Baylor Dental Journal 2014

JournalT e x a s A & M U n i v e r s i t y B a y l o r C o l l e g e o f D e n t i s t r y D a l l a s , T e x a s

B A Y L O R D E N T A L

Caring for teeth in the tundra

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An Alaskan Adventure

The Baylor Dental Journal is published by the Office of Advancement,Communications & Alumni Relations; Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry; 3302 Gaston Avenue; Dallas, Texas 75246; 214.828.8214. This issue was printed April 2014. Production of the Baylor Dental Journal is supported by a grant to TAMBCD from the Baylor Oral Health Foundation. Financial support to defray printing and mailing expenses is provided by the Baylor College of Dentistry Alumni Association. TAMBCD serves people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin.

Warm care in a frigid land

Alaskas North Slope is one of the planets most forbidding

locales, with months of constant darkness and bone-numbing

temperatures. Spouses Drs. Kim Self and Jonathan Oudin

two alumni dedicated to providing oral health care for the

areas Alaska Natives also call it home.

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on the cover

Drs. Kim Self and Jonathan Oudin, pictured under the whale-bone arch in Barrow, Alaska, adapt to cold and isolation while bringing dental public health care to Alaska Natives 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

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2. Message From the Dean

3. Campus Connection

6. Newsmakers

24. In Touch With Alumni

28. Giving

32. Impressions

Editor Carolyn Cox

Contributors LaDawn Brock, Deborah Clark, Lori Dees, Jenny Fuentes, Patti Haskins,

Linda Piper, Brigitte Sims, Art Upton

Photographers Leeanna Bartlett, Gabe Chmielewski, Steven Doll, Jenny Fuentes, Dr. Tom Johnson,

Rick McDaniel, Dr. Jonathan Oudin, The Picture Junkies, Dr. Kim Self

Executive Director, Advancement, Communications & Alumni Relations Susan Mitchell Jackson

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTSThe Baylor Dental Journal welcomes your feedback and suggestions. Send comments to [email protected], phone 214.828.8218, or mail to Carolyn Cox, Editor; Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry; Office of Advancement, Communica-tions & Alumni Relations; 3302 Gaston Ave.; Dallas, Texas 75246.

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EDITORS NOTEFor the sake of space and readability in this publication, Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry will be referred to as Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, A&M Baylor College of Dentistry or TAMBCD after page 3.

18City of dreams

Dr. Claude Williams brought his family

and his orthodontic skills to Dallas in

1970, enticed by the prospect of change

within the environs of a post-integration

South. His drive to foster inclusion still

inspires possibilities.

FIND OUR NEWS ON THE WEBnewsstand.bcd.tamhsc.edu

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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Our next stop will be in San Antonio May 1-3 with a BCD Alumni Association booth on the Texas Dental Association Annual Session exhibit floor and the annual BCDAA reception and general membership meeting May 2 in the Grand Hyatt, a new location.

But what about those times between visits, receptions and reunions? How do we as a dental school family and alumni base stay connected across the Lone Star State and beyond? Some of the greatest tools available to us lie with advances in technology and the Internet. August saw the launch of NewsStand, the dental schools revamped news website, which combines breaking college developments with digital versions of your favorite alumni features found in the Baylor Dental Journal, our biannual magazine. If you want to receive our weekly emails with links to online stories, simply go to newsstand.bcd.tamhsc.edu, look for the box that says Join our mailing list, enter your email address, and hit go. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too!

For alumni information and updates visit the alumni relations website bcd.tamhsc.edu/alumni. Or you can contact Deborah Clark, program coordinator, at [email protected] or 214.828.8471 to make sure we have your accurate contact information, especially your email address. The bulk of alumni happenings and invitations will come to you

electronically, and we want to make sure you are apprised of the latest and greatest from your alma mater.

When you do get the chance to make it out to campus, take a look at a new addition to the first floor: our donor wall, which recognizes those generous individuals whose contributions help make the dental school what it is today. Initiatives such as the Seale Professorship, Cole Professorship and Rees Fellowship are just a few of the current fundraising campaigns that we invite you to support.

I cannot believe I am halfway through my third year as dean of the greatest dental school in the country. I am honored and thrilled. The time has flown by, and the future promises to be bright and exciting. I am counting

on you to be a part of it all, and I hope to see you soon!

Alumni and friends, the warmth and enthusiasm of our dental school family continue to amaze me. I am grateful for all of the opportunities I have had to get to know so many of you here in Dallas and across the U.S. (If I havent been to your corner of the world yet, let the folks in the alumni office know, and well get out to see you soon!)

State and national gatherings like the October 2013 American Dental Association Annual Session in New Orleans and the Southwest Dental Conference right here in Dallas in January lent the perfect opportunities to reconnect with one another and re-engage with the college. Even dozens of members of the Class of 1964 returned to campus. (By no means do you have to wait until your 50th anniversary to come back.)

Dr. Wolinsky joins Dr. Carmen Smith, Alumni Association president, in presenting the Betty J. Scott Scholarship to fourth-year dental student Lindsay Pigg during the January 2014 homecoming reception.

Dr. Lawrence E. Wolinsky

C A M P U S C O N N E C T I O N

Assessing needs of adult cleft lip and palate patients

Dr. Maureen Libby, a resident in graduate prosthodontics, hopes her masters thesis research will lead to a greater understanding of the health needs of adults with cleft lip and cleft palate in North Texas.

Dr. Emet Schneiderman, associate professor in biomedical sciences and Libbys faculty mentor, has some related plans in mind. Perhaps the research results could demonstrate the need for an adult cleft clinic at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry. But first, data is needed on potential patients, because state record-keeping ceases after age 18.

According to the numbers from the Texas

Birth Defects Registry, about one out of every 570 children born in North Texas will have a cleft lip and/or palate. Using Texas Health Department statistics, Schneiderman estimated that in 2013 alone, at least 180 children with clefts in this region reached adulthood. These individuals may have a host of dental and medical needs as adults, says Libby, such as swallowing complications, speech therapy, psychosocial concerns and even learning disabilities.

Realizing an adult cleft clinic at TAMBCD would require help from inside the school and out, drawing expertise from restorative sciences, oral and maxillofacial surgery and orthodontics residents and faculty, as well as plastic surgeons, speech therapists and social workers. Collaboration with neighboring hospitals and health education programs would also be an essential component.

Grafts, dental bridges and lip and nose surgery revisions are just a few of the common treatments that would be provided.

As residents we dont get exposed to this type of patient, says Libby. Establishing a center here would allow all of us to work together.

Schneiderman admires the emphasis on interprofessional care by the Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery Team at Childrens

Tooth talk with a twist

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS may learn in manners different from their peers, but their oral health care essentials are the same as any youngsters.

A Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry instructional video featuring Restorative Sciences Assistant Professor Dr. Grace Snuggs teaches dental students how to relate to these exceptional patients in ways theyll best understand. Then the next time a dental visit rolls around, not only will the children have pearly white teeth to show off to the dentist, theyll feel excited not anxious about the appointment.

Third-year dental students Sarah Severson, Stephanie Reeh and Niekia Franklin watched the video in mid-October before setting out for a Tooth Talk at the Rise School of Dallas, which provides early childhood education to students with Down syndrome and developmental disabilities.

One childs face lit up when I revealed to her my smile under the blue dental mask, Severson says. The dental mask is something that makes many of the children anxious and fearful; I was delighted that I could reveal to her that under the scary mask was something she was familiar with and comforted by a big, warm smile!

Drs. Emet Schneiderman and Maureen Libby

Medical Center of Dallas, which periodically gathers a dozen patients and multiple specialists in one location on a single day. He envisions a similar model for adults on a smaller scale at TAMBCD. Dental school residents already treat approximately half of the cleft patients seen at Childrens.

More than two dozen faculty members and administrators, as well as Dr. Alex Kane, head of the plastic and craniofacial surgery team at Childrens, have gotten behind the concept.

At the outset, half-day clinic sessions could occur at TAMBCD twice a year, at which point follow-up appointments would be made. Just one crucial detail remains: funding. But in order to attract benefactors, concrete data is required.

Libby distributed a survey in September to tens of thousands of potential respondents via Texas A&M University, the dental school and various social media platforms. The intent has been for anyone in this patient population to participate, offering crucial information about surgical treatment, continuing health care concerns as well as satisfaction with appearance. Data collected from the survey is being analyzed.

