John Ference

Dr. John Ference is a Prosthodontist and serves as Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, College of Dental Medicine, Charleston, South Carolina.  Dr. Ference is Diplomate of the American College of Prosthodontics and clinical Prosthodontist at the school faculty practice. Dr. Ference serves in the Division of Removable Prosthodontics and helps direct Innovation and Technology within the department; supervises both preclinical and clinical prosthodontic training and prosthodontic treatment planning for 320 dental students.

In 1980, he graduated from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina and awarded a BA degree in Chemistry and entered Active Duty.  He served as an active duty engineer officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and the Baltimore Recruiting Battalion at Fort Meade, MD.  Transitioning to the Army Reserve, he served in a variety of Command and staff positions with the 444th Adjutant General Battalion, 99th Army Regional Command and the 99 Regional Readiness Command. Before retiring, he was assigned to the 912th Dental Company in Twinsburg, OH and the 965th Dental Company in Seagoville, Texas.  COL Ference is a combat veteran that has deployed to various combat locations in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2000, he graduated from the University School of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine and completed his Prosthodontic residency program in 2003.  Upon graduation, was appointed assistant professor at the School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Ference served as the President for the Task Force on Occlusion Education and Predoctoral Educator Conference for the American College of Prosthodontists.  Dr. Ference was the a member of the SDM Curriculum Committee, past president of the Pennsylvania Prosthodontic Association and licensed in the states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina. Dr. Ference has lectured extensively to both international dentists overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as national meetings and study clubs.

His research focus is in CAD-CAM produced prosthesis, for both complete and removable partial dentures, through a variety of manufacturing processes; casting, 3D printing, additive and subtractive technologies.  He recently completed a 42-patient IRB study with the School of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science to fabricate cast metal removal frameworks and complete dentures using stereolithography, cnc milling, selective laser sintering and traditional casting technologies. He co-authored several publications for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry and a book on Occlusion, a primer for dental students for The American College of Prosthodontics.  He has also contributed chapters to Barron’s Dental Admission Testing Book.