Dentist

Anthony M. "Sonny" DiDio, 85, a dentist for generations of families in the Fox Chase section of Northeast Philadelphia, died Saturday, Jan. 26, of prostate cancer at a nursing-care facility in Montgomery County. Dr. DiDio grew up in North Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School. He completed a semester at Temple University, then enlisted in the Army. He was commissioned a second lieutenant at Fort Benning, Ga., where he was a weapons instructor. He left the service in 1948 and returned to Temple, where he studied dentistry.

Cletus M. Bonds III, 61, of Lionville, a dentist, died of a heart attack Sunday, Jan. 31, at Chester County Hospital. Dr. Bonds grew up in Alabama and Kentucky, and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky. He earned a dental degree from the University of Louisville, where he met his future wife, Ellen Ginter, who was an undergraduate. After serving in the Navy in California, Dr. Bonds established a dental practice in Lionville in 1980. Besides maintaining his practice, he was chief of the clinical dental service at Brandywine Hospital for the last 27 years.

He was tall and well-built, with shaved head and rugged looks. So it is no surprise that his friends compared Dr. Dallas C. Hess to the tough television detective Kojak. Looks deceived. Dr. Hess, his friend Dr. Joseph Donnelly recalled, "treated his patients like family. He was a soft touch if someone was up against it. The cash register wasn't the be all. " Dr. Hess, 64, a Jenkintown dentist who died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Meadowbrook, and Donnelly, a Havertown dentist, became friends at Temple University's dental school, which they attended after serving in World War II. Dr. Hess was a commander of a Navy landing craft.

Jack C. Bostwick, 74, of Penn Valley, a retired dentist who treated generations of Main Line families, died of cancer Saturday at his home. Dr. Bostwick practiced dentistry in the Narberth area for more than 40 years, first at an office on Montgomery Avenue and then in a garage office of his home in Penn Valley from 1963 until retiring in 1997. For about 20 years, from the 1950s through the 1970s, he was the dentist for the Lower Merion School District and treated thousands of school children.

Dr. Russell Hunsberger, a retired dentist who would have been 95 yesterday, died Monday at his home, Tooth Farm, in Collegeville. Dr. Hunsberger was born in Skippack Township and attended schools in Norristown, where he lived until moving to Collegeville in 1939. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Dental School, he practiced in Collegeville for more than 55 years until retiring in the late 1970s. He had served as dentist for Eastern State Penitentiary in Graterford for 27 years.

A federal court jury yesterday convicted David S. Link, the official dentist of the Philadelphia 76ers, of illegally cashing about $29,000 in Social Security checks sent to his dead mother. The jury deliberated about two hours before convicting Link, 63, of Narberth, on all 44 counts of conversion of government funds. U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly set sentencing for March 8. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Dale Hoffa said each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Elmer A. "Buddy" Feingold, 86, of Bala Cynwyd, a dentist who shared his knowledge of new techniques with others and remained eager to learn long after he retired, died of a stroke Monday at Bryn Mawr Terrace. Dr. Feingold practiced dentistry for 40 years, in Wynnefield and later in Bala Cynwyd. "He loved being a dentist," said his wife, Rita Harris Feingold. She said he also loved sharing his expertise with others in his profession. When he developed special techniques for fusing porcelain to metal for crowns and bridgework and for making tooth impressions, he conveyed the information to other dentists at lectures at the Philadelphia Dental Study Club.

Almost three years ago, a Bryn Mawr widow named Dorothy F. Callow underwent surgery to remove some dental bridgework. From her abdomen. Callow swallowed the false teeth after her dentist accidently dropped them down her throat, according to a civil lawsuit filed this week in Montgomery County Court. Several days passed. The dental work did not. Instead, it lodged in Callow's intestinal tract. It remains to this day. Doctors made several attempts to remove it - including surgery, her attorney says - but were not successful.

David Danetz, 90, an old-fashioned dentist who often accepted vegetables from patients unable to pay for treatments, died of heart failure Thursday at Allegheny University Hospitals/Elkins Park. He lived in Elkins Park. Dr. Danetz had maintained his dental practice in North Philadelphia until a year ago. He set up his office shortly after graduating in 1931 from Temple University's School of Dentistry. When he retired last year, he donated his three-story building in the 3500 block of North Broad Street for use by the homeless, his family said.

Stanford A. Robinson, 88, a dentist in South Jersey for more than 60 years, died Sunday at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden. He was a resident of Haddonfield. Dr. Robinson opened an office in Mount Holly in 1921 after obtaining his undergraduate and graduate degrees in four years at the University of Pennsylvania. He stayed in Mount Holly until World War II. In 1942, he joined the Navy and served four years as a lieutenant commander. In 1946, he opened an office in Haddonfield, where he practiced until just a few weeks ago. He was born in Green Creek, Cape May County, and graduated from Middle Township High School in 1917.