The Technical Committee of the AO Foundation, an international non-profit organisation present in more than 100 countries and with more than 20 thousand surgeon members, selected Dr. Sergio Olate Morales and three other professionals to be part of the international committee on temporomandibular joint pathology and reconstruction.

With a presence in more than 100 countries, more than 20 thousand surgeon members, and 65 years of experience, the AO Foundation appointed Dr. Sergio Olate Morales, associate professor of the Faculty of Dentistry of Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO), as one of the four members who will address temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pathology and reconstruction.

The work will start on January 1st, 2024, and will last three years, with the potential to continue for three more years. It consists of the development of technologies and work management support that innovates the comprehensive care of patients with the particular pathologies addressed by the team of experts.

“Personally, this was a surprise for me, but it shows that we are working adequately, in a serious and honest way, both in research and our clinical procedures. It is also a source of pride for me as an academic at Universidad de La Frontera and a maxillofacial surgeon in my region, at the public hospital of Lautaro. At our hospital, we perform high-level surgeries of high complexity, thanks to our very strong human, technical, and professional team we have built over at least ten years, working in the La Araucanía region,” Dr. Sergio Olate Morales commented.

The AO Foundation (“Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen”, shortened to the AO) is a non-profit organization and the premier innovator in the surgical treatment of bone fractures and disorders, with its headquarters in Devon, Switzerland. It was founded in 1958 by a group of surgeons who pioneered a new system of surgical fracture fixation that radically improved patients’ quality of life.

Today, the AO Foundation has a global network of more than 520,000 healthcare professionals, offers more than 870 educational events worldwide annually, and has about 20,000 surgeon members, who work in the fields of trauma, spine, craniomaxillofacial, veterinary, and reconstructive surgery.

“This nomination makes me very happy because this personal achievement is a reflection of what we do as a team. We are proving that it is possible to develop technology, innovation, and technology transfer of the highest level in the regions of a centralised country like Chile, with high ethical standards of care for our patients,” added Dr. Olate.

The UFRO academic has been a member of the AO Foundation since 2010, and in 2021, he was admitted as a faculty member of the organisation in Chile.

“This new task implies that I will have to travel to different places in Europe and America, developing technologies and supporting the management of our team’s work, all with a focus on how to improve the overall health of patients, particularly in temporomandibular joint pathology and reconstruction. It involves face-to-face work meetings in different parts of the world, probably in Europe, and also important international work relationships because we will be in contact with different teams in different parts of the world,” explained Dr. Olate.

For this new task, Dr. Olate will be working in a team with three other international experts, with the support of the AO Foundation’s technical committee.