Dr. P. Emile Rossouw Appointed President of the American Board of Orthodontics

The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) appointed P. Emile Rossouw, BChD, BChD-Hons; MChD, PhD, ABO-Board Certified, FRCD(C) of Rochester, New York, as President for the year beginning May 2026.

During his tenure as an ABO Director, Dr. P. Emile Rossouw has represented the Northeastern Society of Orthodontists (NESO). As ABO President, he serves as chair of the ABO Executive Committee and as the ABO liaison to numerous professional organizations, including the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), the College of Diplomates of the ABO (CDABO), the Graduate Orthodontic Resident Program (GORP), the World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO), and the Society of Educators (SOE).

Dr. Rossouw is chair of the Division of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, which is part of the University of Rochester Medical Center. He has a 42-year career of accomplished teaching, research, and clinical care.

Prior to joining the Eastman Institute in 2015, Dr. Rossouw was professor and chair of the orthodontics department at the University of North Carolina for five years. He previously chaired the orthodontic department at the Baylor College of Dentistry of Texas A&M University from 2002 to 2010. Prior to that, he was orthodontic department chair at the University of Toronto from 1993 to 2000 and director of the university’s Burlington Growth Centre from 2000 to 2002.

A native of South Africa, Dr. Rossouw obtained his undergraduate and dental degrees from the University of Stellenbosch. He then earned advanced degrees in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics before receiving his Ph.D. in dental science, also from the University of Stellenbosch.

He remained at the university as a faculty member and clinical orthodontist before being appointed associate professor and head of the Department of Orthodontics at Stellenbosch in 1989 (promoted to full professor in 1992), where he remained before moving to the University of Toronto.

Dr. Rossouw has held ABO certification since 2007. He also has an orthodontic specialty certificate from Baylor College of Dentistry (2006).

Dr. Rossouw is a member of the College of Diplomates of the ABO, the American Dental Association, the Charles H. Tweed Foundation for Orthodontic Research, the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists North Atlantic component and the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. He has served the American Association of Orthodontists as a member of the Council on Orthodontic Education, the Planning and Awards Review Committee and the Council on Scientific Affairs. He also has been a member of the ADA’s Scientific Committee on Dental Products.

His published works range through the areas of clinical orthodontics, biomaterials, jaw growth and long-term stability. Dr. Rossouw, who has lectured nationally and internationally, has contributed more than 200 publications to the dental literature, which include scientific articles, book chapters and abstracts. He also serves on reviewing panels for various leading orthodontic and general dentistry journals.