Wichita dentist | |

It was 1916 when Dr. G.W. Scheer graduated from Washington University School of Dentistry in St. Louis and began the legacy of Scheer Dentistry. After practicing two years in his native Missouri he moved to Wichita, Kansas to marry Grace McIlvain of Augusta, Kansas. He opened his new practice on the second floor of the Bitting Building at Market and Douglas, knowing that the four story building would soon add seven additional floors to become the tallest building in Kansas. In April of 1919 Dr G.W. moved into the eleventh floor suite to become the highest practicing dentist in the state. When he started most Americans were forced to obtain their first dentures in their twenties and thirties due to the ravaging effects of dental cavities and so his generation of dentists worked diligently to solve the problem of cavities. Since anesthetics were rare and inefficient he developed a knack for telling stories to keep his patients distracted from the annoyances of dental procedures. Dr G.W. practiced until three months before his death in 1965.

Dr. Harold Scheer joined his father’s practice after graduating from Washington University with his dental degree in 1945. By this time cavities were much more treatable with silver fillings and gold onlays so people were able to keep their teeth much longer. However, dentists discovered that gum disease would eat the supporting bone of teeth and cause people to lose teeth in their fifties and sixties. Dr. Harold’s generation of dentists now had a new disease to conquer and research shifted to periodontal disease. Dr. Harold was called back into the service in 1950 because of the Korean Conflict, stationed at Hamilton Air Force base in San Francisco treating military dependents. It was during this time that Dr. Harold discovered that a few dentists were sitting down while treating patients. After experimenting with sit-down dentistry he declared he would never stand again! Dr. Harold witnessed the advent of high-speed drills which allowed for much more efficient cutting of teeth, paving the way for the routine use of crowns and bridges as restorations. Dr. Harold retired from dentistry in 2001 to enjoy his wife and ten children, thirty-one grandchildren, and the weekly round or two of golf.

In 1982 Dr. Brick Scheer also graduated from Washington University, immediately joining his father in the downtown location. Dr. Brick recognized the demographics of a changing population and proposed moving the practice from downtown to the suburbs. In 1987 Dr. Harold and Dr. Brick said goodbye to the venerable Bitting building and moved to the current location on Twenty-Ninth Street North. Dentistry had progressed to the point that most Americans could have their teeth a lifetime so the focus shifted to more comfortable, durable and beautiful restorations. In addition, the rise of AIDS dramatically increased the awareness of disease transmission. Dr. Brick was one of the first dentists to abandon the “wet-fingered” approach of dentistry, wearing gloves, glasses and masks for every patient. He was also one of the early dentists to place veneers on teeth to create a “smile makeover,” a procedure he has used for over twenty-five years. In the early nineties he also eliminated silver fillings for the more aesthetically correct composite material used in today’s white fillings. Today Dr. Brick emphasizes education and prevention techniques in an effort to reduce the number of restorations an individual will need in a lifetime.

Future Dr. Brandon Scheer will begin dental school at Indiana University in July of 2009. (Washington University closed its dental school in the early nineties.) Brandon’s contributions to dentistry will probably focus on the use of computers for more accurate diagnosis and treatments, and possibly bio-regeneration of lost tissue, hopefully eliminating the need for restorations entirely. Dentistry is rapidly approaching the point of preventing instead of treating disease, operating in a comfortable and relaxing environment. Scheer Dentistry reaffirms its commitment of putting clients’ well-being above all else, with the promise of maintaining the same level of integrity Wichitans have come to expect over the last ninety years.