Dr. John Byron Wilfong received both his undergraduate and Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from West Virginia University. J.B. graduated from the second class at the school in 1962, and after graduation entered the U.S. Air Force where he was stationed in Goose Bay Labrador with the rank of Captain.
After serving his country, Dr. Wilfong opened his practice in general dentistry in Clarksburg, W.V. and began serving as one of the early clinical faculty members in removable prosthodontics.
In 1968 J.B. was accepted into the first post-doctorate in Orthodontics and completed his program with his other class residents Drs. Bob Brossman, Bob Walsh and Maury Hamill.
Dr. Wilfong was also an early member of the Board of Governor’s of the WVU School of Dentistry Alumni Association and served as its president in 1976. After finishing his post doctorate degree, he again joined the faculty in the Department of Orthodontics where he served for over 40 years and is one of the longest serving faculty members in the history of the WVU School of Dentistry.
During his illustrious career, Dr. Wilfong was very involved in organized dentistry and served as President of the WVU SOD Orthodontic Association in 1971 and President of the WV Orthodontic Society in 1980.
Dr. Wilfong has also been very active in his community in Harrison County and was the 1992 President of the Clarksburg Rotary Club and served as a Board member of the Rotary Exchange Program. He also served on the administrative Board of the Salvation Army, the Board of the Methodist Church, and on the board of the Lake Floyd Country Club.
Dr. Wilfong’s son, Byron, is a graduate of the dental class of 1993. His grandson, John, is a member of the class of 2023 and his granddaughter, Anna, is in the class of 2025. This is one of only two three generation families to ever graduate from the WVU School of Dentistry.
Because of these many accomplishments and awards over his amazing career, Dr. J. B. Wilfong is so deserving of the WVU School of Dentistry’s Alumni Associations highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award.