The goal is to figure out the current medical and dental needs of adults with a history of cleft lip and palate, says Libby. Statistically it seems there should be a large population in our area, but we dont see them.

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The video focuses on sensory stimulation as the primary tool to teach special needs children about their teeth and the dentist.

Many of these children have limited receptive and expressive language, and teaching them about the dentist through tactile, smell and other sensory means is not only fun but an excellent way to show these kids exactly who the dentist is, says Severson. Editors note: The Feb. 3 passing of Dr. Grace Snuggs deeply impacted the TAMBCD family. This video perpetuates her compassion for special needs youngsters.

Dental student Stephanie Reeh with Rise School students


Researching FAM20C: one popular molecule

Apowerhouse molecule FAM20C has brought nearly $2 million in National Institutes of Health funding to Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry since a Department of Biomedical Sciences research teams findings were first published in PLOS Genetics as the May 2012 cover article.

The attention is more than monetary: Dental and medical schools from the East Coast, West Coast even Canada clamored for a chance to collaborate. Harvard dental school, UC San Diego medical school, University of Pittsburgh, McGill University in Montreal and Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md., all became partners. In fact, requests were so numerous that Dr. Chunlin Qin, associate professor in biomedical sciences and principal investigator, could not accept them all.

TAMBCD just so happens to be the only institution in the world that possesses the unique gene knockout model in which the FAM20C gene has been selectively nullified.

I didnt expect it was going to be that exciting, says Qin, whose research team includes Drs. Xiaofang Wang, Jerry Feng and Jay Groppe. In the past year, the research on this molecule has gotten very hot.

At the moment its very attractive to many people, and this attraction is also good for the school.

FAM20C is different from its two siblings in the protein family FAM20, because unlike FAM20A, which is essential to enamel formation, or FAM20B, which is necessary for cartilage development, FAM20C plays a critical role with all four types of mineralized tissues in mammals: bone; enamel (outer

layer of tooth crown); dentin (bulky tissue shaping the contour of a tooth); and cementum (outer layer of tooth root).

Knowing the proteins role is only half of the equation. Qins group discovered that the loss of FAM20C leads not only to bone and tooth defects but also a reduction of serum phosphorous levels.

In a nutshell, FAM20C is critical for regulating the total body phosphate in addition to the formation and mineralization of bone and tooth, Qin says.

It doesnt only affect the dental field; it has a very broad influence, he adds. This is a molecule present in many tissues. At this moment we believe it is most important for bone and teeth, while it is also likely to play important roles in the nerve, muscle, fat metabolism and immune systems.

As a result, the college has attracted attention from experts in endocrinology, obesity and diabetes, and pharmacology. The researchers foresee intensive activity around FAM20C through the next decade.

Dr. Paul Dechow, Regents Professor and chair of biomedical sciences, says the protein could represent a major advance in the understanding of mineralized tissue development.

While we suspected its importance, the attention it has attracted from both within and outside the bone research community has been gratifying and attests to the high quality and hard work of our TAMBCD scientists, Dechow says.

On the road for schoolchildren

SEVERAL DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA back-to-school fairs in August created a busy time for Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry volunteers. Thousands of economically disadvantaged schoolchildren benefited from the colleges efforts.

Students and faculty provided free dental screenings, fluoride varnishes and oral health education at events in Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving and Garland. Staff volunteers registered families at each of the events.

The Dallas Mayors Back to School Fair at Fair Park was the largest venue, with more than 1,000 children served there by TAMBCD.

Research Day milestone

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARS DAY at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry turned 40 in 2013.

In true celebratory fashion, students and residents marked the annual April event with presentations and table clinics. These ranged from graduate student oral presentations to clinical case presentations, in which third-year dental students discussed how they addressed complicated patient cases from the past year. Dental hygiene and dental student poster presentations rounded out the days offerings.

Clockwise, from front: Drs.Jerry Feng, Xiaofang Wang, Jay Groppe and Chunlin Qin



Personalized care for a special patient population

Kathy Muzzin, associate professor of dental hygiene, has for the past 20 years honed in on a uniquely rewarding patient population: individuals with special needs.

Every Wednesday morning she supervises dental hygiene students in the Special Care Clinic, housed within the sixth floor Advanced Education in General Dentistry Clinic at TAMBCD. This helps students learn to care for patients who have a physical, developmental or behavioral condition requiring intervention above and beyond what is routine.

The beauty of the Special Care Clinic is that AEGD residents are able to provide compre-hensive care while dental and dental hygiene students gain exposure to this population.

Muzzin is there every step of the way, whether a student needs help with a stabilization technique for a patient with a tremor or could use tips on toothbrush handle modifications to ensure the patient is able to manage adequate daily cleanings at home.

The biggest obstacle for families with special needs children or caregivers of a person who has special needs is finding a dentist who is willing to treat them, says Muzzin. The No. 1 reason dentists wont provide care for these patients is they arent comfortable treating them. But if you take the time to get to know the patient and provide them an environment in which they feel safe, the rewards pay off in the long run.

Muzzins advice for students regarding special needs patients: Look beyond their special needs, and get to know these individuals. They are a warm and loving group. Also, dont look at it as a challenge; just treat them like anybody else, because thats who they are.

Our goal of having the students be exposed to this population before they go out to private practice is that they will welcome them into their practice and be willing to treat them.

Symposium addresses

dental care for older adults

IN 2010, the number of Americans between ages 65 and 74 the so-called new elders totaled more than 21 million. By 2020, the U.S. Health and Human Services Administration on Aging predicts that number to grow to more than 32 million.

Even more eye-opening: U.S. Census Bureau projections suggest that by 2056, for the first time, those ages 65 and older are projected to outnumber Americans under age 18.

The numbers speak for themselves. Its precisely why Dr. Helena Tapias, assistant professor in restorative sciences, suggested A&M Baylor College of Dentistry host an annual geriatric dentistry symposium beginning May 2013. And why Dr. Linda Niessen, then clinical professor at the college whose name has long been synonymous with geriatric dentistry advocacy agreed to Tapias idea to have the event named the Linda C. Niessen Geriatric Dentistry Symposium.

The goal is to increase the training in geriatric dentistry, Tapias says. This symposium can be a good starting point.

The 2013 event focused on new treatments that improve clinical outcomes for the new elders consumer group, composed primarily of baby boomers. On May 23, 2014, Dr. Gordon Christensen will discuss major challenges and practical solutions for the dental team as they treat geriatric patients.

Were all going to be practicing geriatric dentistry in the next 20 years just because of the aging of the population, says Niessen. Every dental practice, excluding pediatric dentistry, will encounter older patients because of this changing demographic.

This means dentists will need to increasingly understand the aging process and the issues aging brings to treatment. Thats where the symposium comes in: It will cover how best to care for patients at both ends of the geriatric spectrum the new elders and the oldest adults. For more information contact Tapias at [email protected].

From left: Dr. Lawrence Wolinsky (TAMBCD), Dr. Brett Giroir (TAMHSC), Chancellor John Sharp (TAMUS), Sen. Royce West, Rep. Diane Patrick, Rep. Roberto Alonzo and Rep. Jim Pitts. Not pictured: Sen. John Carona, who

accepted his award earlier in the day

Kathy Muzzin converses with a patient.

College welcomes

legislators

ON FEB. 5, several Dallas-area members of the Texas Senate and House of Representatives were acknowledged for their investments in higher education and the A&M System during the 83rd legislative session. Following a reception with faculty and students, John Sharp, A&M System chancellor, presented each member with an award.

Just treat them

like anybody else, because

thats who they are.

Kathy Muzzin

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A new era in treating head and neck cancer

Dr. David Kang, assistant professor in oral and maxillofacial surgery, has joined Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry as its first head and neck oncologic and micro-vascular reconstructive surgeon. The description is complex, but the meaning isnt lost on patients with oral cancer facing the reality of surgery.

This dual-trained dentist and physician spent an additional year after his oral surgery residency to complete a fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery at the University of Michigan. He has returned to Dallas with the in-depth training he needs to not only remove cancerous head and neck tumors but also reconstruct the entire surgical area. This provides a critical step in a patients return to normalcy following a life-altering diagnosis and treatment.

Kang anticipates coordinating a multi-disciplinary approach to caring for cancer patients with the various medical oncology specialists involved in their treatment. He says he expects most of his referrals to come from oral and maxillofacial surgeons and dentists in North Texas.

