The specialty of periodontics in the State of Ohio dates back to
the early Twentieth Century with Gillette Hayden who graduated from
the Ohio Medical University (later to become The Ohio State
University College of Dentistry) in 1902. She was the
great-granddaughter of Horace Hayden, one of the founders of the
first dental college in Baltimore, and she gained fame for her
achievements in periodontics over an unfortunately short career in
dentistry. After entering practice in Columbus in 1903, she became
involved in the promotion of the field of oral prophylaxis and in
1914 had the vision to form a national society associated with this
area of periodontia called The American Academy of Periodontology.
As one of the founders of the AAP, she also served as the President
in 1916. In recognition of her contributions to the Academy, the
Journal of Periodontology was dedicated to her memory “…for her
pioneer efforts and selfless devotion in behalf of periodontia and
the American Academy of Periodontology.” We are fortunate to have in
our departmental library bound volumes number 1 through 23 of the
Journal which are inscribed in her memory.
The
postdoctoral program in advanced periodontics at OSU has always been
a combination of clinical training with graduate education. As the
oldest continuously operating periodontal graduate program in the
nation, it has been responsible for educating not only quality
clinicians but also nationally and internationally renown
academicians. Dr. John R. Wilson who was Chair of the Department of
Periodontology, formally initiated the program in 1949. This feat
was impressive considering that the American Dental Association had
only a few months earlier recognized periodontics as a specialty.
With this recognition of periodontics, Dr. Wilson quickly realized
that the specialty would require a formal education process and that
apprenticeships would no longer be acceptable for the health and
growth of the specialty. Dr. William P. Engleman was the first
student to matriculate and graduate with both a certificate and M.S.
degree. As was the custom for training at that time, it was
considered adequate for the periodontal education of post-graduate
students to be only one-year in duration. In 1957 the program became
two years in duration due to the increased emphasis upon specialty
training education. Over an 11 year period, John, who was both the
Chair (1949-1965) and Program Director (1949-1960) in a small
Department, was able to provide a quality periodontal education not
only for dental students but also for the advanced periodontal
education students. In his tenure as Chair, he was responsible for
the education of 48 periodontists, 42 who received their Masters
Degree, 1 who received a PhD and 8 who became boarded by the
American Board of Periodontology. From this group of periodontists,
Professor Wilson influenced many students who later became leaders
in academics; some of these individuals included Billy Pennel, Pete
Fedi, George App, Gerry Bowers, Tim Moore and Bob Ferris. 
In
1963, Dr. Charles Conroy (1963-1966) returned from the University of
Texas Dental School in Houston where he had trained in periodontics
and was appointed by John Wilson to replace Professor Walton and
lead the graduate periodontal program. He previously had trained in
oral pathology at Ohio State prior to moving to Houston. Charlie
brought to the program hospital and anesthesia training and
established basic science training tracks for periodontal students
to gain graduate school credit toward advanced degrees. He also
conducted numerous continuing education courses in periodontics for
many general practitioners within the state. These often were
combined or ended with hunting and fishing expeditions as he was an
avid sportsman. Charlie also conducted extensive plaque and stain
studies for a major toothpaste company as well as having a private
practice in Columbus.
oral
hygiene technique (brush each tooth 5 times, five times a day),
using a 2 x 6 hard toothbrush which was in vogue at that time.
George was also noted for designing the "App flap", and also was one
of the early investigators of hydroxyapatite and plaster of paris
for augmenting bone defects. During his tenure he established the
Periodontal Disease Research and Training Fund which supports the
advanced education in periodontics program. George was a "lover" of
big Oldsmobile automobiles as well as his "farm" in Hamilton to
where he eventually retired. At his retirement, he was honored by
the alumni with the establishment of an endowed fund in his name,
the interest from which supports activities for the periodontal
residents. In his tenure as Chair, he was responsible for the
education of 59 periodontists, 49 who received their Masters Degree,
1 who received a PhD and 9 who became boarded by the American Board
of Periodontology.
In
1977, OSU dental Dean Charles Howel replaced Professor App with Dr.
Leonard Ebel (1977-1980). Dr. Ebel was a previous graduate of the
OSU advanced education program in periodontics (’73) and was
currently a faculty member in the Department. As Chair of
Periodontology, Leonard did two important things: 1) he emphasized
and enhanced the predoctoral curriculum and, 2) he named Dr. Charles
Solt (1977-1982) as the fifth Program Director. John Horton
remembered
Charlie as a jovial man who hailed from Bucyrus, the "only" place to
buy "brats". Charlie was especially liked by the graduate students
for his excellence in clinical teaching and also his literature
review course. His literature review course became the foundation
course in the program, spanning 5 quarters to first and second year
students on a weekly basis, and consisting of a review of two
different textbooks and up to 700 different scientific articles.
