MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Dr. Michael Zakula was selected as the recipient of the Minnesota Dental Association (MDA) 2014 Guest of Honor Award.  He was honored by over 9,000 dental professionals in attendance at the MDA’s annual convention, the Star of the North Meeting at the RiverCentre in St. Paul.

Dr. Zakula’s long-term dedication to organized dentistry, which has spanned four decades,  has included serving as president of the Minnesota Dental Association and the Northeastern District Dental Society; chair of the State Dental Education Committee; a delegate to the American Dental Association House of Delegates; executive board member of the Minnesota Association of Orthodontics; chair of the Minnesota Chapter of the American College of Dentists; and chair of the Hibbing Community College Dental Assisting Advisory Board.

After receiving his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Dr. Zakula spent two years serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he acquired a love for orthodontics.  This led to a two-year orthodontic residency at Emory University School of Dentistry in Atlanta, Georgia.  Once his residency was complete, Dr. Zakula came back to Minnesota and set up his dental practice in Hibbing, where he continues to practice today.

Dr. Zakula has served as an orthodontic consultant for the Crippled Children’s Cleft Palate clinic in Duluth, Minnesota since 1985 and has been an orthodontic lecturer for the School of Dentistry at the Hibbing Community College since the program’s inception in 2002.  He also participates in the national Smiles Change Lives program aimed at providing orthodontic care to disadvantaged children.

Throughout the years, Dr. Zakula has been a tireless advocate for organized dentistry, from attracting new members into positions of responsibility to guiding the association toward positive change during his term as MDA President.

The Minnesota Dental Association is the voice of dentistry in Minnesota, representing practicing dentists. It is committed to the highest standards of oral health and access to care for all Minnesotans. You can learn more at www.mndental.org.