Stephen Gould

Stephen Gould (1923 – 2015)

Born in 1923 in Southampton, Stephen Gould was educated in Wolverhampton. He joined the Army during WWII, serving in India and Burma. After the War he studied dentistry at Guy’s Hospital Dental School, qualifying BDS and LDS RCS in 1955. Gould spent a short amount of time in general practice while also holding the part time role of demonstrator in periodontology at Guys. He obtained his Fellowship and Diploma in Orthodontics in 1960 from the Royal Dental Hospital. Gould joined the Eastman as a Senior Registrar, being promoted to orthodontic consultant three years later in 1963.. In addition to orthodontics, Stephen developed an interest in temporo-mandibular joint dysfunction and established a specialist treatment clinic at the Eastman. Gould was a member of the Board of Governors of the Eastman. In the 1970s he played a crucial role, along with Prof. Ivor Kramer, in securing the future of the Eastman and allowing it to take over the vacant Royal Free hospital buildings. Gould went on to serve on the hospital rebuilding committee from 1980 – 1985.

Gould served as Honorary Secretary of the BSSO from 1969-1974 and President in 1977. In 1973 He played a major role in the organisation of the 3rd International Orthodontic Congress which was held in London. In 1975 Gould submitted a paper to the BSSO advocating unification of the orthodontic committees. Although the paper gained little response it marked the beginning of unification. Gould served as Chairman of the Consultant Orthodontists Group from 1979-1981) and was BSSO Chairman from 1984-1987. As BSSO Chairman Gould played a key role in uniting the orthodontic societies to form the Joint Response Committee to refute the findings of the Schanschieff Report. The work of the Joint Response Committee convinced the societies of the need to unify leading to the formation of the BOS in 1994. Stephen became the second BOS President in 1996.