Dr. John O’Keefe is a dentist and Community Ambassador for The Canadian Dental Association. His current career involves communication with our profession on a national level, building our collegial community, and enhancement of the reputation of dentistry in Canada.
I can share with you as a member of our profession and knowing some of John’s professional contributions that he has improved in the professional lives of every dentist in the country, whether they know it or not.
John published the Canadian Journal of Community Dentistry as an open-access online journal in 1995. He led the charge in getting the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association indexed and online in 2008. Dr. O’Keefe drove the creation of CDA Oasis as an online open access knowledge exchange hub, starting in 2010. This continues to thrive and serve as a peer-led source of clinical and professional knowledge that has been created by a dentist, for dentists, and with the ongoing contribution of dentists.
In 2020, he initiated live online knowledge exchange broadcasting through CDA Oasis Live, adding more content and sharing live broadcasts across the country. Since June of 2020, John has worked with the Canadian Association for Dental Research to create panel discussions on CDA Oasis Live that discuss and celebrate advances in Canadian oral health research.
Dr. O’Keefe has previously held positions as the Editor-in-Chief of the JCDA and The Director of Knowledge Networks for the CDA. In 2017 John was recognized by the CDA with the Distinguished Service Award.
John holds not only Baccalareate degrees in Dental Science and Arts, but a Masters in Dental Science from the University of Dublin, Ireland, and an MBA from Concordia University in Montreal.
He has practiced clinical dentistry and taught at the Department of Community Dentistry for both McGill and Toronto’s Faculties of Dentistry.