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History of the Philadelphia Root Canal Study Club: 1939
JOURNAL OF ENDODONTICS I SPECIAL ISSUE, JANUARY 1982, VOLUME 8
History of the Philadelphia Root Canal Study Club: 1939 L o u i s I. G r o s s m a n
DDS, D M D
I think the iirst root canal study club was born in Philadelphia in 1939. However, whether it was the first or the second is not important; what matters is that a group of dentists made the effort to break away from the focal infection theory, which virtually banned root (:anal treatment, and that it was a forerunner of the American Association of Endodontists. I was the founder and secretary of that study club. A copy of the original letter of invitation follows: Because you are interested in root canal therapy, 1 am writing to ask if you would care to help form, and become a member of a Root Canal Study Club. It will be the purpose of this club to study problems connected with root canal therapy and to present clinics so as to help others in practicing this important phase of dentistry more adequately. Active members will undertake to work on some original problem connected with root (:anal therapy, while others will participate in discussions devoted to the subject. It is planned not to have any dues, but real constructive thinking, planning, and original work (or intelligent discussion) will be expected of each member. Meetings will be held monthly, or at such times as may be found desirable by the members. I would appreciate a prompt response indicating whether you are interested in joining such a group and whether you will be able to
devote any time to original work. There was also an enclosure relating to the purpose and function of the club as follows: ROOT CANAL STUDY CI.UB
Name. Root Canal Study Club Purpoae. To stud}, and discuss problems concerned with the practice of root canal therapy, and to disseminate information by lectures and clinics in order to promote more adequate root canal therapy among members of the dental profession. Officers. Chairman to preside at each meeting. Elected for one year. Research Committee: Composed of three members, each one of whom is elected for a three-year period, except for the first year when one member shall be elected for one year only, another for two years, and the third for three years. Elections to be held yearly to fill existing vacancies as they arise. The function of the committee will be to promote, and to assist in planning, original studies for members of the Root (:anal Study Club. Secretary: To carry out the business and professional transactions of the society. Elected for a one-year period. Members. Any ethical dentist who is a member of the American Dental Association and who is interested in the practice of root canal therapy. Meetings. Third Wednesday of each month. Changes, either for meetings to be held more often or less often, to be made by a majority vote.
Place. Rittenhouse Hotel, through the courtesy of the Dental Clinic Club. The original papers and minutes of the meetings of the study club are in the library of the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. The meetings of the Root Canal Study Club, as it was c:alled, were terminated after the Pearl Harbor tragedy. It is interesting to read the letter of invitation to form the clut) and find that, by implication, there were to be two kinds of members: those who would do research, and those who v,'ould compose the audience and be the critics. Of the 13 letters of invitation that were mailed, 11 accepted and two sent word that they were unable to attend. Who were these 13 prospective members? They were dentists who, at diflerent times, expressed an interest in root canal treatment, which at that time was still tab()() in many areas of the country. The}' all practiced in and around the city of Philadelphia and did not believe in the focal infection theory, which was promulgated by William Hunter, in 1910, and which rook nearly 40 years to die out. There were a number of gold foil study clubs scattered around the country in the 1930s, but not a single root (:anal study club to my knowledge. Although some dentists were beginning to break away from the 100 percenters (those who believed that all pulp-involved or pulpless teeth should be extracted), the medical profession S 41
JOURNAL OF ENDODONTICS ] SPECIAL ISSUE, JANUARY 1982, VOLUME
still looked upon "dead teeth" with a jaundiced eye. The enclosure that was sent with the letter stated that the purpose of the club was not only to have meetings and exchange experiences but also to carry the message to others, and to promote research. Quoting from the minutes, "On February 19, 1940, four members of the study club gave [a series of] clinics before the Lehigh Valley Dental Society at Bethlehem. The following participated: (1) Dr. Ed Subin; (2) Dr. L. I. Grossman; (3) Dr. M. J. Waas; (4) Dr. R. M. Walls." A group clinic was also given before the Philadelphia County Dental Society on March 5, 1941. The first research report was presented at a meeting on April 17, 1940. It dealt with the use of sodium hypochlorite as a solvent of pulp tissue, and was published in The
Journal of the American Dental Association in February 1941. Meetings were held in the rooms of the Philadelphia Dental Clinic Club. The Clinic Club was limited to 50