Our patients are frequently presented to the Head and Neck Tumor Board, which meets at the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, Kang says. At this meeting we discuss treatment options including surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Many of the patients Kang treats are dealing with the reality of radiation a treatment that, while often effective at combating cancer, is notorious for wreaking havoc on the environment in the mouth. He takes special steps to ensure that the patients reconstruction holds up to the radiation that may occur post-surgery.

In the past, there was significant morbidity and decreased quality of life associated with oncologic resections resulting in loss of facial aesthetics, speech and ability to eat, sometimes leading to a hermetic lifestyle, Kang says. With the advancement of microvascular reconstructive surgery, we can now take composite free tissue skin, fascia, muscle, nerve, bone to reconstruct any maxillofacial defect regardless of size and return form and function to the patient.

Free tissue transfer, or free flap, has become the gold standard in reconstruction of the difficult three-dimensional aspect of the oral cavity.

For patient referrals, contact the Depart-ment of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at 214-828-8403.


Dr. Colin Bell (left) and Dr. Miro Pavelka

Bell receives

Presidential

Achievement

Award

NEARLY 30 YEARS of teaching part time in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery adds up to more than just a little instruction and mentoring of dental students at A&M Baylor College of Dentistry.

Then theres Dr. Colin Bells election to an eight-year term as a director and officer of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and 10 prior years as an examiner. Add to that his presidencies of state and regional specialty organizations and extensive committee service, and its clear why Bell received the Presidential Achievement Award during the October 2013 meeting of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Colin has made significant contributions to the specialty, says Dr. Miro Pavelka 77, 81 (OMS), immediate past president of AAOMS. He is an excellent representative, and everybody respects what he says. He is known for being very organized and getting things done.

Bell 79, 84 (OMS) says his involvement is a logical outgrowth of the philosophy of service instilled in TAMBCDs residents and students.

THE PRESIDENT of the American Association of Anatomists is A&M Baylor College of Dentistrys own Dr. Lynne Opperman, professor and director of technology development, who began her two-year term in April 2013.

As AAAs elected head, she is emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaboration and strategic planning within the prestigious 125-year-old scientific organization.

Her basic science research interests are in craniofacial growth and development, intramembranous bone growth and molecular regulation of craniofacial suture development and morphogenesis. Her translational research achievements include a distraction osteogenesis device protected by several patents.

Opperman leads national

association as president

Dr. David Kang

Dr. Lynne Opperman

Dr. Brett P. Giroir

Giroir named to

TAMHSC top post

DR. BRETT P. GIROIR was named executive vice president and CEO of Texas A&M Health Science Center by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Feb. 17. To learn more about this dynamic leader, visit www.tamhsc.edu/about/giroir.html.

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Diversity champion in the spotlight

Dr. Ernestine Lacy, professor and executive director of student development and multicultural affairs, received ADEAs Gies Award for Outstanding Achievement for a Dental Educator, presented by the ADEAGies Foundation in recognition of vision, innovation and achievement in dental education. Lacy was honored at the American Dental Education Association annual meeting in March 2013.

Dr. Lacys caring and compassionate personality has made her a natural fit for this role at our college, says Dr. Lawrence Wolinsky, TAMBCD dean. A consummate educator, she inspires excellence and serves as an exceptional role model. We are so proud to have her as part of our dental school family.

Dr. Barbara Miller 83, 96 (MS), executive director of recruitment and

admissions, says, Dr. Lacy has facilitated diversity and inclusion at our dental school with grace and wisdom. Her work will continue to improve access to dental care for growing segments of our population that remain historically underserved by dentistry.

Since Lacy 94, 96 (AEGD) began targeting diversity issues through the colleges outreach programs in 1996, the college has seen remarkable growth in diversity, with underrepresented minorities now comprising 39 percent of the student body.

Dr. Ernestine Lacy

Lacy develops and directs Bridge to Dentistry, the colleges pre-kindergarten through postdoctoral education pipeline program, which was boosted by a $3.4 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Center of Excellence program in 2012.

Upon receiving the ADEA award, Lacy recognized fellow faculty and staff members.

I accept this very special award with a great degree of humility, said Lacy. I accept it, though, not as a personal one, but as an award to a team of people at our college who make great things happen! That team includes Dr. Barbara Miller and the dedicated people with whom I work every day: the staff in the Office of Student Development and Multicultural Affairs.

I also must recognize Dr. Claude Williams, who laid the foundation for diversity and multiculturalism at our college, and Dr. Jim Cole, our dean emeritus, who embraced it and ensured its continual funding.

Big birthday for dental school patient of 82 years

CENTENARIAN LIZZIE MAE GRAY knows how to appreciate a great party. The spry Dallas resident was able to relish not just one but four parties in September celebrating her 100th birthday.

Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry recognizes Gray for a singular milestone; she has been associated with the dental school longer than anyone else who graces its doors. After 82 years as a patient, she holds a position of honor as a loyal partner in the education of decades worth of dental and dental hygiene students.

Dental visits to TAMBCD have been part of Grays routine since 1932, when she first came to the dental school along with her parents and three brothers. Her visits continued during her employment as a licensed vocational nurse at Parkland Memorial Hospital from 1953 to 1970.

Gray was honored during the dental schools centennial in 2005 and still receives routine care from students of TAMBCDs Caruth School of Dental Hygiene. She has also referred friends and family to become patients. Her tenacity in keeping her teeth clean is evidenced by exceptional oral health.

Ive had all my care done here, she says. I wouldnt go anywhere else. Im very satisfied. I think the students are very good, and I knew I needed to keep coming back.

For her birthday celebration at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas,church staff collected proclamations,

including one from Dr. Lawrence Wolinsky, dental school dean. Among flowery mentions of intriguing milestones and hearty congratulations, the proclamation noted that dental cleanings at the school cost 25 cents back when Gray was a teenager.

Gray, who lives with her niece, is active in her church and the senior citizens group at Park South Family YMCA in South Dallas, where she attends potluck lunches, swims and plays dominoes and bingo. Lizzie Mae Gray receives birthday congratulations from Dr.

Bill Wathen and dental hygiene student Janette Garcia.


Teaching fellowship recognizes periodontists

commitment

Dr. Pilar Valderrama received her certificate in periodontics. Twice. It was a necessary step to continue in her career goal: teaching. Her determination to excel as an educator did not go unnoticed.

After nine years as an assistant professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javierna School of Dentistry in Colombia the location where she earned her first periodontics certificate in 1993 opportunity beckoned.

In 2003, Valderrama accepted an ITI Foundation research scholarship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The experience led her to pursue and complete a masters in clinical investigation at UTHSCSAs biomedical sciences program in 2006. She then didnt hesitate to pursue periodontics specialty education for a second time now that she had arrived in a different country.

After finishing her residency in San Antonio in 2010 and becoming a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology in 2011, Valderrama was ready. She joined A&M Baylor College of Dentistrys periodontics faculty in August 2012 as a full-time assistant professor.

Now, the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation has recognized her commitment to dental education with a $50,000 award presented in September in Philadelphia.

Each year during the academys annual session, one or more members in their first three years of full-time teaching are awarded the AAP Teaching Fellowship. Its designed to support a young periodontists commitment to a career in education. For many academicians early in their careers, this means welcome relief from student loan debt.

While Valderrama recognizes she has already devoted more than a decade to education, the fellowship marks the start of a bright academic career in the U.S.

You have to follow your heart! says Valderrama. For the past 20 years I have dedicated my life to research and education. This fellowship award will be an additional incentive and support during my early stages in academics in the United States.

Rees inspires

with ease

DR. TERRY REES 68 (Perio), professor and director of the Stomatology Center in A&M Baylor College of Dentistrys Department of Periodontics, is sporting a fresh accolade for superior teaching.

Rees is the American Academy of Periodontologys 2013 Outstanding Periodontal Educator, a distinction applauded by decades of residents in the graduate periodontics program who have learned from this stellar professor. Rees received the award in September during the AAP annual session in Philadelphia.

Since joining the college as founding director of the Stomatology Center in 1984, he has mentored more than 50 residents, guiding them on the ins and outs of periodontics and oral medicine. Rees former residents describe his continuing role in their lives and the mentoring that never stopped.

