Lester Levern Merrifield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lester Levern Merrifield (February 1, 1921 – January 15, 2000) was an American orthodontist known for his contributions in developing the Tweed-Merrifield philosophy with the Edgewise brackets during the 1950s.[1][2][3] He was a previous President of Charles H. Tweed Foundation.
He was born in 1921 in Dill City, Oklahoma. He received his high school education from William L. Sayre High School and went to Oklahoma State University–Stillwater to get his degree in agriculture. He then taught vocational agriculture in the town for few years. In 1942, he decided to pursue his dental education at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas and graduated from there in 1946. He opened his first practice in Chickasha, Oklahoma. After that he pursued his education in Orthodontics from University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Dentistry.
In 1951 he entered United States Air Force as a Captain and transferred to Amarillo Air Force Base. He eventually completed his tour duty in 1953. After that he moved to Kay County, Oklahoma where he started an Orthodontic Practice with his brother Vernon Merrifield. He worked in his private practice for 50 years.
