Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Fall 2021 - 28

Portrait of a Professional
With Art Dugoni, PCSO, Reno, NV
With Doug Jaul, CAO Board of Directors meeting,
Reno, NV
PW: Unlike most dentists and orthodontists, I
did not choose dentistry early in my education,
but I was always interested in biological science.
I had quality dentistry as a child with Drs.
Wagner (Pedo) and Ban, both of whom were
USC graduates. That certainly was a formative
factor. The main influence was maintaining
friendships with three high school classmates,
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
undergraduate classmates, and two dental
school classmates: Barry Gold, DDS, UCLA; Fred
Horwitz, DDS, UCLA; and Fred's twin, Mike Horwitz,
DDS, USC.
I graduated from UCLA in 1968 with a degree
in zoology. During the summers, I worked as a
propmaker in the Hollywood studios making sets.
Some included sets for the original Wild, Wild
West and Star Trek TV shows.
I continued at UCLA, receiving my DDS in 1972
(eight straight years at UCLA). I am always
appreciative of how good our dental education
was at UCLA. It was a combination of the finest
didactic education and superb clinical instruction;
the atmosphere was great! The faculty wanted
everyone to succeed. In a gamble, the school
went pass/fail in our sophomore year. The school
was rewarded when we took the national board
exam after two years and were the top school in
the nation. UCLA went several years afterward,
attaining the top national board scores. Finally,
tuition was $4,000-for all four years!
I had several faculty mentors in dental school.
Helyn Luechaeur demanded perfection but was
nurturing as well. She became the head of the
California State Board of Dental examiners. Herb
Schillenberg was an excellent fixed prosthetics
instructor. Frank Kratochvil was the inventor of
the " I " bar. He was a stern Navy dentist with a
penchant for occlusion, but we all loved him.
JP: What was your journey to orthodontics?
PW: Immediately after graduation from UCLA,
Linda and I were married. I enlisted in the US Public
Health Service, which is not military but is a
uniformed service, with the same ranking, payroll,
benefits, and so on. I was assigned to the Indian
Health Service in New Mexico.
Linda and I moved to Tohatchi, New Mexico,
spending two years on the Navajo Reservation.
Linda taught English at the local high school
while I practiced general dentistry. Most of the
dentistry was pedodontics, but there was also so
much other dental pathology! I saw more dental
pathology in one year than I would have in 10
years had I gone into private practice.
My second assignment was in Crow Agency,
Montana. Again, Linda taught at the local high
school. The Crow Tribe may have had a greater
need for dentistry than the Navajo. I began to
realize that one cannot be a master of all spe28
PCSO
Bulletin
Fall 2021
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Fall 2021

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