Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) has announced Kazuyoshi Baba as the 2026 recipient of the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Research in Prosthodontics and Implants. Baba, from Showa University, was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 104th General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research on March 25-28, 2026 in San Diego, CA, USA.
Baba is Dean, Professor, and Chair of the department of Prosthodontics at the School of Dentistry, Showa Medical University (SMU), Japan. He earned Dental Degree from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) in 1986 and a Ph..D in Prosthodontics from same university in 1991. Then he worked as a faculty at the department of Prosthodontics in TMDU for 15 years. He conducted research about sleep bruxism and jaw muscle pain at the University of California, Los Angeles as a visiting scholar from 1996-97. In 2007, he was invited from SMU as a Professor and Chair of the Department of Prosthodontics and has been working in the same position since.
Baba served on the executive board of the IADR Prosthodontic Group from 2008-15. He was a president of Japan Prosthodontic Society and is currently a president of the International College of Prosthodontics. His research expertise is gained from implant dentistry, sleep bruxism, and digital dentistry. He has over 166 referred articles, an H-index of 39, and has given 27 international lectures.
One of his main areas of expertise is quality of life assessments, where he has adapted it for use in Japan and has been internationally recognized. His pioneering work in sleep bruxism was to discover a single nucleotide polymorphism associated with the condition. Within digital dentistry, his work has developed unique workflows for dentures and implant prosthodontics.
The Research in Prosthodontics and Implants Award is one of the 17 IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards and one of the highest honors bestowed by IADR. The award recognizes outstanding research accomplishments in the field of prosthodontics.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