Students were noted to spend hours studying for his course and
examinations each quarter. Charlie studied periodontics at Tufts
University under the tutelage of Dr. Irving Glickman and was known
to be one of his strong disciples. Charlie also conducted some of
the early work on guided tissue regeneration evaluations. In 2005,
alumni came together to donate money for the dedication of the
Charles Solt Periodontal Library. In his tenure as Chair, Professor
Ebel was responsible for the education of 13 periodontists, 7 who
received their Masters Degree and 4 who became boarded by the
American Board of Periodontology.
When
William Wallace was appointed interim Dean of the College of
Dentistry in 1980, he decided to increase the research activity of
the College and instituted a national search for a new Chair of
Periodontology. While the search was progressing, Dr. William Myers,
Chair of Endodontics, was named as the interim Chair of the
Department of Periodontology until the new, permanent Chair could be
named. In 1981, Dr. John E. Horton (1981-1995) was named as the
fourth Chair of the Department of Periodontology. John had conducted
research on the immunopathophysiology of periodontal disease at the
National Institutes of Health (NIDR), Walter Reed Army Medical
Center and Harvard Dental School prior to coming to OSU, and was one
of the discoverers of "osteoclast activating factor which proved
later to be IL-I, a cytokine. Additionally he was an advocate for
ultrasonic instrumentation and researched its use for the surgical
removal of bone. John was a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army
Dental Corps prior to his academic career. In 1982, he assumed the
direction of the advanced education from Professor Solt and changed
the program from two to three years in 1983 when most of the
programs in the nation were still two years. John built on the
previous strengths of the program by mandating an advanced degree
(M.S./Ph.D.) prior to the student receiving their Certificate in
Periodontics. He also continued to recruit students to pursue Ph.D.
degrees in basic sciences and encouraged students to select
alternative Masters degree educational programs in education,
business administration and public policy. During this period the
basic sciences were emphasized, but not to the exclusion of clinical
training wherein the students experienced classic periodontal
therapeutic procedures. In his tenure as Chair, he was responsible
for the education of 55 periodontists, 43 who received their Masters
Degree, 2 who received a PhD and 6 who became boarded by the
American Board of Periodontology. 
Dr.
Angelo Mariotti (1996-present), was named as the fifth Chair of the
Department of Periodontology. Ang was the first Chair to have a both
a dental degree and a PhD in the basic sciences (pharmacology).
Following his specialty training from Virginia Commonwealth
University, he became the Program Director at the University of
Florida and used these experiences to build on the previous
strengths of the postdoctoral program while augmenting the clinical
training of both predoctoral and postdoctoral students at OSU. In
the postdoctoral program, he amplified the experiences in guided
tissue regeneration and implant therapy and initiated guided bone
regeneration for patient care. To ensure treatment consistency, he
hired Dr. Leo Kupp (1997-2000), an OSU dental graduate with a PhD in
immunology and specialty training from Virginia Commonwealth
University to be the Program Director. Leo was a strong supporter of
graduate education and significantly increased the quantity and
quality of implant placement, intravenous sedation and guided bone
regeneration. In the predoctoral program, Ang named a standing
faculty member with extensive teaching experience, Dr. Lewis Claman
(1998-2009), as director of the predoctoral clinic. During Dr.
Claman’s tenure, clinical competency in periodontics with decision
making were emphasized while clinical skills in periodontics were
improved. In 2000, Professor Kupp left OSU for private practice and
a year long national search lead to the hiring of a talented,
clinician-scientist, Dr. Dimitris Tatakis (2004-present) as the
clinic
director. Dr. Tatakis received his specialty education and a PhD in
oral biology from the State University of New York in Buffalo.
Dimitris maintained the clinical experiences of the postdoctoral
students, augmented their opportunities to do clinical research,
improved the credentials of the matriculating students and increased
the clinical revenues of the program. In 2004, Dr. Tatakis was
boarded by the American Board of Periodontology and was named the
9th Program Director. During the tenure of Dr. Mariotti as Chair,
the involvement of periodontal alumni with the Department was
strengthened via improved communication through publications, such
as The Cutting Edge, and consistent alumni events. As a result of
alumni participation, an unprecedented period of remodeling within
Postle Hall resulted in new postdoctoral periodontal clinics, a
kitchen/preparation room, a conference room, a resident room and a
library. All of the periodontal educational changes in the
Department have lead to the predoctoral students receiving high
scores on national periodontal examinations and regional clinical
examinations, while the number of publications by postdoctoral
students and those students who have become Diplomates has risen
dramatically. As of 2006, Professor Mariotti has been responsible
for the education of 39 periodontists, 39 who received their Masters
Degree, 2 who received a PhD and 28 who became boarded by the
American Board of Periodontology. 
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