Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery - Dental Columbian Yearbook (New York, NY)

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k marked by exchanges and interchanges of personnel. Fol- lowing our first year we were forced to give up a repre- sentative to a medical college. As part of a foreign ex- change program, we lost another of our troupe to a dental school in Montreal. In return, however, we were joined by Hummer, Strummer, and the Duke, — three enchantingly colorful individuals who did much to enhance the per- sonality of the class. The Senior year, an entity which almost stands apart from the rest of our dental education, followed strongly on the heels of an Open House during the ADA ' s Cen- tennial celebration. On this day, strategically located in the various departments to demonstrate our skills, we were proud of the enthusiastic comments we heard from the visiting dentists. In the clinic, cases started rather slowly, as the linger- ing summer weather kept patients in the city parks. Soon, however, matters returned to normal. Clinic fees were now determined by an electronic brain in the cashier ' s office. Full denture kits, presented with each new case, consisted of assorted used wax, gutta percha, and com- pound. We were sorry to learn that our old friend, Millie Ohlhaver, had retired from her post at the appointment desk, but her place was ably filled by two charming and alert young ladies who answered the microphone and made announcements over the telephone. Sahawab-Lum in- herited the laundry concession, making enough money to take unto himself a bride. The class was divided into four prosthetics groups, each with its own instructor; and each claiming to have gotten the best deal in the shuffle. Group two boasted that they had finally harnessed Big John by putting sand in his roller skates, while the front of the alphabet rented a snow-plow to get the Herl to school and a set of chains to keep him in tow. Young Vic ' s boys put in a private line to the office over the bank. The last group claimed that Daddy Miller was the grandest chief of all, but because of weekly admissions committee obligations, they invited a prominent guest instructor to join them every Friday. This instructor was made a Baron by Em- peror Franz Joseph in recognition of his contributions to dental science, i.e., the Pencil-in nostril Vertical Dimen- sion indicator, the irremovable double-impression tray, and the plastic Hindelug. This new lug former was in par- ticular a great aid to students, being specially designed to make undercontouring of crowns impossible. 24

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As Juniors, clinical work occupied the major portion of our daily schedule. The finer points of rubber dam, injection techniques, and impression methods were stressed again and again, and there were even threats that patients would be forthcoming only pending the completion of certain tasks. Our Den Mother rose to the occasion, how- ever. With lectures on procedure and decorum, she ushered us into the clinic, where shortly thereafter, we learned a new game; a form of hide and seek. We hid our superfluous instruments in our pockets, polished up our kits, and still got sixes. Our early clinical experience was indeed different from Typodontia practice. While line angles were still meticu- lously examined through three sets of lenses, special inter- est was also given to rubber dam, inferior alveolar block, and mandibular dislocation. No longer could we fill saliva tubes for Dr. Caries M while plugging foils, nor unscrew abutment teeth for better scrutinization. By midseason we were able to complete a Class II amalgam practical with only one pulp exposure, and had constructed full dentures for five tapering ovoids, three charging tapirs, seven fat squares, and one Square Bur. The hectic confusion of the clinic strongly contrasted with our technique course in Orthodontia. Here the quiet, easy going manner of our instructors gave us new confidence and additional insight into the correlation between mechanical dentistry and growth and development factors. Slowly we became specialists in Surgery, Endodontia, Roentgenology, and Diagnosis. Good students were re- warded by being allowed to buy candy bars for Captain Jack. Here, too, we were introduced to our full Thera- peutic regimen by Willie the Squibb, with special emphasis placed on PL8-6-B-O. Some other specialties were taught only as lecture courses. Occlusal Louis came in to dispel some misconceptions about occlusion and TM Joint prob- lems, while The Rank teamed up with The Big M to show slides of giraffe uvulas, and teach us how to come to class on time. By Junior year we were deemed qualified to participate in the 8 A.M. episode known as the CPC. It was encourag- ing to see how our diagnostic procedures, scientific ap- proach, and awareness of the varying oral lesions gradu- ally matured. On some mornings however, it seemed as if the only treatment for some of humanity ' s most sinister maladies was the alleviation of certain local oral environ- mental factors. The Junior year also afforded some students the oppor- tunity to earn money while participating in a pain thresh- old experiment. The boys were given placebos, and other good analgesics, while their nerves were soothed by two instructors playing clarinet and accordion duets. They were then asked to respond to a moderately painful dental stimu- lus. While the researchers have not yet published their reports, the students predict excellent results, since many of them, in the quest for better grades, did not respond until the painful stimulus was unbearable. Through it all, the class still had its good times. Led by our energetic president, A.J.T., our social calendar was kept as active as our academic one. The first class function was the Inaugural Ball for our new Dean, held jointly with the staff and the other classes on the clinic floor. Inspired by the spirit of togetherness, we then embarked on a series of our own parties. The first of these, a tremendous success, was held at John Jay Hall, where in view of a no liquor edict, some members of the class got surprisingly tipsy. It was at subsequent parties that the class ' s talent became evident, and gifted souls entertained their classmates with stories, jokes, and folk music, attaining almost professional perfection by our Senior year. Perhaps the most memorable occasion of all was the party we had as Freshmen, when Dr. Arden graciously welcomed us to his home. We re- alized then what close friends our instructors were, when Howie donned his chef ' s hat, and the Schvend sat down at the poker table with the boys. Although always a well knit group, our number was not constant. Starting with forty stalwarts in our freshman ranks, we graduate now with thirty-eight, after an interim 23

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By October, we were all hurrying to review our Sopho- more year Psychiatry lecture notes, as we had to apply these principles, and those of the rounded line angle, to the practice of Pedodontics. On the eighth floor, however, sharp line angles still prevailed, as the Hydrocolloid King encouraged enough students to use the material to win for himself a new Alpha unit. It was his adopted son, Silent Tom. who explained that the Hydro King ' s right jab to the gut and primitive hack sign were really indications of deep affection. Other members of the department received mention in verse. A poem, read to Dr. Carl Oman upon his retirement, paid a tribute to his accomplishments as an educator, included these lines: There ' s Silent P. conversant B, and Hydrocolloid C, Then S and F. with specks hooked on, and smiling S.H.B.; With knapsack H, pain-killer S, and F with high- pitched bray, And lanky S, and Kodak D. and L with dilok tray. The first course to get under way was Periodontia. As Seniors, many of us were fortunate enough to participate in an experiment based on modern electric toothbrushing methods and gingival biopsy techniques. Some students were also given an opportunity to judiciously prescribe newly developed troches for the treatment of periodontal disorders. As in the past, they ' ll help us out, and teach us all they know, But it ' s your name that ' s legend here, and wherever students go, Long after we have left this school, our cards we ' ll proudly show; The lines which start, Class III Gold Foil, and end with C.R.O. 25