Merlin P. Ohmer, DDS, MAGD, Installed as AGD President

The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) installed Merlin P. Ohmer, DDS, MAGD, as president during its Annual Meeting, Nov.10-12, in Chicago. Ohmer, who recently served as the organization’s president-elect, steps into this role after serving the organization and the dentistry profession in a variety of leadership roles.

“AGD has been instrumental in developing both my clinical skills and knowledge and has allowed me professional growth, development and success,” Ohmer said. “AGD has been there for me at all stages of my career. I found pursuing Fellowship and Mastership to be challenges and attaining them made me a better dentist.”

Ohmer graduated in 1975 from Nicholls State University in his hometown of Thibodaux, Louisiana, with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1979 from the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry while in the U.S. Army Reserve. He then spent three years on active duty in the U.S. Army, stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. After release from active duty in 1982, he served in the Louisiana National Guard as a major and practiced in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, until 1989, when he returned to active duty in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps as a lieutenant commander. He retired as a captain in 2016 after 30 years of active military service. He then opened a solo practice in St. Augustine, Florida, where he practiced until 2022.

At AGD, Ohmer was a member of the Self-Instruction Committee — which writes CE exercises for General Dentistry articles, enabling members to receive CE credit — and was followed by an appointment to the Fellowship Exam Committee in 2017. He was also selected for the Governmental Evaluation and Reform Committee in 2019, where he and other committee members analyzed AGD’s governance structure and suggested reforms to increase efficiency and nimbleness across all governance areas in AGD. In 2019, he was also selected to serve as an AGD spokesperson, promoting AGD and general dentistry to the news media and general public.

Ohmer served as a board member, continuing education director, vice president and president of the Florida AGD. He served as Region 20 regional director for one year and as a trustee for Region 20 in 2020 until his election as AGD vice president in 2021.

In addition to his work with AGD, Ohmer is a member of the American Dental Association, a fellow in the International College of Dentists, a member of the Academy of Laser Dentistry and a member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He received his Mastership from AGD in 2015.

Ohmer will serve as president until Nov. 24, 2024.

About the AGD

Founded in 1952, AGD is the only association that exclusively represents the needs and interests of general dentists. AGD provides its nearly 40,000 members with the resources, support and education to deliver exceptional dental care and oral health education. AGD's mission is “to advance general dentistry and oral health through quality continuing education and advocacy.”