Lionel Gold, DDS, an oral surgeon who was the former chair of the oral and maxillofacial surgery department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, died Dec. 21 of heart disease, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Jan. 11.
The 97-year-old oral surgeon served on the staff and faculty of several hospitals and dental schools. He also spent two years as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, from 1952 to 1954. He is a former consultant to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, director of biopsy service at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and director of oral surgery research at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Additionally, he is a past president of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and served on the board of several medical publications.
In 1957, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine presented Dr. Gold with the Teacher of the Year Award. He was also given the 2000 Presidential Achievement Award from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.