Meet
James Q. Swift, DDS
From routine procedures to advanced reconstructions, Dr. James Swift has helped oral surgery patients from all walks of life look and feel amazing.
About Dr. James Swift
Dr. James Q. Swift is a tenured Professor and was the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Director at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry for 25 years. Dr. Swift received his Bachelors of Arts degree (cum laude) from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA in 1976. He received his dental degree from the University of Iowa in 1980 and his oral and maxillofacial surgery training from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, completing his program in 1985. He was faculty for 4 years at the University of Oklahoma before being recruited by the University of Minnesota.
Memberships & Certifications
He recently served as the Program Director of the Advanced Education Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the second time in his tenure. He also recently served as Acting Dean regarding promotion and tenure matters. He is also a practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the University of Minnesota. He has served the AAOMS on numerous committees as an officer and Chair of the Faculty Section.
- University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Century Club Professor of the Year in 2001
- OMSF’s Ambassador Service Award recipient in 2004
- American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery President in 2005
- American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Director for 6 years
- American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery member of the Examination Committee for 6 years.
- American Dental Education Association President in 2007-2008
- American Dental Education Association Board of Directors from 2002-2008
- Served as a Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation (OMSF) from 2009-2012.
- ADEA Distinguished Service Award in 2009
- Received the AAOMS R.V. Walker Distinguished Service Award in 2015
- Member of the Medical Professional Liability Association (MPL Association), formerly Physicians Insurance Association of America (PIAA), and completed the PIAA Fellows Program in 2015.
- Elected to the PIAA Board of Directors in 2015 and elected as its secretary in 2016.
- Elected MPL Association Vice Chair in 2018 and ascended to Chair of the Board of the MPL Association in 2020.
- 2024 AAOMS Meeting Dedication (Highest honored given out by AAOMS to a member)
- Named the 2019 Guest of Honor at the Minneapolis District Dental Society in recognition of his contributions to organized dentistry and was selected as the Minnesota Dental Association Guest of Honor for the 2020 MDA Star of the North Annual Session
- Fellow of the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists and the American College of Surgeons.
- Received the AAOMS’s Daniel M. Laskin Award for the most outstanding Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery article published in 1998.
- Received the AAOMS/William J. Gies Foundation Gies Award for oral and maxillofacial surgery.
- Member of the Board of the Gorlin Syndrome Alliance in 2020 and serves on committees of the GSA and Chairs the newly formed Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the GSA.
- Served on the OMSNIC Claims Committee for over 20 years
- Director of OMSNIC since 2006, served as Vice Chair from 2011 to 2013 and as Chair of the Board since 2014. He has been a Fortress Insurance Company Director since 2014 and became Chair of the Fortress Board in 2016. He has also served as a Director and Chair of the Board of The River Agency since 2015.
Outside the Office
Dr. Swift is a native of Manchester, Iowa, from a family of ten children. His mother was a grade school teacher, his father and grandfather practiced law with Jim's brother Dan, who joined their small-town practice (Swift & Swift Law Firm) in Manchester, Iowa during their later years. Jim was a two sport Division III collegiate athlete, playing football and wrestling at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. In 1974 he qualified to participate in the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Tournament.
Today, Dr. Swift is an avid bicyclist and has participated in RAGBRAI for seven years (Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) totaling an annual 400–500 mile ride in 7 days. He has participated in 3 century rides (100 miles in a day) in Iowa and Minnesota.
Dr Swift enjoys golf and has played golf on 6 continents. He and his practice partner Kirby Johnson participated in the Men’s team match play event at Interlachen Country Club (Bobby Jones Match play) and were champions in 2015.
Dr. Swift enjoys traveling and has been inspired to experience new places since being an exchange student in dental school at the University of Iowa. He spent the first 6 months of his senior year in the school of dentistry at Aarhus, Denmark where he gained clinical oral surgery experience.
Jim and his wife Lori are parents of two children, Meagan Norgren, and Alex. Meagan and her husband Dave have 2 sons, Rhys and Rhodes. Alex and his wife Sindy have 3 sons, Nahum, Simeon and James.