History

THE HISTORY OF THE CHARLOTTE DENTAL SOCIETY

by

Burt Fox and Charles Jarrett

February 1984

There are no written records of the Charlotte Dental Society before 1928, and even the minutes of the meetings during the early thirties are very brief and serve mainly to give a time frame to personal recollections. Before 1930 the meetings consisted of an annual ham and chicken dinner at Rozzell's Ferry.

Other sources give some information about dentistry in Charlotte before 1930. During the early 1900s, there was a Cleveland Dental Society which included dentists from Charlotte and the Piedmont area, but this ceased to exist during the First World War. The Charlotte society was organized about this time, but with the organization of the District Societies in 1922, the local society was chiefly social until about 1929 or 1930.

Early records are very sketchy, so it is practically impossible to be sure that any account of dentistry in Charlotte could be complete and accurate.

Dr. B.C. Jones and Dr. J.H. McKinney practiced here sometime, possibly shortly before or after the Civil War, but only their names are known. Dr. S.C. Brooks was a North Carolina Dental Society member in 1889, listed as being from Charlotte.

The first Charlotte dentist of record was Dr. Ezra H. Andrews, MD. He was born in England in 1815 and died in Union, SC in 1865. The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery conferred an honorary D.D.S. on him in 1851. He was a member of the group that formed the first North Carolina Dental Society in 1856 and was president in 1857. Dr. J.H. Wayte was another member of that early society. Dr. Amzi W. Alexander, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, 1860 also practiced in Charlotte. He was the father of Dr. Charles L. Alexander.

Dr. W.H. Hoffman (1836-1916) received his degree from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1861. He was active in reviving the North Carolina Dental Society after the Civil War and was secretary from 1877-1882. He was president in 1883-1884. He was also secretary of the Board of Examiners 1881-1883. He served in the Southern Army and was an aide to General A.M. Scales. Dr. M.A. Bland was born in Beaufort, S.C. in 1843 and died in Charlotte in 1922. He served in the Confederate army until Johnson's surrender near Durham. He studied dentistry at the University of Tennessee and practiced in Charlotte for forty years. He was a charter member of the new North Carolina Dental Society and was president from 1881-1882. Dr. Charles A. Bland, probably the son of M.A. Bland, received his D.D.S. from Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1892. He only practiced until 1909. He was Vice-President of the North Carolina Dental Society from 1896 - 1897 and was a member of the examining board from 1897 - 1908. He gave several papers before the state society on prophylaxis, cohesive gold and amalgam, and chemistry and metallurgy. He later served as mayor of Charlotte. His later life was tragic, but he continued contact with friends in the profession until he died in the thirties.

Dr. Charles L. Alexander (1861-1934) finished at Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1882. He practiced in Charlotte for 52 years and became Charlotte's leading dentist. He was president of the North Carolina Dental Society from 1891-1892. The Alexander Hood, invented by him, was hailed as a great advance in dentistry. This permitted the use of a vital anterior tooth as a bridge abutment without showing a lot of gold. With the development of casting, this was superseded by the three-quarter crown.

In addition to Dr. Charles Bland, two other graduates in 1892 practiced in Charlotte.

• Dr. E.P. Keerans lived only until 1904 but was very active in the state society and gave papers in 1897, 1898, and 1899.
• Dr. Lawrence S. Fox, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery 1892, native of Lincolnton, practiced in Charlotte from 1916-1922.
• Dr. Harvey C. Henderson (1864-1937) received his D.D.S. from the University of Maryland in 1895. He was the first president (1915) of the Charlotte Dental Society of whom we have any record. During his later years, he had an associate, Dr. Gaddy.

Charlotte grew in the 1900-1905 period. The Southern and the Seaboard railways passed through and there were branch lines to Winston-Salem and Columbia.

Several new dentists came to Charlotte about this time.

• Dr. J.L. Keerans (Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, 1900) was the son of Dr. E.P. Keerans.
• Dr. W.M. Robey (1879 -1930), Vanderbilt 1901, was president of the North Carolina Dental Society in 1921-22.
• Dr. Charles F. Smithson, Maryland 1901, was state president in 1913-14.
• Dr. J.H. Kelly, University of Pennsylvania 1901, and
• Dr. I. Wilton Jamieson (1871-1923) University of Maryland 1902, were two others.
• Dr. Jameson read a paper on "Some Uses of Gutta Percha" at the 1904 state meeting.
• Dr. Lauriston I. Gidney (1875-1911) Atlanta Dental College 1903 practiced in Charlotte, but his practice was cut short by an early death.
• Dr. R.H. McLaughlin also came about this time and practiced until the thirties.

