2017 Outstanding Alumnus Award Winner
Were it not for an active sport life during high school and college, Dr. Dewayne McCamish may have chosen a different career. Interactions with three people in particular—all dentists—during youth softball and high school and college football encouraged him to study dentistry, specializing in orthodontics.
In his hometown of Chattanooga, Dr. McCamish recalls being initially encouraged to pursue dentistry by his church softball team coach and pitcher, Dr. Larry Fogo, a well-respected dentist in the community who specifically suggested orthodontics. A few years later, during a Brainerd High School football game, Dr. McCamish took a hit in his face and fractured his right central incisor (#8). This was in the 1960’s, before a mouth piece became standard equipment. The nerve pain relief, followed by a crown and kind treatment from team dentist Dr. Fox Monroe, stayed with him. When the crown was replaced due to a repeated football facial injury, this time during a college game while playing for Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), team dentist Dr. Ken Ezell became a mentor and friend who also encouraged Dr. McCamish to pursue dentistry as a profession.
Dr. McCamish graduated from MTSU in 1967 with a double major in chemistry and math and a minor in biology. A four-year scholar-athlete, he was presented with the Scholar Athlete Award as the MTSU athlete with the highest overall GPA.
Dr. McCamish pursued his dream of becoming a dentist and enrolled in the University of Tennessee (UTHSC) College of Dentistry (COD), earning a DDS in 1970. Heeding Dr. Fogo’s advice, he continued his studies and in 1973 Dr. McCamish earned a master’s degree in orthodontics from the UTHSC Graduate Orthodontics program.
In his 44 years of dental and orthodontic practice, Dr. McCamish has devoted countless hours in support of his profession through membership and service in numerous organizations. The pinnacle of this service occurred in March 2016, when Dr. McCamish was inducted as the 109th president of the American Association of Orthodontics (AAO). He has also served as past president of the Southern Association of Orthodontics (SAO), the Tennessee Association of Orthodontists (TAO), the University of Tennessee Orthodontic Alumni Association, the Third District Dental Society (now named the Chattanooga Area Dental Society).
He has been inducted as a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, a member of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists.
Dr. McCamish has been recognized numerous times for his professional service including The Oren Oliver Distinguished Service Award from the SAO in 2001 and was named Outstanding Alumnus by the UTHSC Graduate Orthodontic Program in 2008.
While he is extremely honored to have been voted president of the AAO and describes representing his profession as “humbling, pressure-filled and exciting,” Dr. McCamish is equally proud of the patients he has treated in 44 years of practice, especially when he sees them in the community and knows he has been “a little part in their lives and their smiles.”
More than all of his professional accomplishments, Dr. McCamish considers his 50-year marriage, his three children and his 5 grandchildren to be his highest achievements.
When he is not treating patients or serving his profession, Dr. McCamish continues the active sporting life that led him to dentistry. He is an avid tennis player, golfer, snow skier and yoga enthusiast— despite his 11 knee surgeries. In 1993, the McCamish family was named Tennessee Tennis Family of the Year. Dr. McCamish was inducted into the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2009, he and his son were national father/son finalists in the National Father/Son Indoor Tennis Championships.
Dr. McCamish has four keys to success in life that he recommends to others: 1) Strive for excellence in all you do; 2) Keep your life in balance; 3) Establish relationships with your patients; and 4) Always honor your code of ethics.
It is clear he has applied each of these keys to his own life, as well.
View Past Dentistry Award Winners
