In the clinics and lecture halls of Indian dentistry, (Hony.) Brigadier Dr. Anil Kohli stands as a pioneering figure who elevated the profession to national recognition. An alumnus of King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, he graduated with a BDS in 1976 and completed his MDS in Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, earning a Gold Medal as the Best House Surgeon and the S.S. Bhatnagar Award along the way.

Specialising in endodontics and implantology, he built a reputation for precision and care while serving for more than two decades as Honorary Dental Surgeon to several Presidents and Prime Ministers of India. The late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam conferred on him the honorary rank of Brigadier in the Army Dental Corps—the only dentist to receive this distinction. As President of the Dental Council of India for two terms, he worked to raise and standardise the quality of dental education and clinical practice across the country.

In 1992 the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, making him the first dentist to receive the honour. In 2005 he received the Padma Bhushan, becoming the only dental surgeon in the country to be conferred both Padma awards. He later received the Dr B.C. Roy National Award, the highest recognition in Indian medicine. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Dental Research, represented Asia in international endodontic bodies, and held adjunct professorships at Tufts University and Boston University in the United States.

Colleagues and students recall his quiet insistence on excellence. “A healthy smile is not a luxury,” he would tell young dentists, “it is a right that every patient deserves, whether in a presidential suite or a village camp.” Even after decades of practice he continues to lead health and awareness camps in rural areas, emphasising prevention and early detection of oral disease.

From a gold-medal student in Lucknow to the first dentist to receive both Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, Anil Kohli’s career remains a story of clinical skill, institutional leadership and a lifelong commitment to raising the standards of oral healthcare in India.