Cincinnati dentist receives Ohio Dental Association Achievement Award
Dr. Ken Brandt is a 2022 recipient of the ODA Achievement Award.
Dr. Ken Brandt has been involved with organized dentistry for over 40 years and was instrumental in creating and maintaining a program to help veterans in need of dental care. In recognition of his efforts, he received the Ohio Dental Association Achievement Award on Friday, Sept. 16 at the Callahan Celebration of Excellence, held in conjunction with the 156th ODA Annual Session.
“In 1977, Dr. Kenneth Brandt became a member of organized dentistry immediately after serving as lieutenant of the United States Navy Dental Corp,” wrote Vicki Nixon, executive director of the Cincinnati Dental Society, in her nomination letter. “He soon became involved with the Cincinnati Dental Society in 1980 and for the next 42 years has served on numerous committees. Dr. Brandt will finish his last term on our Council this year.”
Brandt earned his DDS degree from The Ohio State University in 1974 and went on to serve as a lieutenant in the United States navy Dental Corp. from 1975-1977 in New Jersey. He then came back to his hometown of Cincinnati and opened a dental practice. Brandt recently retired after practicing dentistry for 45 years.
In 2009, Brandt and a few other dentists initiated the “Leave No Vet Behind” program, which serves veterans that are not eligible to receive dental benefits at the VA Hospital, have no dental insurance, including Medicaid, and with annual family income levels at or below the 200% federal poverty guidelines.
Since its inception, volunteer dentists have donated nearly $1.4 million in dental care through the Leave No Vet Behind program. The program received a Golden Apple Award from the American Dental Association in 2010.
Brandt has served on and chaired the Cincinnati Dental Society’s Program Committee and the ODA Annual Session Committee. He served on the ODA Foundation Board of Trustees from 2009-2021, serving as vice chair from 2020-2021. He also has served on the CDS’s Oral Health Foundation since it began in 2011 and served as its president for eight years.
He served as president of the Cincinnati Dental Society in 2010 and has served on many other councils and committees with the dental society and has served as a delegate to the ODA.
Brandt received the Cincinnati Dental Society’s most prestigious award, the Meritorious Service Award, in 2013.
The Achievement Award is given to someone with a personal and professional commitment to the dental profession and the public’s oral health, and who is an ambassador for the dental profession with solid respect for the profession. Brandt is one of two recipients of the 2022 Achievement Award.
