Dr Tatum is widely regarded as one of the world’s most skilled dental implant surgeons and is unmatched in his surgical and conceptual talent. For over 40 years he has been most gracious in giving his time and knowledge to advancing the discipline of implant dentistry to the dental profession. The lives of many patients and dentists have been enriched as a result of Dr. Tatum’s innovative thinking, research and implant techniques that he developed. In 1955, while a student at Emory Dental School, he attended the first program on dental implants to be given in a dental school. Throughout his career Dr Tatum’s goal has been "To bring the compromised dental patient back to normal comfort, function and esthetic dental health".
- Emory University Dental School 1953-1957
- 1969 - began the bone expansion concept for the placement of implants
- 1970 - introduced autogenous bone grafting techniques into Oral Implantology
- 1974 - developed the Sinus Lift Operation
- 1974 - began to perform the Inferior Alveolar Nerve lateralization technique
- 1975 - developed the Sinus Graft Operation
- 1978 - Designed Sinus Grafting and Bone Expansion instruments
- 1979 - designed the first 2 stage Titanium Root Form System in the USA and was granted FDA marketing approval in 1981
- 1982 - Introduced the Vascularised Osteotomy Technique with interpositional bone grafting
- Presented over 2000 professional presentations worldwide
- In 2003 Dr Tatum was awarded the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor by French president Jacques Chirac in recognition of his contributions to the healing sciences.
