Professor Igor Blum wins IADR Ivar Mjör Award
NewsPosted by: Dental Design 12th November 2024
Professor Igor R. Blum has been chosen as this year’s winner of the esteemed International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Ivar Mjör Award. Given annually, the award is named in honour of the late President of the IADR, the Norwegian dentist Professor Ivar Mjör, who was a world-renowned researcher and one of the most eminent champions of practice-based dental research in Europe, the US and elsewhere.
The highest award conferred by the IADR for practice-based research, it was given to Professor Blum in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the field, particularly the national and international importance of his translation of practice-based research findings into clinical recommendations.
His impactful publications on the management of failing dental restorations, the reasons for the placement and replacement of direct restorations, and the longevity of posterior composite restorations placed in practice-based settings were among those considered by the selection committee.
Professor Blum coined the term ‘reparative dentistry’, and the citation also notes that his contribution over a quarter of a century to the development, teaching and promotion of the repair of failing yet serviceable dental restorations, as a minimally invasive alternative to replacement, has paved the way for it to become an internationally acknowledged and recognised treatment approach.
Another notable example of his influence are his 2002 standardised diagnostic description criteria for dry socket (alveolar osteitis). ‘Blum’s definition’[i], which is widely referenced in textbooks and presentations and has become the most used definition for dry socket worldwide, has been cited in over 750 journal papers to date.
Professor Blum was also nominated in recognition of his promotion of practice-based clinical, educational and research articles through the College of General Dentistry’s Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), in combination with its increased international profile during his tenure as editor.
Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at King’s College London, and a consultant and specialist in restorative dentistry, Professor Blum is only the second UK-based recipient of the Ivar Mjör Award – the first being Professor Sir Nairn Wilson, the PDJ’s inaugural editor.
The award was presented in October in Berne, Switzerland.
Reference:
[i] Blum IR. Contemporary views on dry socket (alveolar osteitis): a clinical appraisal of standardization, aetiopathogenesis and management: a critical review. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2002 Jun;31(3):309-17. doi: 10.1054/ijom.2002.0263
