Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
The Arcolian Dental Arts Society honored Dr. Jeffrey Wittmus as Arcolian of the Year at its Christmas gala on Dec. 14 at Cafe La Cave in Des Plaines.
Wittmus is the grandson of John Joseph Siravo, whose parents immigrated from Italy’s Abruzzi region. His grandfather’s name was changed to Wittmus when he and his eight siblings were placed in separate foster homes after his mother died giving birth to him and his father died working on the New York subway in 1915.
Wittmus was born in Chicago to John Wayne and Judy (Simonian) Wittmus. He graduated with honors from Maine East High School in Park Ridge and received a B.A. in zoology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a D.D.S. from Northwestern University Dental School in 1991.
While at Northwestern, he earned the Quintessence Top Researcher Award and the Dentsply Student Clinician Award for research he conducted with Dr. Ed Kaminski that led to the first and only ban of an FDA approved medical implant device.
Wittmus served as a house staff oral surgery resident at Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1991 to 1993. He has received fellowships from Gordon Christiansen, the Misch International Implant Institute, the International College of Oral Implantologists and the Academy of Dentistry International.
Wittmus is a past president of the Arcolian Dental Arts Society and the Chicago Dental Society Northwest Side. He has served on a peer review committee for 20 years and is its former chairman. He has lectured to dentists in the U.S. and abroad, serving as a mentor at Spear Education in Scottsdale, Arizona, since 2008.
Wittmus has maintained a private practice at 5315 N. Central Ave. in Chicago for 28 years. He also maintains a dental clinic in Vayats Dzor, Armenia, where he has provided care in the summers since 2001. He and fellow dentist Dr. Viken Garabedian also provide year-round to the poverty-stricken area through mobile buses. Funding for and administration of their efforts are provided by the 501(c)3 Paros Foundation.
To learn how you can help, click here.