Dr. Rees inspired me to find my passion in dentistry, says Dr. Jackie Plemons 86, 88 (Perio), professor in periodontics, who completed a fellowship in oral medicine during her residency and works with Rees in the Stomatology Center. He seemed to always have the right answer to the most puzzling oral medicine questions.

He has such a quiet, strong presence, says Dr. Eduardo Lorenzana 96, 99 (Perio), who wrote a recommendation letter for Rees award. He doesnt have to be the guy throwing his weight around at you. You dont want to let him down. Its not out of fear; its out of respect. When Lorenzana needs a second opinion on troublesome cases, he says Rees is the first person he calls.

Dr. Daniela Zambon 07 (Perio), clinical assistant professor in periodontics, discusses vexing cases with Rees for his consistently valuable input. I think he constantly reads research that is published, says Zambon. He is a person who was born to educate because hes always willing to share his knowledge.

Prosthodontic educator receives top honor

DR. WILLIAM NAGY, professor and director of the graduate prosthodontic program, received the Educator of the Year Award from the American College of Prosthodontists on Oct. 11.

Also the recipient of the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics 2013 Garver-Staffanou Prosthodontic Program Directors Award for Excellence, Nagy joined TAMBCD in 2004. He has been a prosthodontic program director for 24 years, previously at Marquette dental school and Brooke Army Medical Center.

Nagy perceives the modern-day prostho-dontist as the coordinator of restorative care and anticipates increasing collaboration between the dental schools multiple specialty education programs.

My vision is to have all the programs function as an interdisciplinary practice with a face-to-face or digital interface for the optimization of patient care and learning, Nagy says. The treatment plan becomes a joint plan rather than independent, and the residents learn about the other specialties.

A past president of the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics and diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, Nagy is in the field of his dreams.

I chose prosthodontics during my early U.S. Army dentistry years and have never looked back, he says.

Dr. William Nagy

Dr. Pilar Valderrama

Dr. Terry Rees

N E W S M A K E R S


N E W S M A K E R S

Teachers of the year took long road to faculty spot

Dr. Lorenzo Prats and Cherri Kading have a few things in common. The 2013 Dental Teacher of the Year and Dental Hygiene Teacher of the Year, respectively, are relatively new to the college both began working at the dental school in 2010. And both faculty members followed an untraditional path to teaching that was at times daring and unpredictable. Its made them the educators they are today.

For 25 years, Dr. Lorenzo Prats, now assistant professor in restorative sciences, practiced general dentistry in Isabela, Puerto Rico, but surgery on three of his vertebrae in 2004 resulted in a medical disability, forcing him to sell his practice.

His thoughts immediately turned to teaching, but the only available dental teaching slots at his alma mater, the University of Puerto Rico, were pro bono. So instead, he took a job teaching dental assisting students at Ramirez College of Business and Technology, also in Puerto Rico. It was a dramatic transition.

Just before the calendar flipped to 2005, Prats and his family packed their bags and headed more than 2,000 miles away to Dallas at the urging of a former teenage patient, now a DFW-area pastor. For five years, Prats worked as a medical-terms Spanish interpreter at Parkland Hospital, a dental lab liaison and briefly at the Kaplan College Dallas campus, where he taught dental assistants.

He knew no one at A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, but he started networking with faculty members through the Hispanic Dental Association and eventually was offered a part-time position in the clinic.

When Baylor told me, Were going to give you 10 to 20 percent, I saw heaven, Prats says.

Since joining the restorative sciences department in 2010, his time has increased each year. Now the assistant professor works full time at the college and has assumed the role of occlusion course director for the third-year dental class.

Prats whose daughter Alexandra is a second-year dental student now has a smile for just about everyone he meets in the clinic, including his students, whom he views as future colleagues and sometimes as his own kids.

Theyre all grown up, and some have sons and daughters and are married, but theyre just like my kids, says Prats. You feel when theyre sad, when theyre happy; when somethings going on with them you can tell. That affects the way they treat the patients.

For Cherri Kading, assistant professor and dental hygiene clinic coordinator, the desire to

teach hit young. But coming from a family with no previous university graduates, she followed suit with other relatives and enrolled in a trade school for dental assisting.

I loved working with patients, educating patients, Kading says.

When a dental hygiene program opened up several years later, Kading who at that point was married with three kids in middle school enrolled and completed the coursework.

Her mothers steady decline from dementia made her consider the importance of realizing her dream while she still had the chance. By the time she took her second child to visit colleges, she thought, I really want to be a teacher, but what can I do about it? Kading recalls.

The turning point occurred during a college visit with their youngest child. I looked at my husband, and were standing among all these students, and I said, I am going back to school. It hit me that I could still do this.

So Kading enrolled part time at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and earned her bachelors degree in adult education. By then, she had decided to teach in a higher education setting. But with graduation looming, she knew she would need a masters degree.

I thought, I love dentistry, I want to be a teacher, why not put the two together? says Kading.

That decision, coupled with some clever convincing that played on her husbands desire to live in a warm climate, led them to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its masters in dental hygiene education.

It all had to do with getting older, seeing my mom not be able to do what she wanted, and realizing that life isnt over at 40, says Kading. I got my masters degree and very first teaching job something I had wanted since 2 years old at 49.

TEXAS A&M BAYLOR College of Dentistrys Dr. Byron Pete Benson and Dr. Paul C. Dechow are the newest recipients of the Regents Professor Award, presented by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Jan. 29. Benson is professor and vice chair of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences and director

of the radiology/imaging center, and Dechow is professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Drs. Benson and Dechow have provided extraordinary service to our college for nearly 30 years and are inarguably among the best in their respective fields, said Dr. Lawrence E. Wolinsky, dean, upon the announcement. Their achievements bring great honor to TAMBCD, dentistry and dental education.

Benson and Dechow named

Regents Professors

Dr. Lorenzo Prats and Cherri Kading

Dr. Byron Pete Benson Dr. Paul C. Dechow


Months of constant darkness. Months of continuous light. High temperatures

that dont even reach freezing eight months of the year. Low temperatures

50 degrees below zero. Snow from October through June.

Some would call this environment forbidding. Dr. Kim Self 09 and her

husband, Dr. Jonathan Oudin 11, call this desolate spot home.

These Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry alumni are in their

The Chukchi Sea in BarrowB y C a r o l y n C o x


LANDW A R M C A R E I N A F R I G I D

third year as public health dentists with the Indian Health Service in Barrow,

Alaska, the northernmost city in the United States. This outpost on the frozen

tundra clings to the edge of the Arctic Ocean.

I had always been interested in working in a more rural setting, and every-

where theres an Indian Health Service clinic, its rural, says Self. Here in

Alaska its off the grid.

B y C a r o l y n C o x


A Spark

Self traveled to Barrow for a two-week externship before her final year of dental school to get a hands-on feel for life and employment there. Whereas most avoid winter in northern Alaska, Self elected to return in December that same year.

When Oudin was a predental student at Texas A&M University, he came home one weekend and told his parents about a public health dentistry presentation he had heard. It involved working in Alaska. He was intrigued. By the time he and Self were both dental students, the idea had evolved into a reality.

There are no roads leading into most of the towns in Alaska; you have to get there by plane or boat. I thought it sounded like an amazing experience and adventure.

DR. KIM SELF

She waited until we were married and I graduated, and then we moved up here. She had to convince me, but it didnt take too much, Oudin explains.

Self is not the least surprised the two are now living their dream together. I believe God has things work for a reason, she says.

The roots of Selfs sense of adventure stretch back to a sleepy hometown: Malta, Texas, population 297 at the time she entered elementary school. In this tiny northeast Texas community, public school goes through sixth grade, and chicken farmers spend weekdays hard at work and Sunday mornings at church. Selfs father worked for the government in a position that required travel around the country. When school wasnt in session, the rest of the Self family went with him.

My first road trip was at 7 months old. My mom was a teacher so she had the summers off, explains Self. Wed just pack up and go see everything along the way. Ive been to almost all of the 50 states; most before I graduated high school. Adventure has always been in my blood.


Barrows f irst sunrise in more than 60 days


Land of Extremes

Reaching the top of the world is an experience that requires willpower and resources. Case in point: the journey from Dallas to Barrow. This trek requires 28 hours round-trip and a cool $1,300. Driving is not an option because there are no roads

in and out of Barrow. Travelers must arrive by plane, enduring at least three airport layovers. And every prepared sojourner packs ample cold-weather gear.

