Dr. Leonard Bruce Kaban

Dr. Leonard B. Kaban served as the Walter C. Guralnick Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS), chair of OMFS at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), and chief of OMFS at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) from 1994 to 2015. He continues to hold the title of Walter C. Guralnick Distinguished Professor and Chief, Emeritus of OMFS at HSDM and MGH.

Kaban made significant contributions to the field through his work on jaw tumors, hemifacial microsomia, vascular anomalies, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, facial asymmetry, reconstructive surgery, distraction osteogenesis, and orthognathic surgery. His research has advanced understanding of wound healing, fetal cleft lip models, and osteogenesis using demineralized bone matrix. He has authored or co-authored five books and over 360 peer-reviewed publications.

A graduate of Harvard University (DMD, MD), Dr. Kaban completed his OMFS residency at MGH in 1974. He was the first full-time oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, where he established a successful OMFS service. From 1985 to 1993, he served as professor and chair of OMFS at the University of California, San Francisco, before returning to Harvard.

Kaban’s contributions have been recognized with honors such as the HSDM Distinguished Alumni Award, the Harvard Medical School Dean’s Award for leadership in advancing women faculty, the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) Research Recognition Award, the Norton M. Ross Award for Excellence in Clinical Research, and the Norman Rowe Medal. In 2017, Boston Children’s Hospital established the Leonard B. Kaban, DMD, MD Chair in Pediatric Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in his honor.