The Indian Orthodontic Society ,the first Speciality organization of Dentistry in India which started as a Study Group in Bombay, now Mumbai, way back in the year 1963 .It was formally established as the INDIAN ORTHODONTIC SOCIETY on Friday the 5th October 1965 by seven founder members.The late Dr.H.D. Merchant was the founder President and Dr. Naishadh Parikh the Founder Secretary and treasurer. The other founder members were the Late Dr. A.B.Modi, Dr.Mohandas Bhat, Dr. Prem Prakash, Dr. H.S.Shaikh and Dr.Keki Mistry who shares the story of the IOS in this special article. www.jios.in/text.asp?2015/49/5/14/171153

Today , the society has close to 10,000 life and student members. The goals of the society were and remain till today,

• To popularise and promote the study of Orthodontics in India.
• To popularise and spread the practice of Orthodontics in India.
• To educate the Indian Public about the importance of Orthodontics.
• To promote and safeguard the interests of the Orthodontists in India.
• To carry out research and to promote orthodontics through setting up charity/subsidised clinic (s) for the Indian population.
• To foster friendship and brotherhood amongst the members of the Society.

The Indian Orthodontic Society held it's first Conference in the year 1967 at New Delhi with a scientific session. This was followed regularly by annual conferences every year, which are attended by a large number of Orthodontists from within the country and abroad.

The first IOS PG student convention was held in the year 1996 in Mangalore and since then this has become an annual event.

The IOS also has a mid year convention every year, sometimes overseas in association with a sister international organization. With several study groups across the country, the calendar of the IOS burgeons with scientific and public awareness activites.

The JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ORTHODONTIC SOCIETY was started by Dr. H.D. Merchant as the first Editor. Today our journal is one of the finest journals in India and showcases the excellent standards of Indian Orthodontics. The journal can be accessed from www.jios.in

The IOS has another journal, the journal of contemporary orthodontics which can be accessed from www.jco-ios.com

The IOS TIMES is the official news letter of IOS started in the year 2008 with the primary intention to connect the members of the society across the country, simultaneously providing patient education material. Beside reporting events of the IOS and lauding achievements of members , the IOS TIMES reaches out to the public by publishing orthodontic awareness topics that are shared via social media. Issues be accessed on www.iosweb.net/IOSTimes.aspx

In the year 1999,the Indian Orthodontic Society achieved another first by establishing the Indian Board of Orthodontics, the first such Board in the field of Dentistry in India and the third in the world. The Board was established to examine the members of the IOS with a minimum of five years of experience after MDS in Orthodontics and serves to raise the bar of clincal excellence in Orthodontics by awarding “Diplomate,Indian Board of Orthodontics” to its members.

With the signing of the charter of the World Federation of Orthodontics at San Francisco USA in 1995, the Indian Orthodontic Society is proud to be a part of the World Federation of Orthodontics.The Indian Orthodontic Society plays an active role in the international global scene with some of its members serving in positions of eminence in international bodies.

The Indian Orthodontic Society is registered with registrar of societies act, vellore wide no. 75 of 1992.