During the following years, the number of dentists gradually increased:

• Dr. Daniel S. Caldwall, 1907;
• Dr. John Hoffman, 1909;
• Dr. D.T. Waller and Dr. W.L. Kibler, 1913;
• Dr. P.C. Hull, Dr. W.N. Scruggs, Dr. S.B. Bivens, and Dr. B.H. Webster about 1915.
• Dr. T. I. Allen, Stokes Hamilton and C.C. Keiger and Sam Levy, 1915-1918.

Immediately after World War I several men came here from the service, some of whom had practiced elsewhere. The 1928 society showed that nearly all Charlotte dentists were members. Meetings were held only once a year or maybe twice, but mostly were social. Several clinicians were brought to Charlotte during the late twenties, but these were financed by groups and not by the society. One was on the Fournet-Tuller denture technique and another by Dr. Heidbrink gave the local men an opportunity to learn the use of nitrous oxide by practical experience.

The first Bosworth class was not society-sponsored, but it was like a religious revival service that affected the individuals and put new life into the society. In November 1929 the society agreed to purchase a lantern jointly with the Bosworth Study Club. Harry Bosworth was a controversial figure who was accused by some of being an advocate of high fees. He believed himself misunderstood. He thought dentists should learn more, do better dentistry, and charge a decent fee. He did not come to Charlotte personally, but several of his associates taught here, with a marked improvement soon after, if not as a result. Beginning with the November 1929 meeting, the society began meeting monthly with very few skips. Some of these were business meetings, elections, and beginning in the late thirties an annual Ladies Night. However, clinics or lectures were scheduled for five or six meetings a year.

Reviewing the history of the Charlotte Dental Society over the years one gets the impression of mood changes. At first, there seemed to be a selfish mood, then one of self-improvement, followed by an altruistic phase. It seems possible that economic conditions had some influence. When all the dentists were busy and prosperous, everyone was thinking of doing something worthwhile.

The depression days of the thirties were very difficult ones for almost all the Charlotte dentists. Many were unable to pay even the annual three-dollar dues. An appeal for money to furnish toothbrushes to indigent children at the TB hospital only raised $3.50.

Late in 1929, WBT approached the society with a proposal for local dentists to make talks on dentistry. After much discussion, the society agreed to accept but insisted that the papers be reviewed in advance by a committee and that the speakers' names not be used. This program was scheduled once a week and ran through most of 1930.

Efforts were made to establish a dental library at this time but were only mildly successful. The first library was at the Carolina Dental Depot. Later proposals were for the Medical Library. Central Piedmont: the Myers Park Branch of the Public Library, and hopefully now firmly established in the AHEC building, after so many false starts.

One big problem was the non-collection of dental fees. A list was maintained for a short time of delinquent patients, to prevent dead-beats from switching dentists. Efforts were made to work out a solution with the Merchants Association Credit Bureau, but this took a long time because dentists couldn't pay the fees.

Two issues strongly supported by the society were the fight against illegal denture fabrication by laboratories and advertising by dentists. The society hired a lawyer and sent a delegation to Raleigh. The legislature passed stronger laws on these two matters. There were some bright spots. Co-operation was good on a fee survey, and almost 100% took part in an examination of the school children. For one year the society worked with the Junior League to operate a free clinic for needy school children.

One dental educator said that most dentists improved during their first three years of practice but very little after that. This was not true of the Charlotte dentists. Clinics were given by the society at least five or six times a year and the total number of members was 250. There was not much money, but clinicians were not expensive. In 1935 the Second District meeting had two clinicians, who received $45. and $25. The entire cost of that meeting was only $165.

During the thirties, the state society promoted a traveling clinic. A speaker would come each month for one week, visiting five societies. His expenses and fees divided by so many made it inexpensive for all. Up until 1937 most of the speakers were local physicians and dental speakers who were personal friends of our members and would come for little cost.

Charlotte began to develop its own clinicians. Story, Waller, Fox, Jarrett, Ross, Mizell, and Bumgarner all gave one or more clinics, and many were invited to other dental societies. Fees were unusual but visiting clinicians were entertained by friends or received travelling expenses. This reciprocation was beneficial to all. The emphasis was on better dentistry rather than profit.

