Vincent G. Kokich DDS, MSD

Dr. Vincent G. Kokich, one of the School of Dentistry’s most illustrious alumni and among the world’s pre-eminent dental educators, passed away on July 24 after collapsing at his home in Gig Harbor, Wash., apparently from a heart attack. He was 68. Dr. Kokich, an alumnus and affiliate professor of orthodontics at the School, was a leading advocate of interdisciplinary dentistry. He spread that message through a quarter-century of lectures, sometimes on his own but mostly in joint appearances with fellow faculty members Dr. Frank Spear and Dr. David Mathews. The three were prominent figures on the dental lecture circuit, making presentations to enthusiastic audiences worldwide.

Dr. Kokich also helped to solidify the UW’s reputation as a premier center of orthodontics education and training, and at the time of his death was editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics. He was also a former president of the American Board of Orthodontics and the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry.