Photo courtesy of Dr. Appelbaum9/7/1918 - 2/13/2015

Our dear friend and colleague, Abe Reiner, is no longer with us physically, but his spirit and our memories of him will live on forever.


The son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, he was born and raised in New York City. Abe graduated from New York University School of Dentistry in 1942. He immediately joined the U.S. Army as a Dental Officer and was assigned to the 100th Infantry Division, Ft. Jackson, S.C. There he met the love of his life, Ruth, and they wed in 1943 in Columbia, S.C. Shortly thereafter he was shipped to Europe and fought in the “Battle of the Bulge.” He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1945 as a Major.

Abe opened his general dentistry practice in Queens, N.Y. in 1945 and joined the newly formed American Academy of Oral Medicine in 1946. He received his Honorary Fellowship from the Academy in 1968, served as President of the Academy from 1972 through 1973, received the Diamond Pin Award in 1974, and was the first recipient of the Hershfus Award in 1984. In 1995 the Diamond Pin Award was renamed the Abraham Reiner Diamond Pin Award in Abe’s honor. Abe served as AAOM’s Executive Director for decades ---- he was the “face, heart, and soul” of AAOM --- and retired from this position in 2004.

Abe and Ruth have 4 children and their spouses and numerous grandchildren. They were married for 71½ years and Ruth reports that they never had a single argument or fight in all those years. AAOM members were their extended family. They made us feel welcome and comfortable at each and every meeting. Abe loved us and worked tirelessly side by side with us for the advancement and improvement of our Academy.

To know Abe Reiner was to love him. We are all blessed to have considered him our friend. He will be sorely missed.

~Jack Appelbaum, D.M.D., M.S.D.