In 1939 plans were being made for the new hospital, which opened in October 1940. The society was interested in raising funds for this, and for planning and providing a dental department. A dental staff was organized in 1941, but problems with the new hospital and the beginning of World War II delayed the activities of the dental department, so it was January 1943 before the dental clinic became active.

By 1940 a visiting clinician said -- true or not -- that the level of dentistry here in Charlotte was higher than in any other part of the country except Minneapolis. By 1941 business in the country had been stimulated by the war in Europe, and plans were begun to prepare this country for possible involvement. The dentists all were busy in their offices, and the society became involved in many projects. The local men were subscribing to bond purchases, contributions to the Red Cross, etc.

Plans were being made to expand the army, especially the medical and dental corps. The society organized a class on advanced first aid work, to be prepared if there was a shortage of medical personnel. Dr. Addison Brenizer agreed to teach that class. Six of our members entered the service, Jake Freedland, Milo Hoffman, Vaiden Kendrick, Elliott Motley, Tom Nisbet, and Bernard Walker. The society subscribed to magazines for them and made plans to welcome them back into practice after the war.

One big task we assumed was examining draftees. This was an experiment, with two teams of physicians and dentists giving one morning a week at the armory for these exams. The army said results from our groups were better than those at the army camps, and efforts were made to establish the program in other cities, but they could not get the necessary cooperation. Several of our local men received medals from the government after the war for their aid in the war effort.

During this period almost all the dentists were located in the downtown area and a lot of the society business was discussed over lunch at Efirds or Thackers. There was greater cooperation than at any time before or since. If a dentist died, almost every dentist closed his office to attend the funeral.

This custom continued for years, and it is a matter of regret that it has begun to lapse.

The first administration of the hospital was so busy with other things that the dental clinic was neglected. A new administrator met with us in December 1942, and in January we held our first meeting at the hospital. During most of its life, the society had met at different places. The Chamber of Commerce and Library were used for a time, but mostly meetings had been held at the Selwyn Hotel, Efirds and Thackers, where meals were available. Old records mention 75 cents for a meal. When we began meeting at the hospital our black fellow dentists were invited to attend. Several came for a few months.

The hospital staff had a staff meeting every week at breakfast. Many dentists attended, learning a lot about medicine, particularly diagnosis. The clinic opened on February 9, 1943, and for a few weeks was open from 9 o'clock to 11 each Tuesday. The first dental intern began work on April 15, 1943. and thereafter one local member checked with him for an hour or so each day. For years there had been a society member on the County Board of Health, but now we managed to get a dentist on the City Board. He quickly got an appropriation from the City Council of $500 a year for the dental clinic.

The operation of the clinic was not always easy sailing. During World War II, and the Korean War there were times when the government was taking young dentists into the service, and it was difficult to secure interns. Some foreign dentists were secured, but there were times when the local dentists had to staff the clinic.

Dentists from surrounding towns often attended our meetings as guests, but the society decided to invite outside dentists to become associate members permitting us to expand our educational activities.

One goal of the society had been to get a public health dentist to do dental work for needy adults and school children, but during the war this was impossible. However, in the fall of 1946, an application was received, and the City of Charlotte employed its first public health dentist. Unfortunately, he did not have a license to practice in North Carolina so was unable to do actual dental work. He was a man of strong ideas, who believed that everyone should be forced to agree with him. During most of his stay here in Charlotte, he was causing trouble for the school board, the teachers, and the dentists. Succeeding public health dentists has been more beneficial and less controversial. However, he did play an active part in promoting the idea of fluoridation of our water supply.

About 1947, Dr. Trendley Dean of the U. S. Public Health Service spoke to the State Society about the Conway, South Carolina investigation on mottled enamel. Practically everyone there suffered from this condition, but Dr. Dean discovered that the rate of decay was very low there. There were also reports of low decay rates and fluoride in the water by Dr. Frederick

McKay of Colorado Springs. It was suggested to Dr. Dean that fluoride might be used in Charlotte, but as a scientist, he wanted to be sure. He believed that the good effects might come from rinsing the teeth with fluoride and not ingesting it. There were some reports that fluoride not only caused mottled enamel, but also produced chalky enamel where children did not get milk, and this worried him. Dr. Knutson, of the U. S. Health Department, also opposed the Charlotte project, asking that we wait for reports from the experiment in Grand Rapids, but he later changed his mind. A publicity campaign pushed the idea, and on April 1, 1949, Dr. Fred McKay came to Charlotte to celebrate the inauguration of the fluoridation of our city water supply. Fortunately for dentists and unfortunately for the public, the advanced claims of 100% elimination of decay have not yet come to pass.

