Dentistry

Milton Metzman, 72, of Cherry Hill, a longtime chairman of the radiology department at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Center/Stratford, died at home Friday of complications from a series of strokes. He had lived in Cherry Hill for more than 30 years. Dr. Metzman, a physician, led the radiology department from 1968 to 1996, when he retired. He also had a private practice in Stratford. Dr. Metzman expanded the department from a one-person operation to one that included specialists in different areas of radiology, said Louis A. Papa, who was Dr. Metzman's personal physician.

Hugh Francis Robinson, 76, a longtime South Jersey dentist who was a member of Camden Catholic High School's 1942 state championship basketball team, died of complications from cancer last Wednesday at Virtua-West Jersey Hospital Marlton. Dr. Robinson, a Philadelphia native, had lived in Marlton for the last 13 years and previously resided in Pennsauken and Camden. He practiced dentistry in Camden and Pennsauken for more than 37 years before retiring in the late 1980s. Dr. Robinson became one of the first dentists to work in a mobile dental trailer, attending to indigent children in Camden County, in the 1950s and performed dental examinations for schoolchildren into the late 1970s.

Arthur Leinweber, 94, a prominent Philadelphia dentist and oral surgeon who served in World War II and did extensive volunteer work for New Jersey seniors, died of kidney failure Saturday at Holy Redeemer Hospital in Meadowbrook, Montgomery County. He lived in Ventnor, N.J. Dr. Leinweber was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the Temple University School of Dentistry in 1926. His wife, the late Florence K. Leinweber, also practiced dentistry. The couple had a private practice in Philadelphia until their retirement in 1974.

Dr. Dale F. Roeck, 77, retired dean of Temple University's School of Dentistry, died Tuesday of colon cancer at his home in Ocean City, N.J. Except for two years he spent in the Air Force, Dr. Roeck had been a faculty member at Temple from 1946 until he retired in 1986. He was named dean of the dental school in 1976. Late in his tenure, Dr. Roeck found himself fighting for the very existence of Temple's dental school. In 1985, a time when dental schools nationwide were facing declining enrollment and tightening budgets, a provost recommended that Temple phase out its school.

For 17 years, Libbie Soffer plied the trade of dental hygienist while dreaming of herself as an artist. In her mind, she illustrated the stories her patients told as she cleaned their teeth - in red for anger, dark gray for sadness. At home she made jewelry from beads and fabric pieces and dreamed of art school. Then, at age 38, she walked away from dentistry and enrolled at the Philadelphia College of Art. Twenty years later, the Wallingford resident is preparing for her ninth one-person exhibition, "Shirtales," which will be at Philadelphia's Nexus Gallery from Friday through Nov. 28. "I can trace making sculptures back to childhood, when I was continuously creating things," said Soffer, 58, who operates from a studio in Aston.

He could have been a singer with Lionel Hampton's band. Instead, he went to school, married a preacher's daughter and hit his high note by setting up a dental practice that served West Philadelphia for 50 years. Life with Lionel might have been more exciting. But it probably couldn't have been any more fulfilling for Dr. Woodson Hopewell Sr., an avid golfer who mentored neighborhood youths, jammed to jazz and belted out Handel's Messiah at family Christmas gatherings. And when patients came to him after office hours, singing the "Doc, I Got a Toothache Blues," Woody Hopewell was always ready for a command performance with his drill.

Marvin Maser, 78, a dental surgeon who in retirement returned to college for an undergraduate degree, died of cancer Thursday at his home in East Falls. Dr. Maser practiced for 40 years before he retired in 1985. He maintained a private practice in oral and maxillofacial surgery in Norristown. During various times in his career, he also had served as chief of oral surgery at Montgomery Hospital and chief of the dental department at the former Sacred Heart Hospital. Once retired, Dr. Maser decided to return to college, his family said.

Richard Cook Mears, 93, a retired Bala Cynwyd dentist who was a designer of dentures for children, died Thursday at the Dock Woods Community in Towamencin. Dr. Mears, who had resided at the retirement community for the last five years, was born in Sharon Hill and later lived in Ambler, graduating from Ambler High School. He was a pre-dental student at Pennsylvania State University and received a doctor of dental surgery degree from Temple University School of Dentistry in 1930.

David Sidney Burcat, 73, a retired dentist, died from complications of prostate cancer yesterday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He lived in Aston. Dr. Burcat practiced dentistry in Lansdowne for more than 34 years. He retired in 1996. He graduated from Temple University in 1950 and received a master's degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951. He worked in advertising for six years before going on to the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry, from which he graduated in 1962.

For children, and children at heart, Halloween is synonymous with having a good time, but it is also rife with potential dangers. That is why Dr. Nadine Rosenthal of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey spent yesterday at the Hurffville Elementary School giving students tips on how to stay safe while trick-or-treating. For the last seven years, doctors from the hospital have made such presentations at schools in South Jersey. When hospital officials approached Joanne Robertson, principal at Hurffville, with the idea for the presentations, she readily agreed.