Dentist

Dr. Robert M. Phillips, a West Baltimore dentist who a former patient said treated each client with the "passion, concern and respect they deserved," died Fridayof complications after a heart attack while visiting relatives in Newark, N.J.A resident of the Village of Cross Keys, Dr. Phillips, 78, also was a strong advocate for educating low-income residents about proper dental care and having effective services available for them."

Q. I am desperate for a remedy for canker sores. My mouth is just full of them and they are so painful I am having trouble eating. My doctor prescribed Aphthasol, but it didn't help. My dentist has offered antibiotics and strong steroids, but nothing has worked.A. Physicians don't know what causes canker sores (aphthous ulcers), but a deficiency of folic acid, vitamin B-12 and iron may contribute. Prescription treatments are not always effective.We recently heard from D.W. in Garland, Texas, whose mother was a dental assistant in the 1930s.

Leaning far back in the long, narrow chair, bright light in your eyes, the feeling is unmistakable: This is the dentist's office.But there is no drill in sight.Instead, a box powerful enough to vaporize cavities with light waves sits at your feet. On your right, a computer screen displays 14 inches of X-rays of your teeth, all organized by Windows 95.On your left, a wand topped by a miniature camera can go inside your mouth, illuminating pink gums and yellowish teeth on a television."This is the way dentistry is today," said Dr. Lori A. Cardellino, whose Bel Air office is loaded with the latest technology -- tools that promise less pain, fewer needles and shorter stints in the chair.

Robert F. Beauchamp, 84, a dentist lauded for providing low-cost services to minorities and the poor, died of cancer Sunday in Los Angeles. Dr. Beauchamp, dubbed "the credit dentist" for offering credit to patients, took over his late father's dental office in 1939. He opened his practice to blacks when other dentists refused to do so out of fear of offending white patients, drawing praise from civic leaders.Edward Robb Ellis, 87, one of the most prolific diarists in the history of American letters, with some 22 million words, died Monday in New York.

DR. HENRY FASTEAU, a dentist who for many years has provided excellent services to people with developmental disabilities, received the Outstanding Professional award at the awards banquet of the Arc of Howard County Inc. on Friday.The Arc, a United Way agency, provides advocacy and support for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.Awards were presented to organizations and individuals who have helped make life more productive for disabled citizens.According to the presentation, Fasteau, who lives in Glenwood and practices in Dorsey Hall, was nominated for the award because "he and his staff are patient and kind and take the extra time and effort that some people may need."

A pair of young men walked into a Columbia dentist's office last night and threw a container of caustic acid in a receptionist's face, authorities said.The receptionist, identified by the dentist as Phyllis Fountain, was taken to Howard County General Hospital for treatment. Authorities said the woman did not appear to be seriously injured. A hospital spokeswoman said last night the woman's condition was being evaluated."She came screaming back that she had something in her face and eyes, and there were fumes coming off her," said the dentist, Joel L. Parran of Columbia, who was in a treatment room with a patient during the incident.

Denise Troutman hadn't seen a dentist for five years and had been in constant pain for the past eight months, which makes her typical of the hundreds of people who have found their way to an old Navy hospital ship to take advantage of a free medical and dental clinic.When the organizers of the clinic opened their two-week program -- which ends tomorrow evening -- they were expecting their biggest job would be to provide immunizations, maybe thousands of them. It didn't happen; only dozens of children in need of shots have turned up so far. But the dental clinic has been turning away 60 or more people every day."

This won't hurt a bit. Really, not even when Dr. Sandy E. Cook, the singing dentist, hits the high notes on "Calypso."If John Denver sets your teeth on edge, request Billy Joel or Elton John or a selection from "Phantom of the Opera." Dr. Cook can sing at least as many tunes as he has drill bits, and he has plenty of those. Patients come in, recline in an examining chair, don a bib, open their mouths -- and their ears."Come Monday, it'll be all right, come Monday, I'll be holding you tight "The tenor voice drifts out of one examination room on a dreary Monday morning.

Dentist sinks his teeth into show-biz careerBaltimore producer Ron Israel has fashioned a career as custom-made as the crowns he still prepares for a few dental patients. These days, he's better known as the force behind the cable show "Behind the Scenes." Dr. Israel is the host, director and editor of the half-hour program about local arts and entertainment.During the past few decades, Dr. Israel garnered attention as a celebrity dentist as well as a special-events impresario. Career highlights include the four-tooth set of dentures he made for Edie Massey, the late star of John Waters' films, who needed to preserve her familiar snaggletooth look after her teeth fell out, and opening-night bashes for the film "Hairspray" in Baltimore and Los Angeles.

In her poignant autobiography, ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Signs,'' Maya Angelou recalls an incident in her childhood when she was in dire need of dental care.''I lived a few days and nights in blinding pain, not so much toying with as seriously considering the idea of jumping in the well, and Momma decided I had to be taken to a dentist. The nearest dentist was in Texarkana, 25 miles away, and I was certain I'd be dead long before we reached half the distance.''Ms. Angelou had been turned away by the white dentist of her own town, even though her grandmother had lent him money during the Depression and thus enabled him to save his practice.