In 1949 there were 48 dental schools in the country except Michigan at Grand Rapids, just outside Detroit, and the University of Iowa all were in large population centers where the students could find adequate clinical experience. When talks began about a dental school in North Carolina a few of our members hoped it might be located in Charlotte. However, when Bowman Gray offered big money for Winston-Salem and the Cone family for Greensboro, we quickly dropped out of the picture. However, Charlotte was the real birthplace of education for dental auxiliary personnel, but this occurred a few years later.

Our next big project was the Time Payment plan. This was the idea of Dr. Ed Austin, but since he was leaving for graduate study, the developmental work was done by others. Details had to be worked out and a contract binding on a bank and the members spelled out. Clarence Horne of the Bank of Charlotte agreed to the plan, but it was necessary to make personal calls to get signatures and deposits from the dentists. The plan was officially endorsed at the November 1950 meeting and early in 1951, the plan became active with 32 members participating. Although later the bank was changed, the plan has been a continuous success for more than 30 years.

In September 1951, the society endorsed a plan for an educational course for dental assistants. Miss Edna Zedaker of the Dental Assistants Society, had the idea that dental assistants could be trained to play a more important role in dentistry. There were very, very few schools for dental assistants in the country, and the National Association of Dental Assistants had developed an extension course, but this required certified assistants to supervise the course. Miss Zedaker prevailed on them to waive this rule if the Charlotte Dental Society would sponsor the course.

These classes continued for eighteen months, at the end of which time ten girls became Certified Dental Assistants, the first in our part of the country. Local dentists taught the courses and fortunately, their lectures were mimeographed to produce a textbook on dental assisting.

This first course was followed by another Dr. Burke Fox, who directed these courses and conceived the idea that such training could be done in a correspondence course. He sketched out this idea in letters to Dr. John Brauer at the University of North Carolina Dental School, Dr. Wilbert Jackson of Clinton, and Dr. Amos Bumgardner of Charlotte. The latter two were enthusiastic, but Dr. Brauer at first thought it was impractical. However, he agreed to discuss the matter further. Dr. Fox took the mimeographed lessons to Chapel Hill, which caused Dr. Brauer to change his mind. These lessons were revised by the dental faculty and became the Brauer book on dental assisting and the basis for the first correspondence school course on dental assisting.

The dental assistants recognized the work of Miss Zedaker and named her to the national certification (examining) board. She rose to be chairman and is the only person to have served two terms in that post. She secured the endorsement of dental assistant certification from the American Dental Association, and later, as national president of the dental assistants, secured a large grant from the Kellogg Foundation to aid that organization in its educational work.

A permanent school for dental assistants had always been in her mind. There were a few such schools on the West Coast but with courses in archery and dancing, they did not meet her goals. She contacted Dean Davis, head of the vocational school on Ninth Street about such a course, and he was enthusiastic. He asked her to work out a detailed curriculum. It quickly appeared that money was needed to equip such a school, but the society was unable to furnish such a large sum. Davis then tried to get a grant from the state but failed to get much encouragement.

All hope seemed to have been lost for about two years until the state grant finally came through, and only approval of the Charlotte society was necessary to begin planning the school. Some of the men in the society felt that this would compete with the University of North Carolina Dental School and opposed the idea. However, the University advised that it could not give only one year, which did not lead to a degree. The society reversed itself and gave its endorsement early in 1963. Just at this time, Charlotte College became a part of the University system and Central Piedmont College had its origin. It swallowed up the vocational school, but Dean Davis carried the dental assistant curriculum and the state grant to the new school. Dean Davis and Miss Zedaker, with the aid of the Charlotte Dental Society, were responsible for establishing schools of dental assisting in this state, and later in the nation. The program was later expanded to teach hygienists, and these courses have had a tremendous influence on dental service in the state.

Over the years the society engaged in many charities, some small, some large.

There was free dental work for the children of Thompson Orphanage and the Charlotte Day Care Center, free toothbrushes for needy children, and manning the hospital dental clinic when interns were not available.

For several years an annual project was the making of mouthguards for all the high school players, and also cancer screening clinics. These were all done for public good rather than private gain.

Throughout all its history the Charlotte Dental Society has been a leader in the education of dentists and improving dental services to the public. A list of all the clinicians brought here is too long to include. With the growth of the University dental school, we are no longer the principal center of dental education, but the Charlotte Dental Society can be proud of its part in the past and present in bringing better dentistry and improved dental health to the people of our community.