International College of Dentists

International College of Dentists

Formation	1920
Type	Professional association and non-profit
Headquarters	Flint, Michigan, USA
Location	International
Membership	12,000+ (2024)
Official language	Multi-lingual, but English is the official language
Key people	Dr. Tsurukich Okumura, Dr. Louis Ottofy (Co-Founders)
Website	www.icd.org

History

The International College of Dentists (ICD) was conceived in 1920 at a farewell party in Tokyo for Dr. Louis Ottofy when he was returning home to the United States after practicing dentistry in the Philippines and Japan for 23 years. A colleague, Dr. Tsurukichi Okumura, a Japanese dentist, urged Dr. Ottofy to form an international organization.

Six years later, at the Seventh International Dental Congress in Philadelphia, U.S. a group of dentists met again to finalize the concept of the ICD then on New Year's Eve of 1927 the College was announced with Drs. Ottofy and Okumura as the Co-Founders. The first President of the College was Andres O. Weber, from Havana, Cuba.

Initially, 250 dentists from 162 countries accepted the Fellowship oath. The group was selected based on an international reputation and participation in the FDI World Dental Federation. Each Fellow was given the task of nominating other dentists for membership. Dentists who are inducted into the organization place the post-nominals FICD with their name.

Growth of the organization

In the years following the initial formation of the ICD, membership grew to the point where autonomous sections were required. In 1934, the first of these sections, located in the United States of America, was formed. More autonomous sections were formed in the ensuing years: Section II, Canada; Section III, Mexico; Section IV, South America, Section V, Europe; Section VI, India; Section VII, Japan; Section VIII, Australasia; Section IX, Philippines, Section X, Middle East; Section XI, Korea; Section XII, Chinese Taipei; Section XIII, China, Section XIV, Myanmar; and Section XV. Section XX comprises of regions around the world that are currently too small to be Sections . Today, the organization claims a membership of over 12,000 (2024) from 140 countries.

Humanitarian and educational efforts

The  ICD has a number of foundations which carry out both educational and humanitarian projects, and there is a college-wide fund called the Global Visionary Fund (GVF), which is the  charitable arm of the ICD International Council. Its initiatives in fundraising and programming allow ICD to achieve its social mission of providing oral health care for the underserved, as  well  as  the  delivery  of  educational  programs  where  they  are  most needed. The  College leverages its impact by collaborating with other foundations, charitable groups, and partners. Other projects are sponsored by ICD around the world.