outstanding members of the dental profession of Philadelphia and environs, and was the subject of a commendatory editorial on "Dental study clubs." The Clinic Club occupied two large rooms in the Rittenhouse Hotel, one for lectures and the other for demonstrations. Through the good graces of their membership, we had permission to use their facilities without charge. Meetings were held monthly except during the summer; during the first year, the essayists were all local dentists who felt thay had something to contribute of interest to the other members. Dues were $1 a year and the usual number of members attending was around 15. During the second year, Dr. E. G. Van Valey of New York City, a former associate of Meyer L. Rhein, drew a crowd of 40 members and guests. He had been informed that his expenses would be paid, but there would be no honorarium. The expenses were $1 for dinner and $5 for transportation from and to
New York. Dr. Maurice Buchbinder was invited later in the year; his expenses ran to $7 because of an additional charge for cab fare. Dr. I. B. Bender and Dr. Samuel Seltzer both joined the study club in June 1939. In fact, the former participated in the discussion at the meeting on June 21, 1939; the subject was "Periapical focal infection," presented by a physician. During the following year or so, Dr. Bender urged me to reactivate the study club. I was ambivalent about it: Was it right to continue a study club which did not contribute to the war effort? But was it right to let it lapse, since after the war we would be just where we were before the war, not having made any advances either in the science or the art of root canal treatment? And, since the study club had aroused interest locally, what were the chances for forming a national organization devoted to root canal therapy? Meetings of the study club were held irregularly after the Pearl Harbor tragedy.
The international community of dentistry is fully aware of the distinguished contributions that Dr. Louis I. Grossman has made to the profession. They are also aware of his untiring efforts in gaining the recognition of endodontics as a respected specialty in the modern practice of dentistry. Some of us are more fortunate to have been his students and to have worked closely with him as teachers and in the laboratory. Under these circumstances, one has the opportunity to know Louis Grossman, the man. To his younger colleagues he may represent the father figure. For some, he is the big brother; helping, guiding, and encouraging us to strive for excellence in all of our efforts. Lou Grossman is young at eighty, with a keen mind and the stamina to continue his research and teaching. The tenth edition of his internationally famous book, Endodontic practice, has just come off the press and he is already preparing for his eleventh edition. George G. Stewart, DDS University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia S 42
History of the Philadelphia Root Canal Study Club: 1939 L o u i s I. G r o s s m a n
DDS, D M D
I think the iirst root canal study club was born in Philadelphia in 1939. However, whether it was the first or the second is not important; what matters is that a group of dentists made the effort to break away from the focal infection theory, which virtually banned root (:anal treatment, and that it was a forerunner of the American Association of Endodontists. I was the founder and secretary of that study club. A copy of the original letter of invitation follows: Because you are interested in root canal therapy, 1 am writing to ask if you would care to help form, and become a member of a Root Canal Study Club. It will be the purpose of this club to study problems connected with root canal therapy and to present clinics so as to help others in practicing this important phase of dentistry more adequately. Active members will undertake to work on some original problem connected with root (:anal therapy, while others will participate in discussions devoted to the subject. It is planned not to have any dues, but real constructive thinking, planning, and original work (or intelligent discussion) will be expected of each member. Meetings will be held monthly, or at such times as may be found desirable by the members. I would appreciate a prompt response indicating whether you are interested in joining such a group and whether you will be able to
devote any time to original work. There was also an enclosure relating to the purpose and function of the club as follows: ROOT CANAL STUDY CI.UB
Name. Root Canal Study Club Purpoae. To stud}, and discuss problems concerned with the practice of root canal therapy, and to disseminate information by lectures and clinics in order to promote more adequate root canal therapy among members of the dental profession. Officers. Chairman to preside at each meeting. Elected for one year. Research Committee: Composed of three members, each one of whom is elected for a three-year period, except for the first year when one member shall be elected for one year only, another for two years, and the third for three years. Elections to be held yearly to fill existing vacancies as they arise. The function of the committee will be to promote, and to assist in planning, original studies for members of the Root (:anal Study Club. Secretary: To carry out the business and professional transactions of the society. Elected for a one-year period. Members. Any ethical dentist who is a member of the American Dental Association and who is interested in the practice of root canal therapy. Meetings. Third Wednesday of each month. Changes, either for meetings to be held more often or less often, to be made by a majority vote.
