Dr. R. David Rynearson Receives the 2026 O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award from the American Board of Orthodontics
R. David Rynearson, D.D.S., M.S., of Loma Linda, California, is the 2026 recipient of the O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award from the American Board of Orthodontics. The award recognizes an individual who has significantly contributed to orthodontic education and furthered the ideals of the ABO.
Dr. Rynearson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthodontics at Loma Linda University (LLU) School of Dentistry, where he has served on the faculty 2 days per week since 1987, teaching pre-doctoral and orthodontic students both didactic and clinical orthodontics. Dr. Rynearson is also in private practice 3 days per week in Moreno Valley, California. He is the cofounder of the Craniofacial Clinic in the Graduate Orthodontic Clinic at LLU, where he has treated craniofacial malformation patients with the objective of exposing the pediatric dental and orthodontic students to specific orthodontic craniofacial treatment modalities. Dr. Rynearson has directed studies in corticotomy-facilitated orthodontic research, which is an area he has studied since the early 1990s, which includes pioneering non-human primate model studies.
A prominent figure in the Edward H. Angle Society, Dr. Rynearson has been on the Board of the Southern California Component since 2000, holding offices including Program Chairman (2002 to 2004), Vice President (2004 to 2006), President (2006 to 2008), and Past President (2008 to 2010). He is currently Publications Editor of the Southern California Component and is an ABO Examiner for the Clinical Examination since 2006.
Dr. Rynearson is a Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and a Fellow of the American College of Dentists. He is a member of the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists, the California State Society of Orthodontists, the American Cleft Palate Association, and the College of Diplomates of the ABO. As mentioned above, he is also a member of the Edward H. Angle Society and the Dental Honor Society, Omicron Kappa Upsilon, Chi Chi Chapter.
Dr. Rynearson received his D.D.S. from LLU School of Dentistry in 1971 and his M.S. in Orthodontics from LLU Graduate School in 1987. He holds a B.A. in Biology from La Sierra University.