Dentistry

Your article on the decaying plight of the dental profession is painfully true. Dentists today can no longer just drill and fill and expect to build a practice. Fluoridation, preventive dentistry, nitrous oxide and more advanced restorative materials are plugging up the holes that once kept us so busy. But for all the changes, the need for family dentistry will always exist. Nothing can replace the caring concern of a dentist who thinks of someone as his or her patient, instead of a member of a large HMO or a shopper in the mall.

Only a dummy would let a first-year dental student practice drilling in his mouth. But, happily for humans, dummies are exactly what dental students get to practice on. In the tooth repair and cavity filling laboratory at Temple University Dental School, 118 first-year students pick up 118 drills and lean over 118 life-size heads containing 3,304 perfect teeth. Just the thought of all those drills whining away may be enough to make your teeth hurt but Dr. Daniel Boston, chairman of Temple's restorative dentistry department, says that the purpose of the lab, at least, should be calming.

Emanuel Hayes Malamed, 80, a retired professor of dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania who for 40 years deftly divided his time between teaching and private practice, died Wednesday of a chronic blood disorder at Holy Redeemer Hospital. Dr. Malamed, who lived in Huntingdon Valley, specialized in periodontics, the care and treatment of the gums, and had wide-ranging influence in his field, said Dr. D. Walter Cohen, former dean of dentistry at Penn and a onetime chancellor of the Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Abram Cohen, 96, a pioneer in local dentistry who helped establish dental services in local schools and campaigned for adding fluoride to the city's drinking water, died of gastrointestinal problems yesterday at Allegheny University Hospitals/MCP. He lived in Center City. Dr. Cohen practiced from 1923, when he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, until retiring in 1970. In between, he taught at his alma mater, founded the dental program at Hahnemann Medical College in 1944, and headed dental services in the public schools from 1944 to 1970.

Arthur L. Young, 71, a Temple University School of Dentistry official for more than two decades, died Monday of a heart attack at his winter residence in Satellite Beach, Fla. He was a Gibbsboro resident for the last four years and previously lived in Voorhees for 34 years. He was born in Haverhill, Mass. Mr. Young served as assistant to the dean of administration and finance for Temple University School of Dentistry, where he worked for 22 years before retiring in 1991. Known to all as "Mr. Wonderful," Mr. Young "ran the school out of his back pocket," Dr. Martin F. Tansy, dean of the School of Dentistry, said in a statement.

Dr. Martin F. Tansy, appointed as new dean of Temple University's School of Dentistry on Tuesday, vowed yesterday to keep the financially beleaguered school open and to restore it to economic health and full accreditation by 1990. "We feel very optimistic that by the next site visit of the accrediting team in 1990, we will be restored to full accreditation," said Tansy, who was appointed by university President Peter J. Liacouras. Tansy, a native of the Wilkes-Barre area, has been a professor of physiology at the dental school since 1962.

In a conflict between 20th-century laws and 17th-century ways, Pennsylvania officials have threatened to fine an Amish farmer $35,000 for illegally pulling the teeth of Amish patients. The state Board of Dentistry has accused Christ Zook, who lives on a farm in Milroy, Mifflin County, of practicing dentistry without a license. Zook, who the state said began pulling teeth nine years ago, is accused of maintaining dental equipment and instruments and extracting teeth of 35 patients last November and December at his farmhouse.

Sidney R. Bridges, 81, a dentist who served patients at his West Philadelphia office for 50 years, died Saturday, Dec. 1, of Alzheimer's disease at Rosemont Presbyterian Village, an assisted-living facility. Dr. Bridges was an emeritus member of the Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners, which administers clinical examinations in dentistry and dental hygiene. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Board of Dental Examiners since 1975, and was on the board of governors of the Philadelphia County Dental Society.

Dr. Nalin D. Patel, 62, of Newtown, Bucks County, a dentist with offices in Langhorne and Fairless Hills, died Monday, Oct. 8, of a blood infection at St. Mary Medical Center. Dr. Patel opened his first office in 1992, buying the practice now known as Fairless Hills Dental Center, his niece Rupal Patel said. He established a chain of offices in 2005 known as Advanced Dental Care, based in Fairless Hills. And in 2007, his niece said, he opened Oxford Valley Dental Excellence in Langhorne.

JEFFREY DEITCH majored in psychology, but eventually became more fascinated by what goes on inside the brain than its emotional reactions. He was intrigued by the "miracle of this extraordinarily well-oiled machine - our brains," said his son, Caleb Deitch. This fascination led him to the main thrust of his scientific work, the study of the crippling disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and the search for a cause and cure. "He found his life's professional path and passion," his son said.

