Hardev Coonar

Hardev Singh Coonar (9 December 1933 – 6 May 2019) was a dental surgeon active in the United Kingdom and India who was a specialist in oral implantology after being trained at the Branemark Clinic in Gothenburg, Sweden.

He co-founded a charitable dental and pain clinic in Hansali, Punjab, India, supported by both the Rotary International and local Gurudwara.

Early life and education Hardev Singh Coonar was born on 9 December 1933 at Chakrata, to Dr Major Shamsher Singh and Sardarni Partap Kaur. He was the younger brother of Pritam Singh, Sukhdev Singh and sister Pritam Kaur. His family background was one of military and farming.

Circumstances during the Second World War meant that Coonar changed schools several times. In 1949, he matriculated from Victoria Dalip High School, Solan, now in Himachal Pradesh. Subsequently, he attended Government Ripudaman College Nabha, affiliated to Panjab University. In 1952, he gained his FSc, a pre-medical examination which allowed him to apply to a dental or medical school. Many years later, following Pritam Singh's death, Coonar stated "though my elder brother, he has been my father for 79 years."

Personal and family Coonar married Sarla Sachdeva on 6 December 1964. They had met during the first class of the Amritsar Dental College, when they were both in their teens. She became a dental surgeon and they had two children, a son who became a cardiothoracic surgeon and a daughter who took over Sarla's practice as an orthodontist.

Selected publications "Retromolar abscess due to foreign body", Journal All India Dental Association, Vol. 38, Issue 18 (January 1966) "The hollow obturator for treatment of maxillary defects", Dental Practitioner (Bristol), Vol. 20, November 1969, pp. 92–4. "Hodgkin’s disease presenting intra-orally", British Journal of Oral Surgery, Vol. 16, 1978–1979, pp. 64–69. "Primary intraosseous carcinoma of maxilla", British Dental Journal, Vol. 147, 1979, p. 47.