Global Summits Institute honors Top 100 Doctors in Dentistry

To say Kianor Shah, DMD, MBA, likes to think big would be selling the general dentist, pathologist and entrepreneur short.

Of the many projects he’s currently involved with-in addition to practicing dentistry-one led to the development of the 2020 World’s Top 100 Doctors in Dentistry.

Dr. Shah “moonlighted” with dental practices in multiple states, performing surgeries at a number of practices to help pay for his overhead while pursuing his master’s degree in international business from Brandman University, which he earned in 2016.

In addition to his expertise in general dentistry, he practices in prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, pedodontics, orthodontics and oral surgery. Dr. Shah’s skills across a variety of fields helped him meet demand and keep busy with practices that were short on specialists or had cases they preferred not to tackle on their own but wanted to keep in-house. 

“I was moonlighting and traveled to more than 300 practices, and I did all the endo, wisdom tooth extractions, the implants, shoulder-to-shoulder training and the cases that those dentists didn’t want to do,” he explains of his days prior to opening Desert Dream Dentistry & Spa in Palm Desert, California. “I would go into their offices, and during downtime, I would get an understanding of all the challenges they faced. I took that information, and as I was earning my MBA, I got involved in the financial sector. Their peer-to-peer model flourished in the financial industry due to decentralization concepts enabled by blockchain technologies. What started in a small hotel in San Francisco with about 100 participants is now being held at the Javits Center in New York, and the sold-out events have expanded to Europe, Asia and Latin America. I have presented at Lendit events in San Francisco and Shanghai pertaining to fintech in healthcare. 

“I asked myself, ‘Why can’t we bring more peer-to-peer concepts and platforms to the healthcare industry?’”

Global Summits Institute takes form
It was while merging his dental experiences with his knowledge of the financial sectors that Dr. Shah began to plant the seeds that would eventually grow into the Global Summits Institute. The preeminent peer-to-peer organization recognizes leading doctors, dentists and specialists who exemplify clinical excellence, innovation, research, organizational leadership and entrepreneurship in serving humanity and advancing the global healthcare industry.

In 2018, Shah’s group started the Global Implantology Summit, in which 50 renowned speakers from some 40 countries came together in Los Angeles, California, with more than 500 participants and 60 exhibitors. That success provided the germ for the G20 Executive Summit in 2019, in Lake Forest, California.

At the start of this year, the Global Summits Institute presented the 2020 World’s Top 100 Doctors in Dentistry. The honorary recognition is a lifetime achievement award for exceptional services rendered to the art and science of dentistry. Each member had been nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of their colleagues. The group comprised renowned clinicians, experts, key opinion leaders, surgeons, researchers, executives, innovators and specialists. One hundred doctors from more than 70 countries were ratified.

The full list of honorees is at www.Top100Doc.com, and the names include such leaders as the following:

• Gordon J. Christensen, DDS, Ph.D., M.S.D.

• Arun Garg, DMD

• Dennis P. Tarnow, DDS

• Howard Farran, DDS, MBA

• Joseph Kan, DDS, M.S.

• Gerald Niznick, DMD, M.S.D.

• George Freedman, DDS

• Robert J. Miller, DDS

• Samuel B. Low, DDS, M.S., M.Ed

• Kayvon Javid, DDS

• Scott D. Ganz, DMD

• Paul Feuerstein, DMD

• Jon B. Suzuki, DDS, Ph.D., MBA

The 2019 G20 Executive Summit selected and honored a group of renowned dentists and specialists from around the world, including Egypt, India, Greece, Persia, the United States and Portugal, and tasked them to form a board of regents to ratify the remaining doctors to reach a total of 100. Elects were nominated by a regent or a colleague or were self-nominated.

A majority of the regents had to vote yes for each nomination prior to ratification. Borderline cases required a consensus discussion and evaluation of comments from the team. 

The elected regents donated their time and evaluated their peers based on their credentials, level of continuing education, research, degrees, past awards, inventions, leadership roles, humanitarian efforts and/or other notable contributions to dentistry, says Dr. Shah, who himself served as the host of the G20 Executive Summit and founding regent.  

Dr. Shah says Global Summits was searching for diversity in fields of expertise, entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, geographic location and country of origin. Candidates’ made notable contributions to dentistry and humanity, and the selection committee also looked at accomplishments in research, clinical excellence and education, he adds. 

Dr. Shah explains, “One could be selected only if the nomination and supporting documents were received by the Global Summits Institute before the December 1 deadline, and there were no fees or plaques involved with the nomination, selection and ratification process.”

According to the Top 100 website, the institute’s mission is “To inspire and to empower doctors. To bring unity, autonomy, and solidarity to the profession of dentistry through peer-to-peer mechanisms and systems.”

In addition to its Global Implantology Summit and G20 Executive Summit last summer, the organization aims to host a global interdisciplinary summit and a world gala to facilitate relationships across dentistry. The group is again thinking big when it comes to goals, which include facilitating peer-to-peer relationships across the industry and to hold global interdisciplinary summits to maximize information exchange. In addition, Dr. Shah says, they plan to use their global outreach for humanitarian and other noble causes.

Dr. Shah further notes that despite the prestige that the list confers upon its members, the honor isn’t simply about being the best in the field. Rather, it’s about empowering dentists through peer-to-peer collaboration and communication. With the skills and accolades that these clinicians encompass, they can serve humanity by advancing healthcare and inspiring other dentists. 

Extending their reach
The Global Implantology Summit started because of the strong need to educate more clinicians on implants and techniques. Now the organization also wants to educate dentists on improving their business and better delivering optimal care to patients around the globe.

“We wanted to create a toolbox for young colleagues who didn’t know where to start because there’s a tremendous need for implants, but worldwide numbers are very worrisome,” Dr. Shah says. “There are 120 million Americans missing at least miss one tooth, and there are not enough specialists to care for them. That led to the G20 Executive Summit, which led to the idea of doing the Top 100.”

Dr. Shah says to stay tuned as organizers look into working with big business on a possible joint meeting abroad designed to further assist dentists in becoming more self-sufficient. They’re also talking to a goodwill ambassador organization, with a presence in more than 200 countries and territories and 16,500 professional members, about creating a program specifically for dentists that rewards humanitarian work for patients. “So there’s a lot of activity going on, but essentially, it’s all about creating more and more peer-to-peer platforms in healthcare,” he concludes.