Sullivan (February 4, 1948 – July 17, 2012) was an American dentist, prosthodontist, author, and teacher credited with helping to bring the revolutionary practice of osseointegrated dental implants, or the fusion of bone and titanium inside the mouth, to the United States.
He worked alongside Swedish pioneer Per-Ingvar Brånemark to insert the U.S.’s first osseointegrated dental implants in 1982.
In this technique, a titanium screw is attached to a patient's jawbone, and an artificial tooth is secured to the screw.
In later years, he taught the technique to thousands of dentists, served as president of two prestigious dental membership organizations, and co-wrote one of the first textbooks in the United States on the subject of esthetic dental implants.