I love the winter; its my favorite time, Self says. The snow covers all the dirt so it looks a lot prettier. Here the climate is so different. Having to do all the varied things to get ready to go outside is an adventure.

For reference, this adventure of dressing for subzero temperatures is a story of layers. Starting with the legs, the prepared Alaskan pulls on long underwear and then covers it with jeans and snow pants. For the feet, expedition-weight wool socks get topped with Muck arctic sport boots rated to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Moving to the upper torso, the outfitting begins with long underwear, then a flannel shirt, topped with a fleece jacket and ultimately a down parka. Layers continue with gloves for the hands, a scarf around the neck, and a balaclava, or face mask, if needed.

Oudin is as pragmatic about the cold as his wife.The cold is a gradual shift from the summer so it doesnt

require that much adjustment, he says. You buy the right gear for the weather. Our signing bonuses were spent on clothes.

Home for Self and Oudin is a three-bedroom house with one bath provided as part of their employment agreement. Aside from adjusting to extensive travel and a changing schedule, Oudin mentions a unique challenge of winter in the far north.

Our pipes freeze so we have to be flexible about where we live. If no one flushes our toilets every day the house freezes up. Then you need the company with heat pumps to thaw everything out. Heat pumps have a wait list of two to three weeks. Sometimes theyll put us up in a hotel, or they might give us a five-gallon honey bucket with a toilet seat on it.

Lodging in the outlying villages takes the shape of a two-bedroom apartment attached to each villages health clinic. This is convenient when available, but demand sometimes exceeds supply.

If all the rooms are filled, we stay in clinic offices, school classrooms or fire department bunk houses, Oudin says.

Returning to Texas for a visit requires adapting to the flip side of extreme climate and lifestyle differences, specifically heat and bustling humanity.

After living with polar bears, face masks, sea ice and unpaved streets that turn to mud during snowmelt, Getting back to a city is stressful, Oudin says. Im not used to traffic anymore.

The Wilderness

The remoteness of northern Alaska is precisely the reason that Oudins and Selfs work is so needed. North Slope Borough is a vast, sparsely populated region larger than the state of Utah consisting of Barrow and seven far-flung villages, five of which

receive visits from Oudin, Self and the deputy dental director at Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital in Barrow.

Our villages have a population between 250 and 500 people, Oudin explains. I go to Atqasuk and Nuiqsut, and Kim Goes to Kaktovik and Point Lay. We each spend seven weeks in the villages a year; three times to one village and four times to the other.

Era Alaska airplanes, featured on the Discovery Channels show Flying Wild Alaska, provide the dentists air transportation, either via single-engine propeller planes that seat six passengers or dual-engine planes that seat 19. Takeoffs and landings occur not on concrete but on gravel or ice runways. Traveling to the farthest village, Kaktovik, takes three flights and three hours to go 310 miles.


Musk ox along the Dalton Highway


A scheduled trip is at the mercy of the Alaskan weather, so travel is unpredictable. Icing conditions on aircraft are common; its the storms that bring wind, low cloud ceilings and near-zero visibility that make flying hazardous. Its not unusual for six-day trips to a village to extend to 10 days.

Ive had a few interesting experiences on the small planes, Self says. The altimeter went out on one recently. That made for an interesting landing. The pilot was hanging his head out the window to see the runway. Most of the time its standard stuff.

Her exposure to Alaskan travel adventures began the moment she landed in the state in August 2008. After being told she wouldnt be going to a village during her externship, Self was sent by herself for a village health fair in Kaktovik on her first official day. Travel to a village requires taking a week of food.

They told me, You need to grab food and pack that. I dont know where youll sleep, but heres a sleeping bag, Self explains. A sleeve of Ritz crackers and a jar of peanut butter was all I had with me, and I figured Id just make it work.

I was really blessed because right when I got there I met the fire station chief. To this day hes my best friend in this village. He took me to his house and fed me. His sister lived with him at the time, and she would cook. It was nice to be a part of something.

Alaskas Kenai Peninsula

Kenai Fjords National Park

Polar bears in Kaktovik



The Impact

The remote location and an extraordinarily high level of soda consumption impact the severity of dental problems. Severe toothaches are common, says Oudin, due to a combination of sugary diet, poor oral hygiene and no fluoridated water.

In the Alaska Native population the decay rate is through the roof, says Dr. Kimlea Medlin, dental director at the Indian Health Service clinic and a Barrow dentist since 2006.

The national decay rate is 25 to 30 percent. Among Alaska Natives and the American Indian population, the decay rate is above 75 percent. In North Slope local numbers, the decay rate in children in some villages is 100 percent, which means every child has active cavities or treated decay.

Soda consumption numbers point to a source of the problem. According to the manager of Barrows largest local grocery store, AC, soda sales average 5,000 cans per resident annually, despite the fact that a 12-pack costs $13.

Its not uncommon for a person to drink one or two 12-packs per day, says Oudin. Ninety percent of kids go to Anchorage to get full-mouth rehabilitation.

Self adds, I dont feel its due to a lack of education; its a cultural norm: Its OK not to have teeth; Mom doesnt have them, Grandma doesnt, brother doesnt; I dont need them. Its better than it used to be but still has a long way to go.

Large families consisting of children that are not all from the same parents and the offspring of teen pregnancy add a layer of difficulty in providing dental care to the native Inupiat population. It is common for other family members such as aunts, uncles or grandparents to adopt children who exceed what a family can adequately support.

The flag on this umiaq (whaling boat) signals a successful hunt.

c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 1 6


Northern Exposure: Externship previews life in Alaska

THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE dental externship in Barrow, Alaska, is an indispensable tool for exposing potential public health dentists to the North Slope. Between 10 and 14 students spend two weeks in the Barrow area, usually including a remote village trip, in the summer before their fourth year of dental school. Externs are accepted through a competitive application process and receive travel, housing and food for the duration.

Dr. Kim Self completed the externship in 2008. Some family and friends who heard details about her Alaska experience asked, Are you sure you really want to do this? She was undeterred.

During my externship I learned that you have to be extremely flexible and willing to roll with whatever obstacle is put in front of you, says Self. I had to learn how to adapt to Alaska culture; it was not what I was expecting.

Self and her husband, Dr. Jonathan Oudin, are in their third year as public health dentists at Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, site of Barrows community dental clinic. The hospital cut the ribbon on a new facility in fall 2013 that includes a dental clinic with 10 chairs instead of six, all-new equipment and more elbow room. Two additional dentists the director and the deputy director

and a dental hygienist, who is the first at the clinic since 2006, complete the dental staff.

Air travel is essential for health care providers in Alaska.

c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 1 6


Its a very different culture here, Self says. Its difficult to figure out whom to get consent from for a 3-year-old who needs care because Mom may not be the mom whos the legal guardian. Its a challenge.

Sometimes in the Alaskan tundra, Self and Oudin are asked to step outside their dental sphere and render medical aid for lacerations to hands, limbs or faces.

When were out in the villages we are the highest level providers, so they often call on us to do sutures and so forth, Oudin says. We see a lot of injuries, including broken jaws from aggressive snow machine and four-wheeler use.

Self points to the child who improves his oral health habits as a sign the dentists Alaska work has impact. That makes you feel like youve made a difference, she says.

This experience has shown me no matter how much you are able to adapt, you are still going to have challenges to work through without quitting or giving up.

One reason community members are leery of outsiders is because they think they are there for a fleeting moment and gone. Our staying around a third year will help show people there are professionals who want to serve their native Alaskan community.

The dentists treat many children.

THE TRANSPLANTED TEXANS impress their colleagues and patients. Kim and Jonathan have been a huge blessing to the clinic and a lot of fun to work with, says Dr. Kimlea Medlin, dental director. They are kind, professional, polite, incredibly conscientious with patients and staff and very much liked and appreciated by the communities they serve.

The externship is incredibly important for recruiting across the board for Indian Health Service dental clinics. Weve offered contracts to only two dentists out of 10 over the past seven years who didnt come through the externship program. One of those was Dr. Oudin, who happens to be married to Dr. Self.

Information about the IHS externship is available at www.ihs.gov. Email Oudin or Self with questions at [email protected].

