Experiences in Dental School

The College of Physicians and Surgeons had a great reputation but the building was an old 5 story building made of wood on 14th and Mission Street in San Francisco. The anatomy was on the top floor where they kept the cadavers. We had one cadaver for every two students. The first year you would dissect from the neck down to the feet and the second year you would dissect from the neck up. The fourth story was the junior laboratories and dental supply store. The third floor was the junior dental clinic and some classrooms and offices. The second floor had the senior clinic and the auditorium and the business offices. The basement had the bathrooms and lockers. It had an ominous look to it. The equipment was very old. The chairs were old fashioned and worn. The wooden floors had mercury and gold in the cracks.

We had some very interesting professors. One we called the Skull because he looked like a skull. He taught Physiology and Pharmacology. He was famous for flunking students out. Dr. Lester taught Biochemistry of the Teeth. He was the only person who wrote a book on Biochemistry of the Teeth. He was very fair and good professor. Our class was full of pranksters.

When I was a senior my chair was in front of the examining room. There were always a lot sitting there waiting to go into the examining room. Mine was an old fashioned chair that had a pedal that would lower the back of the chair in case some one fainted. I had this little old chubby lady that came in dressed fit to kill with a colorful dress, hat, gloves and lots of make up. I put her in my chair and examined her. I was explaining to her what her dental problems were when I accidentally hit the peddle that let down the back of the chair. The back dropped down, she rolled backwards out of the chair onto the floor in front of all the people sitting there. Her dress was up over her head. She gets up, pulls her dress down, fixes her hat and gets back in the dental chair without saying a word.

Margo was a madam of ill repute who started coming to the dental school to be worked on when I was a junior. She was assigned to Walt Stoniam whose chair was next to mine. She was sitting there on day in Walt's chair with a fur coat on. I asked her, "Why don't you take that fur coat off, it's hot in here?" She opened to coat up and she was naked underneath.