History of Dentistry (condensed)
So it wasn’t that long ago I was still holding a major Cardinal and Gold grudge against my dental school alma mater. And one can only imagine how obnoxious things could have been around here if I had totally loved all my time spent at USC. Shucks, in spite of everything, we still have a full-out Trojan shrine in the office and even a beleaguered stuffed powder puff bruin hanging upside down by its little paw.
The only class I ever cut south of Jefferson was “History of Dentistry.” Yet, where was the love? If the class had been ‘History of Dental School” I know I would have shown up; because things must have been way more fun back before Doc “wrath of” Kahn arrived.
Used to be dental school was like some kind of molar jockey boot camp. Instead of “Good morning Jack” you might get, “You freakin ungrateful, untalented, brain-dead little scumbag maggot, what in the hell did you do to destroy this perfectly innocent, beautiful virgin tooth! CAN YOU HEARRR ME!!!?” Well, I guess that one wasn’t so bad; and maybe I just remember the good times because my mom was the patient. I dunno, we were all lower than whale droppings and teeth were beautiful, sexy virgins. No wonder it took me about ten years in practice to start feeling comfortable as a dentist. No wonder it took another ten to be comfortable alone with my own teeth.
Significant numbers of students were unhappy; the place was totally no fun at all. On the good days, students and faculty seemed to retain a mutual hateful adversarial relationship. We wore little zip-up barbershop smocks and the instructors had starched whites with three red Sergeant stripes on one sleeve; most of ‘em walked around with kind of a Dental Drill Instructorish cocky swagger…even when they were wearing white belts and white shoes (and trust me, that fashion statement even looked stupid in the 70s.) If it had been up to me, I’d have never made eye contact with the Warden, uh; I mean the Dean…or about 80% of the instructors.
A kinder, gentler, immeasurably smarter dean once told me he was way more inclined to lose sleep over the 10% of students who really enjoyed dental school back during Disco. And when you think about it, Pvt. Pyle from the film Full Metal Jacket never seemed very happy during his boot camp…until he went nuts.
The school produced excellent clinicians who could do the limited available restorative procedures really well but with the exception of the nutty 10% plus a few super well-adjusted individuals, most folks left school and didn’t want to come back. We learned the right way and the only way. I also learned the highway.
As time passed and exciting, innovative technologies were sweeping across the dentistry landscape, USC’s vision remained narrow; the school didn’t keep up. If you don’t look too hard, you’ll find a City of Temple City metaphor. But the good news is there’s still hope.
Today, the USC School of Dentistry is back where it belongs. The school is among the most progressive in the land, has world class leaders, retains first class faculty, and, believe it or not, happy students. The school is an inclusive culture embracing other learning disciplines ranging from bio-engineering to molecular biology and stem cell research to applied kinesiology and physical and occupational therapy. Today, Harvard University and USC are the only U.S. dental schools using Problem-Based Learning, an educational system emphasizing communication and a cooperative approach to finding solutions. The school has also made an impressive commitment reaching out to the community. I’ve never been prouder of my alma mater than when I visited the USC Mobile Dental Clinic in Santa Clarita and saw students making a difference for low income folks and obviously being moved and inspired by the experience. And having fun working together on a Saturday morning.
So after staying close to home for about twenty years, I also started removing the blinders and becoming more open and inclusive. By the time USC started turning things around, I had put on some major miles in search of continuing education of all kinds; took me about two decades to figure out there was a lot of stuff out there I didn’t know I didn’t know. Even wound up being a faculty member for an organization called Dental Boot Kamp. Ironically, this brand of Boot Kamp taught, among many other things, that folks retain information a lot better while they’re having fun.
Today, our practice works with chiropractors, applied kinesiologists, nutritionists, physical therapists and personal coaches. And one day I finally even managed a smile while looking the current Dean in the eye. The opportunity came shortly after my critical letter and his subsequent invitation to have a conversation. While we toured the D-school, I couldn’t help noticing the Dean greeting every student, faculty member, and non-faculty employee with a first name and a smile. I had to pinch myself.
It might be because of all those years of me listening to humming/ squealing power tools but I just don’t remember that many upbeat student-faculty encounters while we were writing our own chapter in the History of Dentistry.
But the best news; we also have those conversations everyday with our patients. And there’s more to come. And it’s fun. Even though the Basketball Trojans are being investigated.
