Canadian Association of Orthodontists

The Canadian Association of Orthodontists (CAO) was founded in 1949 by a group of orthodontists attending an annual convention at the American Association of Orthodontists at the Commodore Hotel, New York, USA. The founding members were Drs. Abra and Brownlee (Winnipeg), Drs. S.S. Crouch, Culbert, Halderson, Shultis, and Lesco (Toronto), Drs. Dixon and Hamilton (Ottawa), Dr. Foster (Hamilton), Dr. Johns (Kingston), Dr. McIntyre (Calgary), Dr. Quigley (Edmonton), and Dr. Géoffrion (Montreal). The first financial report reveals that 35 orthodontists paid one dollar to join. This charter group has been recognized by the CAO as Founding Members and were made Honorary Members of the Association in 1982. The CAO is the largest specialty group of the Canadian Dental Association with over 500 members as of 2000.