James Bennett hadn't seen a dentist in a decade. He had other priorities, like scoring heroin. Even if he'd been of a mind to do something about his rotting teeth, he wouldn't have known where to go or whom to call. Now, at long last, he sat in the blue exam chair in the Southwest Baltimore office of Dr. Larry Bank, a cramped space with a bucolic wallpaper scene of a waterfall. At 45, Bennett is trying to restart his life. That means getting a grip on his addiction through a residential rehab program - and fixing his ragged mess of a mouth.

The folks who work with the Berg Dental Group in Forest Hill are always looking for ways to make their patients relax. On a recent afternoon, about 25 employees at the dental clinic gathered in their break room for a class on magic and balloon sculpting. For more than an hour, the employees watched as Jeff Teate, the balloon man, showed them how to lighten up a visit to the dentist. "I was terrified of the dentist when I was a kid," said Teate, 42, of Aberdeen. "I wanted to do something to help kids become more relaxed when they go to the dentist.

Dr. August Raymond "Gus" Machen, a retired Towson dentist, died Saturday at the Blakehurst retirement community in Towson of complications from a fall he suffered a month ago. He was 87. Dr. Machen was born and raised in Baltimore and was a graduate of city public schools. He was a graduate of the University of Maryland Dental School. During World War II, he served as an Army dentist and was assigned to the European theater of operations. Dr. Machen, who maintained a general dental practice in Towson for more than 35 years, retired in the 1980s.

About 12 years ago, Carrie Lemon started losing teeth. One by one, to curb pain, Lemon had most of her teeth extracted. Today, at 72, she has only six left. Eating has become a daily chore, and Lemon wants desperately to be fitted for a set of dentures. "I've just been going from one dentist to another, but all of them tell me that our medical system doesn't cover it," Lemon said. "I don't have the money to get them." With the number of Americans over age 60 expected to increase by 70 percent by 2025, experts say dental care for seniors is a major issue - one that will only become more acute as the population ages.

The Harford County Health Department will open a dental clinic early next year that will provide care for some of the 7,000 children who are eligible for medical assistance but have little access to a dentist. The number of children receiving medical assistance has increased by 238 percent since 2000 and there could be many other eligible youths who are not enrolled in the program, said Dr. Andrew Bernstein, Harford County's health officer. "There is a real need for this service," Bernstein said.

Dr. Jules J. Levin, a retired dentist, died March 20 of complications from Parkinson's disease at his Pikesville home. He was 75. Born in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington, he was a 1948 City College graduate and earned a psychology degree at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College. He then received a degree from the University of Maryland Dental School. He served in the U.S. Public Health Service and worked at Coast Guard stations in Cape May, N.J., and New London, Conn.

A dentist's office might be the last place you'd expect to find hundreds of pounds of Kit Kats, Skittles, Tootsie Rolls and Dum-Dums. But in the days after Halloween, Dr. Mairead O'Reilly takes it in by the bag and box. In hopes of keeping children from overdosing on their Halloween hauls, the Annapolis dentist has offered to take it off their hands. She pays $1 per pound of candy and then donates an equal amount (and then some) to a different charity each year. Last year, she took in 1,100 pounds, the record since she started the program in 2001.

A dentist's office might be the last place you'd expect to find hundreds of pounds of Kit Kats, Skittles, Tootsie Rolls and Dum-Dums. But in the days after Halloween, Dr. Mairead O'Reilly takes it in by the bag and box. In hopes of keeping children from overdosing on their Halloween hauls, the Annapolis dentist has offered to take it off their hands. She pays $1 per pound of candy and then donates an equal amount (and then some) to a different charity each year. Last year, she took in 1,100 pounds, the record since she started the program in 2001.

When state police responded to a report that a patient had assaulted his Harford County dentist, they went straight to the frazzled man in the parking lot. Police arrested Aaron Abraham Newman, 34, of Havre de Grace on Tuesday afternoon after he told troopers that while he was being fitted for a mold for dentures he had a panic attack because he has a phobia of dentists. According to charging documents, Newman was having an impression of his mouth taken at Forest Hill Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in the first block of Colgate Drive when he became agitated.

Dr. Donald Tiemeyer Frey, a retired Towson dentist who enjoyed waterfowl hunting, died of heart and lung failure Thursday at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. The Homeland resident was 88. Dr. Frey was born and raised in Catonsville and graduated in 1934 from Catonsville High School. He attended the Johns Hopkins University for a year before entering the University of Maryland Dental School, from which he graduated in 1941. He joined the U.S. Public Health Service that year. After a two-year internship at the old U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Wyman Park, he was assigned as a dentist at the Coast Guard yard in Curtis Bay. He concluded his service with the rank of lieutenant at Mayport, Fla., in 1946.