Dr. L Stephen Buchanan, DDS, FICD, FACD
Dr. Buchanan received his dental degree in 1978 from the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry where he was Valedictorian of his class. He then completed the endodontic graduate program at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA in 1980.
Dr. Buchanan began pursuing three-dimensional anatomy research early in his career. In 1986, he became the first person in dentistry to use microcomputed tomography technology to show the intricacies of root structure.
In 1989, he established Dental Education Laboratories – a state-of-the-art teaching laboratory devoted to hands-on endodontic instruction where he has spent the last thirty years teaching. In addition to training doctors in Santa Barbara over the past 30 years, he has also lectured all over the world, published numerous articles, and produced an award-winning video series entitled The Art of Endodontics.
Additionally, Dr. Buchanan holds a number of patents for dental instruments and techniques. Most notably, he was the first to introduce variable-tapered instruments for use in endodontic therapy and pioneered a system-based approach to treating root canals. He also created the revolutionary 3D printed Surgical Training Replica: TrueJaw™. TrueJaw™ contains anatomically precise TrueTooth™ 3D printed human teeth replicas perfect for teaching endodontic, implantology, prosthodontic and general restorative procedures while radiographing accurately on 2D and 3D imaging. TrueJaw™ Replicas are complete with separately segmented cortical and trabecular bone, periodontal ligaments, and gingiva tissues with elastic PDL’s that allow accurately simulated oral surgery procedures. TrueJaw™ and the similarly created TrueTooth™ are housed at Dr. Buchanan’s DELabs.
Most recently, Dr. Buchanan has developed the PS System—a minimally-invasive, negative-pressure irrigation and fill system that uses chairside vacuum pressure to clean and fill complex root canal systems in mere minutes and requires minimal hands-on time.
Dr. Buchanan is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics and a Fellow of the International and American Colleges of Dentists. He serves as clinical guest professor at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry and the University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry, in addition to maintaining a full-time private practice limited to endodontics in Santa Barbara, California.
