L Stephen Buchanan

DDS, FICD, FACD

Dr. Buchanan

In 1978, Dr. Stephen Buchanan received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree and was honored as valedictorian of his class by the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.  Following his completion of the resident training program in endodontics at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Buchanan opened a full-time endodontic practice in Santa Barbara, California, and began his research in CT-based, three-dimensional anatomy research. Dr. Buchanan became the first to use micro-computed tomography to reconstruct and show the intricacies of root canals and the tooth roots around them; in 2012, he was the first to perform a live-patient demonstration of CT-guided apical surgery at the Annual Session of The American Association of Endodontics.

In 1989, Dr. Buchanan founded Dental Education Laboratories (DEL), an ADA CERP certified state-of-the-art hands-on teaching facility in Santa Barbara, California, devoted to endodontic training that has expanded to include training in advanced endodontics, implantology, and chair-side endodontic assistant training.  Current course offerings may be viewed at: www.DELendo.com.

Dental Education Laboratories is also an incubator of ideas and is engaged in research, publication, training, and video production. The award-winning video training series, “The Art of Endodontics is considered the pioneer of technology-enhanced instruction.

Dr. Buchanan is the holder of numerous industry patents for dental instruments and techniques, most notably the first system-based approach to root canal treatment with variable-tapered instruments, Rotary GT Files, and the Continuous Wave of Obturation Technique using System-B and Elements Free electric heat pluggers–a technique now the standard of practice for endodontic specialists everywhere.

Most recently, Dr. Buchanan’s Dental Engineering Laboratories, LLC introduced the newest innovation in teaching:  The TrueTooth® and TrueJaw™ Surgical Replicas–3D printed replicas that are anatomically precise training apparatuses for endodontic and implant surgery instruction, currently used by major universities and boards of examination worldwide.  In addition, Dental Engineering Laboratories, LLC, distributes the Terauchi File Retrieval Kit, a broken file retrieval system created by Dr. Buchanan’s friend and colleague, Dr. Yoshi Terauchi.  These innovative and cutting-edge products can be viewed at www.DentalEngineeringLab.com.

Dr. Buchanan is a Diplomat of the American Board of Endodontics and a Fellow of the International and American Colleges of Dentists. He currently serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry and as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry.

Dr. Buchanan is a frequent contributor to Dentistry Today magazine, and is a regular presenter at the AAE, and numerous dental and endodontic conventions around the world.  His 2018 presentation schedule includes the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, AAE Denver, Roots Summit in Berlin, Italian Dental Art Education courses, and numerous dental schools and endodontic residency programs including University of the Pacific, University of Florida, and NYU.