Contributions of MDDS
to the Community
MDDS has played a leading role in the history of dentistry in Colorado and remains a national leader in dentistry to this day. To list all the awards and achievements of MDDS members over the past 110 years would be an endless task. Following please find a brief summary of several highlights and accomplishments.
In 1912, MDDS dentists founded the Denver Public Schools Clinic, known today as Kids In Need of Dentistry or KIND. KIND provides a full range of dental care for children ages 18 and younger from non-Medicaid, low-income families and has been used as a model for similar programs throughout the United States. MDDS also played a pivotal role in starting the Howard Dental Center, which opened its doors in 1994. The mission of the Howard Dental Center is to improve the quality of life of medically indigent individuals living with HIV and AIDS by providing compassionate, professional dental care in a private practice setting. In 1997, Dr. William Pfeifer, Past President of MDDS, received the ADA Access Recognition Award for his contributions in founding the Howard Center.
MDDS membership is proud to claim the late Dr. Miles Markley, who was well known throughout the United States for his pioneering research in restorative dentistry. The late Dr. William Hiatt, who achieved national recognition for his work in periodontics, was also an MDDS member. The great Dr. Gordon Chistensen once made his home in Denver, and one of the foremost periodontal experts in the country, Dr. Robert Schallhorn, is still a member in good standing of MDDS.
Some of the very first specialists in Colorado practiced their specialties in Denver, including Dr. Arthur Ketchum, the first Colorado orthodontist; Dr. Paul Barker, the first Colorado dentist to specialize in pediatric dentistry; Dr. Clyde Smedley, who limited his practice to prosthodontics in 1910. Clyde was the son of William Smedley, who was not only one of the founders and the first president of MDDS (known as the Denver Dental Association at its inception in 1897), but also served as the first president of the Colorado State Dental Association when it began in 1887. On May 23, 2000 Dr. Roberta Shaklee, a Denver periodontist, became the first MDDS woman president in the society's long history and one of but a handful in the U.S. She was also the first University of Colorado School of Dentistry graduate to assume executive office.
Always seeking out ways of assisting others to increase access to dental care, the Smile Again Program, established in 2002, is a community service project of Metropolitan Denver Dental Society member dentists that offers cost-free dental care to qualifying disadvantaged survivors of domestic violence in Denver in an effort to restore oral health and assist in recovery. The Program was awarded a 2004 Award of Excellence from the American Society of Association Executives, the 2006 Center for Work Education and Employment Partner of the Year Award and the Colorado Healthcare Communicators award for excellence in Diversity Health Disparity Programming.
The Metro Denver Dental Foundation was established in 2005 as a supporting organization of the Metro Denver Dental Society, the Foundation’s mission is to advance awareness and education for improved oral health and to enhance access to dental care for all populations served by MDDS member dentists.
The Rocky Mountain Dental Convention, the region's largest continuing education opportunity for dental professionals, celebrates its 102nd anniversary in 2009.