Place. Rittenhouse Hotel, through the courtesy of the Dental Clinic Club. The original papers and minutes of the meetings of the study club are in the library of the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. The meetings of the Root Canal Study Club, as it was c:alled, were terminated after the Pearl Harbor tragedy. It is interesting to read the letter of invitation to form the clut) and find that, by implication, there were to be two kinds of members: those who would do research, and those who v,'ould compose the audience and be the critics. Of the 13 letters of invitation that were mailed, 11 accepted and two sent word that they were unable to attend. Who were these 13 prospective members? They were dentists who, at diflerent times, expressed an interest in root canal treatment, which at that time was still tab()() in many areas of the country. The}' all practiced in and around the city of Philadelphia and did not believe in the focal infection theory, which was promulgated by William Hunter, in 1910, and which rook nearly 40 years to die out. There were a number of gold foil study clubs scattered around the country in the 1930s, but not a single root (:anal study club to my knowledge. Although some dentists were beginning to break away from the 100 percenters (those who believed that all pulp-involved or pulpless teeth should be extracted), the medical profession S 41
JOURNAL OF ENDODONTICS ] SPECIAL ISSUE, JANUARY 1982, VOLUME
still looked upon "dead teeth" with a jaundiced eye. The enclosure that was sent with the letter stated that the purpose of the club was not only to have meetings and exchange experiences but also to carry the message to others, and to promote research. Quoting from the minutes, "On February 19, 1940, four members of the study club gave [a series of] clinics before the Lehigh Valley Dental Society at Bethlehem. The following participated: (1) Dr. Ed Subin; (2) Dr. L. I. Grossman; (3) Dr. M. J. Waas; (4) Dr. R. M. Walls." A group clinic was also given before the Philadelphia County Dental Society on March 5, 1941. The first research report was presented at a meeting on April 17, 1940. It dealt with the use of sodium hypochlorite as a solvent of pulp tissue, and was published in The
Journal of the American Dental Association in February 1941. Meetings were held in the rooms of the Philadelphia Dental Clinic Club. The Clinic Club was limited to 50
outstanding members of the dental profession of Philadelphia and environs, and was the subject of a commendatory editorial on "Dental study clubs." The Clinic Club occupied two large rooms in the Rittenhouse Hotel, one for lectures and the other for demonstrations. Through the good graces of their membership, we had permission to use their facilities without charge. Meetings were held monthly except during the summer; during the first year, the essayists were all local dentists who felt thay had something to contribute of interest to the other members. Dues were $1 a year and the usual number of members attending was around 15. During the second year, Dr. E. G. Van Valey of New York City, a former associate of Meyer L. Rhein, drew a crowd of 40 members and guests. He had been informed that his expenses would be paid, but there would be no honorarium. The expenses were $1 for dinner and $5 for transportation from and to
New York. Dr. Maurice Buchbinder was invited later in the year; his expenses ran to $7 because of an additional charge for cab fare. Dr. I. B. Bender and Dr. Samuel Seltzer both joined the study club in June 1939. In fact, the former participated in the discussion at the meeting on June 21, 1939; the subject was "Periapical focal infection," presented by a physician. During the following year or so, Dr. Bender urged me to reactivate the study club. I was ambivalent about it: Was it right to continue a study club which did not contribute to the war effort? But was it right to let it lapse, since after the war we would be just where we were before the war, not having made any advances either in the science or the art of root canal treatment? And, since the study club had aroused interest locally, what were the chances for forming a national organization devoted to root canal therapy? Meetings of the study club were held irregularly after the Pearl Harbor tragedy.
The international community of dentistry is fully aware of the distinguished contributions that Dr. Louis I. Grossman has made to the profession. They are also aware of his untiring efforts in gaining the recognition of endodontics as a respected specialty in the modern practice of dentistry. Some of us are more fortunate to have been his students and to have worked closely with him as teachers and in the laboratory. Under these circumstances, one has the opportunity to know Louis Grossman, the man. To his younger colleagues he may represent the father figure. For some, he is the big brother; helping, guiding, and encouraging us to strive for excellence in all of our efforts. Lou Grossman is young at eighty, with a keen mind and the stamina to continue his research and teaching. The tenth edition of his internationally famous book, Endodontic practice, has just come off the press and he is already preparing for his eleventh edition. George G. Stewart, DDS University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia S 42