized certifying board for orthodontic specialists in the United States, founded in 1929.
American Board of Orthodontics – Official WebsiteThe American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) is a non-profit professional association founded in 1929, originally as the American Board of Orthodontia, renaming itself in 1938. Established by the American Association of Orthodontists in Estes Park, Colorado, it holds the distinction of being the first specialty board in all of dentistry. It is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and operates with a small staff of 2–10 employees.
The ABO is the only orthodontic specialty board recognized by the American Dental Association and sponsored by the American Association of Orthodontists. It is also recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards as the national certifying body for Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. The ADA formally recognized the ABO as the official certifying agency for the specialty in 1950.
The organization's core mission is to set and uphold the highest standards of patient care in clinical orthodontics through a rigorous certification and recertification process, encouraging orthodontists to demonstrate ongoing commitment to lifelong learning and excellence. It also administers the Albert Ketcham Award, established in 1935, which represents the highest individual recognition in orthodontics.
As the authoritative credentialing body for orthodontic specialists, the ABO is directly relevant to any innovation in orthodontic education, clinical quality standards, digital certification workflows, or professional development within the orthodontic specialty.
Ideas that could help American Board of Orthodontics
- CVM GrowthTimer: Cervical Vertebral Maturation Stage Classifier for Treatment Timing
A specialized AI classifier that reads lateral cephalograms and automatically assigns a CVM growth stage, helping orthodontists decide the optimal window to begin or modify growth-dependent treatments such as functional appliances.
Why it helps: Standardized, AI-assisted CVM staging would support ABO examination case documentation and help establish reproducible growth-assessment criteria across board-certified practitioners.
- TAD Deviation Risk Flagging Module for Orthodontic Planning Software
A lightweight analytics plugin that evaluates virtually planned TAD positions against known guide-deviation profiles and automatically flags positions where the safety clearance to critical anatomy is insufficient given measured placement error ranges.
Why it helps: The ABO could use the placement-confidence scoring as an objective quality metric in board examinations or continuing education on evidence-based TAD technique.