Meet Dr. Michael Ponikvar

Dr. Ponikvar is a native of southern Ontario and currently a board-certified orthodontist who specializes in braces for adolescents and adults. His passion for helping patients is inspired by a family legacy beginning in 1973; Dr. Ponikvar followed his father’s footsteps in the dental field. He began his academic journey by working on his first of five degrees in mechanical engineering and received his Bachelor of Science in biology from Stanford University. After living in California, Dr. Ponikvar obtained his first master’s degree in physiology from the University of Toronto, with a thesis focused on the psychomotor abilities of military marksmen in a synthetic battlefield environment at the National Defense Department.

During this time, Dr. Ponikvar trained NHL hockey players in strength and conditioning and in addition was a world-class track and field athlete who qualified for and/or competed in various international competitions, such as Junior Pan-American Games, Junior World Championships, Commonwealth Games, World University games, and Olympic Games. Take a look at his Wikipedia page!

Following his professional athletic career, he received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the first dental school in the world, the prestigious Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. During his clinical years in Baltimore, Dr. Ponikvar served on the admissions committee and was ranked number one in his class during his second, third and fourth years and earned admission to the University of Missouri orthodontic program, which accepted only three students. Here he once again served on the admissions committee and completed nearly three years of a specialized orthodontic residency in addition to completing his second Master of Science, this time in craniofacial biology.

Shortly after, Dr. Ponikvar began serving on the admissions committee for Stanford University and moved back to Canada after 16 years of post-high school education to obtain his board certification in orthodontics.

Dr. Ponikvar continues to study the latest advances in his specialty through memberships and certifications in the following:

• American Association of Orthodontists
• Canadian Association of Orthodontists
• Ontario Association of Orthodontists
• Canadian Association of Dentists
• Ontario Association of Dentists
• American Dental Association
• Bay of Quinte Dental Society
• Certified Invisalign® provider
• Certified lingual braces provider

He is active in the community, serves on the admission board of Stanford University, and is president of the Bay of Quinte Dental Society and also represents the Bay of Quinte in the Ontario Dental Association.  In addition he serves as a local track and field coach, and is involved in sponsoring high school activities and sporting events. In his spare time, Dr. Ponikvar is an avid chess player and enjoys spending time with his family and friends, coaching sports, and traveling.