Changing of the Guard in Pittsburgh: C. Richard Bennett, DDS, PhD, Retires

Abstract

Leonard Monheim graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 1933 and then signed up for a 1-year hospital internship at the University of Cincinnati. After spending a 1-month rotation in anesthesia under the direction of Frances Foldes, MD, he was forever hooked on anesthesia as a career. Dr Monheim spent the next 3 years with Dr Foldes learning to be an anesthesiologist before returning to Pittsburgh to begin his anesthesia practice. From 1942 to 1946, Dr Monheim served in the US Army and was stationed in the Philippines, where he taught intravenous deep sedation techniques called chemamnesia to Army Corpsmen. Upon his return to Pittsburgh, Dr Monheim was the only trained anesthesiologist in Presbyterian Hospital for many years. He founded the Department of Anesthesiology at the dental school, the first in any dental school in the United States, and developed a 1-or 2-year general anesthesia residency for dentists. Along with several other visionaries, including Ohio State’s Morgan Allison, he was one of the founding fathers of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology in 1953.C. Richard Bennett, DDS, PhD, graduated from dental school at The Ohio State University in 1963, where he learned the basics of anesthesia, pain, and anxiety control from Morgan Allison. He then studied anesthesiology and pharmacology under Dr Monheim at the University of Pittsburgh and received a PhD degree from that institution in 1967. Dr Bennett subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology, which was still under the pioneering leadership of Dr Monheim. Upon Dr Monheim’s untimely death in 1971, Dr Bennett assumed the chairmanship of the department and has remained in that position for the past 35 years. During that time, Dr Bennett trained scores of dentist anesthesiologists in his general anesthesiology residency that eventually became a 3-year program, and he educated thousands of dental students to understand the huge need and demand for advanced anesthesia training for dentists. In addition to his duties in the dental school, Dr Bennett also served as a staff anesthesiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals for 25 years. He authored 5 textbooks and was a contributing author to 20 other textbooks on anesthesia and related topics. He has also lectured extensively in North America, Central America, and South America as well as in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Russia. He is now retiring as professor and chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine after spending the past 43 years there as a resident, graduate student, and faculty member.Fortunately, 2 of his former residents have been recruited to ensure that the Monheim-Bennett anesthesiology program legacy will continue to flourish. Paul A. Moore, DMD, PhD, MPH, has been named chair of the Department of Anesthesiology to succeed Dr Bennett. Dr Moore earned a DMD, PhD in Pharmacology, and Masters degree in Public Health in Epidemiology and completed an anesthesiology residency, all in Pittsburgh. He is widely known for his research abilities and has received the International Association for Dental Research’s prestigious Distinguished Scientist Award. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Dental Association and has authored more than 125 articles on clinical pharmacology and dental therapeutics in peer-reviewed journals.Another illustrious Pittsburgh-trained dentist anesthesiologist is Joseph Giovannitti, DMD, who developed a very successful private practice of anesthesiology for patients of other dentists in the Dallas–Fort Worth area before being lured back to Pittsburgh. He sold his practice and has been hired full time in the anesthesia department as the anesthesia director of the new special needs clinic, which should be ready for patients within the year. Dr Giovannitti is a former member of the board of directors of the American Dental Board of Anesthesiology and received the Monheim Award in 2002, the highest honor bestowed by the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists. He is a highly experienced anesthesia clinician who also has research and publication experience.We should all be very thankful for all that C. Richard Bennett has done for anesthesiology in dentistry. We congratulate him for keeping a bright flame burning on the candle of anesthesiology training for dentists that Leonard Monheim lit so many years ago. With this changing of the guard, we trust that Dr Moore, Dr Giovannitti, and others will continue the tradition that has been a distinguishing characteristic of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine for more than 50 years. Richard, congratulations for a job well done. Your program is in good hands. Enjoy your retirement.