David Farrar Mitchell: dental researcher & educator.

David Farrar Mitchell, DDS, PhD (1918-1975), was a pioneer in aviation dentistry and a leader in dental education, service and research. In the mid-1940's, he was the first dental officer assigned to the School of Aviation Medicine (SAM) in San Antonio, Texas, a unique, Army Air Corps organization for research and teaching. From 1942-1946, as a trained dental researcher and oral pathologist, he published works on dental problems afflicting military aviators, especially those associated with high altitude flying. His work greatly influenced ongoing dental treatment of military flyers. He served as faculty chairman of two dental schools: The University of Minnesota (1948-1955) and Indiana University (1955-1975). Of his 33 graduate students in oral pathology/medicine, 28 became department chairs at dental schools throughout the world. He was president of the American Academy of Oral Pathology (1962) and of the American Association for Dental Research (1975). From 1969 to 1975, he was editor of the prestigious Journal of Dental Research. During his professional career, Dr. Mitchell published 120 scientific articles on diverse topics relating to oral diagnosis and oral medicine.