A QUIRKY PACKING LIST FOR FUTURE HARDY ALASKANS:

EYE MASK for better sleep when the sun never sets between May 10 and Aug. 2

ALARM CLOCK for awakening when the sun never rises between Nov. 18 and Jan. 23

BOOKS AND GAMES for entertainment due to limited Internet access and spotty cell phone coverage

NONPERISHABLE GROCERIES for remote village travel

CAMERA for polar bears ambling on the sea ice, the snowy owl that visits or the miles of magenta-spiked fireweed dotting the summer landscape along

the scenic Alaska Railroad

FACE MASK because 50 below is not kind to your nose or ears or anything exposed.

MUCK BOOTS for the messy, muddy spring snowmelt

c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 5



The Dalton Highway opened for public use about 20 years ago and beckons summer travelers with incomparable mountain, valley and wildlife vistas. Dubbed the haul road because trucks use it to supply the oil fields in the north, large portions remain gravel when they are not covered in ice during the winter. This is when the road becomes the focus of the Ice Road Truckers show on the History Channel.

Close to home, the two fish for salmon, anchoring a net 100 feet offshore each August in the Beaufort Sea, located just 3 miles north of Barrow. The net stays in place for a month and a half and is simply hauled in from the shore.

I caught all Alaskan salmon species in my net last summer except for Coho, including Pink, Chum, Sockeye and King, Oudin says. This summer my net was less successful. We think the salmon ran early before the ice left and before we got our net out.

The couples next big adventure? Baby Elijah, due in April.

The Adventurers Life

EXPLORING ALASKAS SCENERY and culture is a perk of Oudins and Selfs location.Time off is spent in big city Anchorage, population 291,000, and in Fairbanks, the states second-largest city. Long summer days away from Barrow are spent whale watching, fishing for Pacific Halibut along the Kenai Peninsula in Seward and Homer or hiking and kayaking down glacier-fed rivers. The Alaska Railroad has taken the dentists gliding past magnificent snowcapped peaks, nesting eagles, brown bear and moose.

Traveling around Alaska has been fun, Oudin says. We really love Seward, concurs Self. Its a small fishing

village where the mountains come straight up out of the water just like a postcard. We dont live in postcard Alaska. We just live in flat tundra.

In early August, the two ventured 414 miles north from Fairbanks along the largely primitive James Dalton Highway the only Arctic-access highway past oil pipeline outposts like Coldfoot and Deadhorse to Prudhoe Bay. Their mission was both scenic and practical: retrieving a Jeep they purchased in Fairbanks. After reaching Prudhoe Bay, the couple put their new vehicle on a barge to Barrow for $4,000. It reached them the next week.

We had bought a vehicle from the dentist we replaced up here, but unfortunately it caught fire and burned down last March, Oudin says. Since then we had been borrowing a vehicle when needed.

Snow travelers ally:the Polaris RZR800

Halibut f ishing in Homer, Alaska

A Dalton Highway vista



The prospect of change

lured Dr. Claude Williams

to Dallas. After 44 years,

his quest to foster

inclusion still spurs

opportunity.

CItyofdreams


By Jennifer E. Fuentes

2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 B A Y L O R D E N T A L J O U R N A L | 1918 | B A Y L O R D E N T A L J O U R N A L 2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 S p r i n g 2 0 1 4 B A Y L O R D E N T A L J O U R N A L | 19

WE C R O W D I N T O T H E E L E V AT O R , and the questions start. Dr. Claude Williams knows this process well. Were

giving a campus tour to dental assisting students from Kaplan College. One young man recognizes Williams, asks

him about his service in the Navy. There are more questions from others who want to know about this pioneer:

the first African-American orthodontist in the Southwest and the first African-American faculty member at Texas

A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry. Williams answers as many students as he can, but time during the campus visit is limited.

Later in July, we meet several times for his retirement profile story. Williams reclines in his office chair as he talks, but when he leans

forward, furrows his brow and widens his eyes, I know to listen closely. His words bring his struggles and aspirations to life.

By Jennifer E. Fuentes


In 1970, AS WILLIAMS WAS preparing to finish his orthodontic residency at Howard University in Washington D.C., he got a call from two good friends: Dallas physicians Drs. Emmett Conrad and Robert Prince.

In those fragile years in Dallas following the Civil Rights movement, the city along the Trinity was on the verge of integration and growing like crazy. And even though the Kennedy assassination was almost a decade in Dallas past, the city desperately needed to recreate its identity and shake its smeared reputation as a city of hate.

The African-American community was trying to build a middle class of blacks in Dallas, Conrad and Prince told Williams. And they had an important question for him. Would he come back to be a part of it?

Dallas wasnt on Williams short list. The very reason the former Marshall, Texas, dentist closed his practice, abandoned his home and left for D.C. to pursue an orthodontic education was because, two years earlier, every orthodontist he consulted in the state of Texas refused to provide care for one of his 11-year-old twin daughters because of the color of her skin.

Could you imagine having a daughter who needed orthodontic care and no one would treat her? says Williams. I had to re-evaluate a lot of things in my life. How do you respond to the rejection?

But Williams couldnt deny the opportunity to be a part of lasting change.

So he went right into the thick of things. The decision to accept Conrad and Princes invitation

was a good call. By 1973, business at Williams South Dallas orthodontic practice was bursting at the seams.

Naturally I had a built-in population group because

white orthodontists wouldnt treat black people, Williams recalls.

He took his first patient before even moving back to Dallas. Conrads daughter, Cecilia Conrad now vice president of the MacArthur Fellows Program based in Chicago was in junior high at the time.

I was the first kid in my school and the first kid I encountered in South Dallas who had braces, she says. I was a walking community educator and advertisement.

Williams spare hours were spent volunteering at the Childrens Medical Center of Dallas dental clinic. It wasnt long before word spread.

Two enterprising faculty members Drs. Robert Gaylord and Tom Matthews had created A&M Baylor College of Dentistrys graduate orthodontic program a decade before. It was growing, and Gaylord and Matthews knew just whom they wanted to add to their team.Williams said yes to his professional suitors and began teaching orthodontics a half day each week. He would go on to stay at the dental school for four decades.

GR O W I N G U P I N M A R S H A L L , home for Williams was a four-bedroom house surrounded by peach and pecan trees. There was a swing on the L-shaped front porch where he liked to sit. Just two blocks away was Wiley College, a historically

black school, still segregated at the time. Hed zip over on his bike after school because it was the only place in town with paved roads in the black community.

Dr. Kelso Morris, the chemistry professor, was his idol.I admired him, number one, because of his academics,

but also because he was recognized as a community leader, says Williams. You would hear people talk about how they admired him. Thats what I wanted to be. In the background that was just my goal in life.


Williams couldnt deny the

opportunity to be a part

of lasting change. So he

went right into the thick

of things.

Drs. Chi T. Le (left) and Joanna Saenz, then fourth-year dental students, join Dr. Claude Williams at the 1999 National Association of Medical Minority Educators annual conference in Dallas, which Williams chaired.


RO L E M O D E L S were never far away in Marshall. Williams saw Morris, along with his own schoolteachers, everywhere around town at Moons Grocery Store, during movie nights at the college and at Sunday service at Ebenezer

United Methodist Church, where they would sit on neighboring pews.

Expectations were high. We always got used books from white high schools,

but we had outstanding teachers in the basic philosophy of education, says Williams. They instilled in us commitment to learning and living. So they had constant influence at school and in the community.

Then there was the fraternity. Members of Alpha Phi Alpha, a traditionally African-

American organization, were known for their scholastic achievements. Williams liked that. Hed see them often, whether he was on campus riding after school or helping direct traffic for football games with fellow Boy Scouts. They were just part of the fabric.

They would wear different attire every day of rush, he recalls. The last day of the initiation process they wore white suits. Their lives seemed to be in order.

Grade school led to high school, and with graduation, opportunity. Williams attended Wiley College on a $50 scholarship. He arrived early and picked a spot in the front row the first day of class. Getting around campus was tough, since hed undergone an appendectomy just two weeks before an operation for which his parents had saved for an entire year just to be able to pay.

During that time, in the old days, youd take a month off after surgery, says Williams. I didnt want to wait a month; I wanted to go to college.

He learned chemistry from his idol and donned the crisp white suit of his Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers, even became the chapter president. By 1948, after two good years

at Wiley, student unrest had Williams looking east to Howard University. By 1954, he had earned his bachelors and dental degrees at that institution, and 16 years later, its where he earned his certificate in orthodontics.