JEFFREY DEITCH majored in psychology, but eventually became more fascinated by what goes on inside the brain than its emotional reactions. He was intrigued by the "miracle of this extraordinarily well-oiled machine - our brains," said his son, Caleb Deitch. This fascination led him to the main thrust of his scientific work, the study of the crippling disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and the search for a cause and cure. "He found his life's professional path and passion," his son said.

TULSA, Okla. - Health officials Thursday urged an Oklahoma oral surgeon's patients to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying filthy conditions behind his office's spiffy facade posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health. " The Oklahoma Board of Dentistry said Thursday that state and county health inspectors went to W. Scott Harrington's practice after a patient with no other known risk factors tested positive for both hepatitis C and the virus that causes AIDS.

Sidney R. Bridges, 81, a dentist who served patients at his West Philadelphia office for 50 years, died Saturday, Dec. 1, of Alzheimer's disease at Rosemont Presbyterian Village, an assisted-living facility. Dr. Bridges was an emeritus member of the Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners, which administers clinical examinations in dentistry and dental hygiene. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Board of Dental Examiners since 1975, and was on the board of governors of the Philadelphia County Dental Society.

A memorial service for U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Paul E. Farrell, 86, who died Friday, Oct. 19, in Virginia Beach, Va., will be held Tuesday, Jan. 29, at Arlington National Cemetery. A 12:45 p.m. service will be followed by burial with full military honors, said his son, U.S. Navy Capt. Paul Farrell Jr. Born in Upper Darby, Adm. Farrell graduated West Catholic High School and La Salle University. He was a Navy hospital corpsman in World War II, then served aboard the USS Fargo.

ALTHOUGH SIDNEY Riddick Bridges was known as a distinguished dentist who wanted to help the needy get the same quality care as the wealthy, he was also a man of many talents and interests. An accomplished photographer, he captured the beauty of Fairmount Park, the Wissahickon Valley, Boathouse Row and other famous Philadelphia scenic delights, as well as the landscape of the human face. He enchanted friends and family with his work, and also exhibited at local art venues, including the October Gallery, which featured the work of African-American artists.

Joseph A. Maressa Sr., 89, of Atco, a fixture in South Jersey Democratic politics who, as a state senator in the 1970s, sponsored legislation creating the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine, died of respiratory failure on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at Virtua West Jersey Hospital in Berlin. A lifelong resident of Camden County, Mr. Maressa earned a law degree in 1952 in the hope of becoming an FBI agent. That dream did not materialize, setting him on an unanticipated road that led to decades of private legal practice, public service, health-care advocacy, and the universe of South Jersey Democratic politics.

He's James Wiener, D.D.S., by day, his hours filled with crowns, bridges, and treatment plans. But by night, he's country crooner Jimmie Lee, rockin' a "bad-ass attitude" with a lovely in Daisy Dukes on each arm. "Dentistry is a vocation," says Wiener, who owns practices in Audubon, Haddonfield, and Marlton. But "the magic is performing in front of people. " Have I mentioned that Jimmie's stage persona is "the Jersey Outlaw," and that one of his CDs is titled Kid Vegas ?

Dr. Nalin D. Patel, 62, of Newtown, Bucks County, a dentist with offices in Langhorne and Fairless Hills, died Monday, Oct. 8, of a blood infection at St. Mary Medical Center. Dr. Patel opened his first office in 1992, buying the practice now known as Fairless Hills Dental Center, his niece Rupal Patel said. He established a chain of offices in 2005 known as Advanced Dental Care, based in Fairless Hills. And in 2007, his niece said, he opened Oxford Valley Dental Excellence in Langhorne.

Hello there One night at a party, Nicole told her friend, also named Nicole, that she was tired of looking for the right guy. "I've been dating since I was 16," she lamented. "Where is he, already?" Nicole's friend called her friend Glenn, an attending physician at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Stratford, who had mentioned this great guy, Martin, a psychiatry resident. In winter 2008, Martin called Nicole, then a recruiter for Kennedy Health System in Cherry Hill.

WAYNE Marcellus Taylor was a skilled and popular West Philadelphia dentist, but his true love was dogs. "If he could have made a living with his dogs, he would have given up dentistry," said his sister, Sheryl Taylor Bailey. Fortunately for his loyal patients, he stayed with dentistry. But he kept six dogs, four at his home in Yeadon and two at a dog club in Quakertown. He also bred dogs and hunted with them. Wayne Taylor, a dentist for 30 years who often did free work for seniors on fixed incomes, died March 7 of an apparent heart attack.