Dr. Frank Elias Shamy
Dr. Frank Shamy was an orthodontist in private practice in Montreal. He received B.Sc. and D.D.S. degrees from McGill University in 1954 and 1956 respectively, and an M.Sc. degree specializing in Orthodontics from the Université de Montréal in 1964.
Throughout his elementary, secondary, and university education, Dr. Shamy received many scholastic and extra-curricular honors. One of his most memorable achievements was a distinguished journalistic career with the McGill Daily which was, at that time the largest college daily in the British Commonwealth. In 1952, the year he started his dental studies, he was appointed to the McGill Daily’s - Managing Board as that paper’s first Executive Editor.
Upon graduation from McGill’s Faculty of Dentistry in 1956, Dr. Shamy received four first-place prizes including the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for ranking first among graduating dental students in the Province of Québec.
Dr. Shamy’s class graduation photo from the faculty of dentistry
Dr. Shamy’s B.Sc. and degree from McGill
Dr. Shamy’s M.Sc. degree specializing in Orthodontics from the Université de Montréal
Dr. Shamy’s Doctoral degree in Dental Surgery from McGill University
Dr. Shamy’s certificate to practice dental surgery in the province of Quebec
Dr. Shamy was appointed to the McGill University teaching staff in 1957 after completing graduate residencies in prosthodontics at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Montreal General Hospital. For nineteen years, from 1957 to 1975, Dr. Shamy taught in the Faculty of Dentistry, and in 1964, he was appointed McGill’s first “Lecturer on Occlusion”. Concurrently with part-time teaching at McGill, and a part-time private practice, he entered the full-time orthodontic program at the Université de Montréal and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Orthodontics in 1964. His thesis entitled “A Radiographic Study Of Changes In Occlusal Condyle Position Associated With Treatment Of Class II Division I Malocclusion” initiated a lifelong interest in diseases of the temperomandibular joint.
Dr. Shamy is a world leader in the non-surgical orthodontic treatment of adult patients with severe skeletal problems. He is known internationally for his innovative orthodontic techniques and has developed appliances and treatment procedures that are used by orthodontists internationally. During more than forty years of clinical research, he has delivered seventy-two lectures and courses on his treatment system to the dental profession in North America, Europe, the Far East, and the Middle East. At his In-Office courses, orthodontists from around the world have learned first-hand how Dr. Shamy treats his own patients in his Montréal clinic.
For nine years, Dr. Shamy was a guest lecturer in the Department of Orthodontics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., until its closure in 1989. At Georgetown’s final graduation banquet, he was awarded a special Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding service and contributions to Orthodontics.
Clinically tested for over thirty one years ,his Centric Progressive Treatment system, is a three dimensional system that emphasizes the normalization of the occlusal vertical dimension, freeway space, and mandibular posture. Optimum health of the oro-facial complex is dependent on mandibular function that is in neuro-muscular balance, and this working hypothesis has been the basis for successful Centric Progressive treatment of dental and skeletal deformities in both growing children and mature adults. It continues to be taught in the Washington area at the University of Maryland.
A paper describing the treatment of skeletal Class II malocclusion without extractions and without headgear was first delivered to the New Zealand Orthodontic Society in 1971 and published in the New Zealand Orthodontic Journal in 1972.
As President of the Canadian Association of Orthodontists Dr. Shamy was instrumental in building the association into a strong national force that represents Canadian orthodontic specialists both within Canada and internationally.
Dr. Shamy was General Sessions Chairman for the North Eastern Society of Orthodontists annual meeting held in Montreal in 1979, and also The Canadian Association of Orthodontists Meeting held in Montreal in 1984.
In 1987, he was appointed General Sessions Chairman of the American Association of Orthodontists Annual Meeting held in Montréal. This congress attracted over 10,000 delegates and was the largest meeting of professionals ever held in Montréal.
Dr. Shamy introducing Anne Murray to delegates after the champagne reception and concert held at the Place des Arts
Dr. Frank Shamy with Dr. Tania Shamy and Anne Murray at the champagne reception and concert at Place des Arts
Dr. Frank Shamy with Dr. Tania Shamy, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa, President of the American Association of Orthodontists Dr. Gene Blair and his wife Polly Blair
In 1990, Dr. Shamy was selected to deliver the William Russell Chipman Memorial Lecture to the Emory University Orthodontic Association in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1991, the Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Orthodontics selected him to deliver the prestigious McIntyre Memorial Lecture to the Canadian Association of Orthodontists in Québec city.
In 1992, Dr. Shamy was elected a Fellow of the International College of Dentists.
In 1995, Dr. Shamy was elected a Fellow of the American College of Dentists.
Dr. Shamy has been president of the Canadian Association of Orthodontists, the Québec Association of Orthodontists, and the Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Orthodontics.
After a 58 year career Dr. Shamy retired in 2014.
Dr. Shamy is married to Dr. Tania Shamy and has four children, Clifford, Leanne, Claire, and Dr. Michel Shamy and seven grandchildren.