Williams mother, like his aunts, was a teacher. His father built railroads during the Great Depression. But that work was not to last. When his dad took a job for $2.50 a day as a janitor at Southern Methodist University, Williams an only child split summer vacations between long days on his grandmothers farm in Jefferson, Texas, and visits to his dads garage apartment on Stratford Avenue in Highland Park.

As early as age 5, Williams would walk to campus with his dad. He soon found himself under the watchful eye of a female faculty member from the chemistry department. While his dad mopped and cleaned, Williams learned. The kind woman never missed an opportunity to teach.

She kept a lot of chemicals on the desk, says Williams. I would ask her, How would you know what things to mix first? She said, There is an order in science that you need to have and an order in your life that you need to have. She said, Youre black, so youre going to need to be twice as good.

The farm I N J E F F E R S O N offered learning experiences, too.

It was there Williams grandmother taught him to draw water from the well. There was no plumbing at that old farmhouse, so he would pour his bath water into a metal tin tub early in the morning, warming it in the Texas sun until nightfall. The time in between was spent working the fields and learning how to catch and harness the mule, Tib. Once the day grew too hot, hed escape to the lake to fish.

If Williams wasnt with his grandmother, chances were he was alone, since none of his cousins opted to go to the farm.


Williams used his local,

state and national

connections to forge

long-lasting partnerships

for the college.Fort Worth Star-Telegram executive Bob Ray Sanders (left) pictured with Dr. Claude Williams and Dr. James S. Cole, dean, in 2003 is one of many notable African-Americans Williams invited to speak at TAMBCD.


Nights were spent reading the Bible by the fireplace. His grandmother loved to sing hymns, and sometimes Williams would join in. He sings in the church choir to this day.

IN THE EARLY 70s the Tweed method, a process for diagnosing and treating malocclusion, was king. There was just one problem: The total concept of the Tweed treatment was not flexible for people of other races, Williams says.

His education at Howard included a diverse group of patients, which allowed him to learn several treatment modalities. Two of them the twin wire mechanism and several edgewise treatment techniques allowed the basic concepts of the Tweed method to be expanded. Williams implemented these at TAMBCD, and the timing was good, as the colleges patient pool was steadily diversifying.

Soon enough, the same was true for dental students. TAMBCD integrated in 1974.

In 1978 his son, Claude Jr., enrolled. It was a source of immense pride and strain for Williams. Even though segregation was a thing of the past, the mindset behind it was at times very much alive. Watching his son struggle was hard.

But Williams remained loyal to the college.They brought black dental students in, but they had not

prepared the faculty, staff or students, says Williams. They would bring them in with no support there. They had a very difficult time.

It didnt take long before minority students started showing up at the clinic and even Williams practice. Im having problems; can you help me? they would ask.

So Williams invited students his son among them to his practice so they could observe his style of practice management and, under the careful supervision of African-American lab technicians, learn to carve wax patterns.

I was determined then that I would work within the system of the school so that no other child would have to go through what my child went through, Williams says.

It was not the first time Williams had to step back to re-evaluate his place in life. He found it natural to apply that same lens to the dental school environment.

By early 1983, Dallas population had grown to more than 900,000. Opportunity was ripe to develop what remained of the citys open spaces, and business boomed.

What was curious wasnt so much about what had happened as opposed to what hadnt. At the time nearly one-third of Dallas population was African-American, yet the city had been largely untainted by urban riots, deep ghettos and high unemployment.

Like many cities in the South, Dallas was known for its prejudices. But the sentiment among the citys growing middle class of African-Americans was that it wasnt enough to deter them from a rewarding career, according to an article in the January 1983 Ebony magazine.

It was in these environs that Williams laid the foundation for the colleges outreach and pipeline programs. In the early 1990s, with support from the administration and then-dean Dr. Dominick DePaola, Williams formed the Office of Minority Affairs. The role took Williams out of the orthodontic department but allowed him to shape the early direction of what is now known as the Summer Predental Enrichment Program.

In the years since, the program has evolved under the careful guidance of the Office of Student Development and Multicultural Affairs, helping to make the dental school one of the most diverse in the country.

All of Williams efforts zeroed in on one goal: increasing access to care for those in underserved areas.

Everything I have done since the beginning has been toward that cause, Williams says.

Williams used his local, state and national connections to forge long-lasting partnerships for the college. Such has been the case with the schools longtime role in the Emmett J. Conrad Leadership Program.

Summer educational outreach involved the help of Dr. Tom Diekwisch, former assistant professor in biomedical sciences and creator of the Habitat for Science program, which provided hands-on lab activities and discussions for high school seniors from inner-city neighborhoods.

I think Claude is quite different from many people today, says Diekwisch. You could see how hard he had to work for what he had accomplished and how he had to fight, and how he made a difference in where he was.

For years during Black History Month, Williams saw to it that students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to hear notable African-American speakers.

He also brought TAMBCD into the community.

All of Williams efforts zeroed

in on one goal: increasing

access to care for those in

underserved areas.


Throughout all of the interviews for this article, a theme came to light: Every single person mentioned Dr. Claude Williams love of golf a sport he picked up as a young Naval officer in Maryland. Dr. Tim Meyers

of Atlanta graduated from Howards orthodontic program in 1970, and they, along with two other classmates, get together several times a year to play, flying in to golfing destinations from their respective homes in Dallas, Atlanta, Virginia and North Carolina; although youre just as likely to see Williams teeing off close to home at Cedar Crest or Stevens Park in Dallas.

Its hard to say who is the better player, says Meyers. The old man holds his own most of the time from what I hear. Ive lost money from betting against him several times.

DR. JAMES COLE, dean emeritus, went with Williams on several visits to Dallas movers and shakers, including elected officials local offices.

If there was something that we needed to resolve at the state level, Claude could really help in that

way, says Cole. Whether they were state representatives or senators, it was obvious he had known those individuals and their staffs for years.

The car rides provided ample time for Williams to share his stories from decades past. Hed tell Cole about what it was like trying to get into Dallas country clubs or the trials of shopping for a car.

Before then Im just not sure that I appreciated the depth of segregation and what it was like for Claude and others, says Cole. It was an education for me, because of his experiences.

Along the way, Williams mentored and counseled minority students as they navigated the mires of dental school.

I dont think I would have made it through dental school without him, says Dr. Angela Jones 01, who maintains a private dental practice in Dallas Oak Cliff, not too far from where Williams ran his practice until retiring in 2000.

He was the most helpful person at Baylor for me, she says. He always listened; the door was always open. Whatever I needed he was there. Dr. Williams went to bat for us.

His influence went beyond the college to the farthest reaches of the globe even like in 1995, when Williams traveled to the Third African-African-American Summit in Dakar, Senegal, located on Africas western tip. He was one of just six U.S. dentists invited.

More recently, in a conference room at the American Dental Association headquarters in Chicago, Williams recounted his professional journey to more than 75 dental association presidents, past presidents and student leaders from across the country.

By the time he was done, the audience had dissolved into tears.

There wasnt a dry eye in the house, to convey the kind of story that he did, says Dr. Nathan Fletcher, a National Dental Association past president, who asked Williams to speak at the ADA-sponsored 2010 diversity summit.

Some found it incredulous. Some probably were in disbelief, says Fletcher. But when you have a man standing at the podium telling his life story you really cant deny the fact and verification of it.

That story is kind of the epitome of who he is. He saw the bigger picture and generated legacies for other people, primarily African-American, to get into the profession and be successful. Thats not a story that a lot of people know.

To contribute to the Claude R. Williams Sr., D.D.S., Scholarship Fund, benefiting dental students from underserved communities, gifts

may be made payable to A&M Baylor College of Dentistry and sent to the Office of Advancement, Communications & Alumni Relations

at 3302 Gaston Avenue, Dallas, TX 75246. Please contact the

advancement office at 214.828.8214 with questions or to contribute

via credit card.

TOpof his

game

I N T O U C H W I T H A L U M N I


Clockwise, from above: Caruth School of Dental

Hygiene current students; Dental Hygiene Class

of 1968 at the luncheon; members of the Dental

Hygiene Class of 1957 with the f irst program

director, Patricia Wessendorff Londeree


Dental hygienists celebrate with a reason

FOUR DAYS after high school graduation, Joanne Allen 57 said goodbye to her family and life on a Wisconsin dairy farm and boarded a southbound train to report to Army training, first in Virginia and then in Texas.

After two years working with Army dentists at Sandia Base in Albuquerque, N.M., she followed the advice of A&M Baylor College of Dentistry graduates there and enrolled in the new dental hygiene program founded at TAMBCD in 1955.

All these years later, Allen is still working three days a week in the dental hygiene field. She is proud of the care she provides and appreciative of the hugs she receives from patients, who dont mind lengthy waits for their appointments.

I like what I do, she explains. People have to find their niche; I fell into mine.

Allens love for her chosen career was a thread shared among more than 80 Caruth graduates and current students who attended a luncheon in August 2013 celebrating the 100th anniversary of the dental hygiene profession.

The event at the Communities Foundation of Texas Mabel Peters Caruth Center in Dallas lured Allen and several classmates from the first Caruth School of Dental Hygiene class to pore over old photo albums and pose for group pictures. Students, faculty and staff joined alumni from every decade for food and fellowship. The Class of 1968 had enough attendees to fill two tables.

A student-created video complete with vintage-clothed actors depicting TAMBCDs dental hygiene program through the years was a crowd favorite. As part of the celebration, alumni contributed $1,100 to benefit student scholarships.

Special guests included Patricia Wessendorff Londeree Caruths first program director and Dr. Sylvia Swords Gleaton 79, daughter of the late Dr. Ruth Swords a former program director from 1962 to 1982.

Slated to become an annual event, the next Caruth alumni luncheon is scheduled for Aug. 8, 2014. Go to tambcd.edu/alumni for information.




Alumni connect in heart of Texas

AUSTIN, TEXAS, was the mid-October destination of Dean Lawrence Wolinsky and Dr. Amerian Sones, who were the guests of honor at an evening reception attended by approximately 40 A&M Baylor College of Dentistry alumni and spouses.

Fred and I were delighted to have an opportunity to join our friends and colleagues in welcoming the dean and Dr. Sones to Austin, said Beth Voorhees 80, who along with her husband, Dr. Fred Voorhees 77, 82 (OMS), spearheaded the event.

We had heard him speak earlier in the year at an alumni reception during TDA and thought, Gosh, the Austin alums need to hear firsthand about all the great things happening at BCD. They were not disappointed. We hope hell visit again soon.

Joining the Voorhees as hosts of the event were Dr. Barry and Kathy Cunningham, Drs. Russell and Carly Cunningham, Drs. Roland and Jenefred Davies, Dr. Michael and Kandice Ding, Dr. David and Pam Ferguson, Drs. Clay and Mary Fuselier, Dr. Craig and Ginger Knell, Dr. Kent Macaulay, Dr. Anthony and Teri Mendez, Dr. Paul and Jena Stubbs, and Dr. Danny and Melanie Watts.


AAO president is first female in the post

When Dr. Gayle Glenn completed the graduate orthodontic program at A&M Baylor College of Dentistry in 1984, she was the fourth female resident in the programs 20-year history and one of just 36 female American Association of Orthodontists members to graduate that year.

During the 1980s there was a significant increase nationwide in the number of women attending dental school, says Glenn, but the same was not true with graduate orthodontic programs.

I was unaware that at the time I graduated from dental school, the number of practicing orthodontists who were female was less than 3 percent, says Glenn.

Three decades later, Glenn is now the first female president of the AAO, and the number of female members to graduate from orthodontic programs each year has jumped to 145.

Women also make up approximately 22 percent of practicing orthodontists.

Glenn, who treats patients at Kogut, Villaseor and Glenn Dentistry a Dallas practice she shares with two fellow alums who are pediatric dentists was voted president-elect in 2012, but it wasnt her first taste of leadership within the specialty organization.

Being the first female elected to the AAO board of trustees in 2004 was a huge honor and a milestone for women in the profession, says Glenn. I may be the first female to hold the position of AAO president in the 113-year history of the organization, but I will not be the last!

A female in AAO office is a reflection of the changing demographics of the associations membership, Glenn adds.

We are seeing more women becoming involved in leadership all the time. I do not see holding the office of president as much of a gender issue as I do a significant commitment to the time and effort it takes to be a leader in the organizations which represent dentistry and its specialties.

Being the first female elected to the AAO board of trustees

in 2004 was a huge honor

and a milestone for women

in the profession. I may be

the first female to hold the

position of AAO president in

the 113-year history of the

organization, but I will

not be the last!

Dr. Gayle Glenn

Dr. Shane Whisenant (center) with Drs. Larry Wolinsky and Amerian Sones

Drs. Russell and Carly Cunningham, Dr. Craig Knell and Dr. Michael and Kandice Ding


A word from the Alumni

Association president

A S P RE S IDEN T of the Baylor College of Dentistry Alumni Association, I am enjoying the opportunity to connect with alumni of all eras and backgrounds.

One current priority of the association is to engage students in interactions with alumni so they know they have support in a mentoring capacity and not just in a financial manner. The goal of this alumni engagement effort is to provide opportunities for students to visit with alumni in more face-to-face settings.

We are planning a spring event in April that will bring alumni and students together for an afternoon of meet-and-greet and a relaxing game of Rangers baseball.

This kind of event is possible through the staff support of the Office of Alumni Relations and the endorsement of the associations board of directors.

Alumni have been very supportive and receptive to the idea of becoming more involved with the college. The board, alumni relations staff and I welcome input from all alumni, so dont hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or call 214.828.8471.

For the remainder of my tenure, I hope to work with the board to lay the groundwork for future programs that leverage our strong connection with alumni to achieve even greater outcomes for our members, future members and A&M Baylor College of Dentistry.

Kathleen ONeill -Smith, RDH

Dr. Carmen Smith 96, Dallas

Distinguished Alumna known for leadership

To say Kathleen ONeill-Smith 65, 73 has enjoyed a dynamic career in dental hygiene would be an understatement.

The 2013 Distinguished Alumna has spent one half of her career immersed in private practice and the other steeped in marketing, consulting, direct sales and product development. Along the way she has picked up leadership roles at local, state and national professional organizations, even a term as president of the American Dental Hygienists Association.

Several years after receiving her certificate from the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene, ONeill-Smith made two enterprising decisions. She went back to school, first earning her bachelors degree in dental hygiene at Caruth and then, in 1979, a masters in health professions at what was then Southwest Texas State University. Her motive was to further her education, and she in turn shared that knowledge with others for decades afterward, publishing numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and lecturing across the country.

Currently, ONeill-Smith is a clinical education manager for Hu-Friedy, where she oversees direct sales at dental and dental hygiene schools in a three-state region, providing invaluable curriculum tips and building lasting relationships in the process.

Caruth taught us critical thinking skills, instilled confidence and prepared us to meet the challenges of a constantly changing profession, says ONeill-Smith of her alma mater.

A L U M N I E V E N T H I G H L I G H T SMay 2, 2014 Alumni Association Reception &

General Membership Meeting during the TDA Annual Session 6-8 p.m. (New Location) Grand Hyatt - San Antonio

May 28, 2014 TAMBCD Graduation Awards Ceremony 4:30 p.m. - Baylor Medical

Center Beasley Auditorium - Dallas

May 29, 2014 TAMBCD Commencement Ceremony 4 p.m. - Morton H. Meyerson

Symphony Center - Dallas

August 8, 2014 Caruth School of Dental Hygiene Luncheon - Noon - Communities Foundation of Texas - Dallas.


The dentist and the sea

Dr. William Tom Johnson 65

ITS A BEAUTIFUL MORNING on the island of St. Croix. Millie and Dr. Tom Johnson relax at their kitchen bar, soaking up the October sun streaming in through the wall of windows. The Caribbean Sea and Buck Island stretch out before them; the fresh-air view from the side porch is just a few steps away. Tom Johnsons preferred lounging spot a blue woven hammock beckons. Hummingbird feeders sway in the breeze, and stepping stones bend around the house to the pool, just out of sight.

In the nautical-inspired living room, Sydney, a 14-year-old African grey, fluffs her feathers. Right now she walks, pensive on her perch, but most mornings are spent out of the cage, taunting the five cats. All of them are out of sight, save for Captain Jack, waiting at the end of the hall, tail flicking back and forth.

The hallway is filled with photos nearly as fantastical as the couples adventures.

Theres Millie Johnson, dressed in full belly dancer costume complete with sabers, reclining on the white sand of a South Padre Island beach. Thanks to the Liberty Ship project in which a dozen World War II-

Documents

Baylor Dental Journal 2014