Dr. Donald Ross Makes Veterinary Dentistry A Reality
by Lindsey Oechsle
Though he may not claim to be a man of great foresight, Dr. Donald Ross, TVMA 2007 Practitioner of the Year in Medical Specialty, is a pioneer in Veterinary Dentistry. Paving the way for a now-thriving sector of animal health, Dr. Ross assumes the fateful attitude of stepping up to the challenge throughout a series of circumstances, or in his words, “Just doing what seemed important on a day-to-day basis.”
Dr. Ross claims that his involvement in veterinary dentistry was purely a chance occurrence. Growing up on a small farm and ranch in Huntsville, he remembers that the only man making a living in any agricultural-related activity in his small East Texas town was the local vet. He was accepted to the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine assuming that he would work as a rural large animal vet upon completion. “Well,” he thought, “that certainly beats chasing cross-bred Brahman cattle for the rest of my life.”
After earning bachelor degrees in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Dr. Ross graduated from TAMU-CVM in 1967. To combat the expense of veterinary school, he turned to the military and accepted a commission in the Air Force. At the request for an assignment involving small animal medicine, Dr. Ross was assigned to the Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. It was at the Military Dog Program, that he was introduced to dentistry.
“The old Major came in one day and said, ‘All the Colonels in Vietnam are complaining about all the abysses teeth. Who wants to solve this problem?’ There were six of us there, and nobody raised their hand. You know how it works in the military. When you get asked to be a volunteer, it all rolls down hill, and I was at the bottom of the stack, so I was volunteered to do the dental work, and I got started.”
With no existing academic program in veterinary dentistry, Dr. Ross’ first introduction was “just doing it.” When he reached Lackland, some veterinarians were starting to do root canal procedures, but not without problems. When he was asked to take over, he requested additional training. Dr. John Myers, a board-certified endodontist from the dental staff at the base, worked with young Dr. Ross, explaining endodontics and surgical procedures. Together, they developed a root canal procedure satisfactory for the military dogs.
Dr. Ross was stationed at the base for three years while our country was in the middle of the Vietnam War. During his tour, there were roughly 600-800 German Shepherds on base at any given time, and 200-300 new dogs coming in for evaluations and procurement each month. Dr. Ross describes working with the dogs as an amazing experience. He remembers his first assignment with the student-training group on Medina Base.
“I was giving a health lecture, and part of the demonstration was ‘how to put a pill down a dog.’ One of the Sergeants thought it would be great to get this green, young veterinarian with the meanest dog they had on base, so he led this big German Shepherd in. I was about three weeks out of vet school, and knew nothing about it. Out of pure ignorance, I just walked up, poked the pill down the dog, turned around and walked off.” He paused in reflection and laughed. “Why that dog put up with it, I have yet to figure out, but it got us off to a good start with the sergeants that were handling the dog training.”
During his military career, Dr. Ross’ skill and accomplishments did not go unnoticed, and he received the Junior Officer of the Quarter Award from the Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, among other awards. Additionally, he was selected to participate in an educational film project by Pittman-Moore. He joined several of the country’s best veterinarians in innovative medical and surgical procedures in New York City to film the techniques for which each individual was qualified in. Continuing to evade responsibility for his success, Dr. Ross speaks humbly about his inclusion in the film.
“How they heard about our little endodonic program at the Military Dog School, I have no idea, but they asked me to join the group. Here I was, a little kid two years out of veterinary school, up there filming techniques with some of the top veterinarians in the world at that point. I was in way over my head,” he laughed, “But I certainly enjoyed it, and it proved to be an invaluable thing as far as I was concerned.”
When his tour of duty ended in 1970, Dr. Ross had developed a strong interest in dentistry, but he was unsure how to proceed professionally. Knowing he didn’t want to go back and chase large animals, he turned to Texas A&M for some advice. Although many advisors were skeptical, Dr. J.D. MacCrady stepped up to the plate, suggesting that Dr. Ross continue his education and training in a post-graduate degree. He introduced Dr. Ross to the veterinary dean at the University of Texas Medical Center in Houston where he began a masters program at the UT Dental Branch. There was no program set up to do this, so they deans placed Dr. Ross in the graduate school of biomedical science.
“As the only student doing animal dentistry,” Dr. Ross remembers, “I was expecting all kinds of rough spots along the way through dental school because it was so unusual. The graduate students and the staff must have all thought ‘What in the world is this guy doing here?’”
Dr. Ross and the students got along swimmingly, as their backgrounds proved to be valuable to each other. Most of the graduate students in dentistry were doing animal research programs as part of their thesis, and they were having a hard time keeping their research subjects alive. Dr. Ross proposed a fair agreement, in which he would handle the anesthesia if they would teach him the dentistry. However, after two years in the dental program, Dr. Ross was still in an uncommon position.
“In all honesty, when I got through with the program, nobody knew what I had learned and nobody knew what I had done, but I had completed a master’s thesis in endodontics, and they gave me a degree for it!” Dr. Ross chuckles in surprise, almost as if to say he didn’t deserve it.
Still no academic veterinary dentistry program existed in the country. There were individuals scattered around the country that were interested in dentistry, but no one had any formal training in these subjects. Most of the people out on the lecture circuits within veterinary medicine at that time were actually human dentists that had drifted over and developed an interest in the animal world.
In coordination with Dr. McCrady and others at Texas A&M, Dr. Ross’ original plan was to become qualified from a human dental school to begin an academic career, then return to his alma matter, Texas A&M, and set up a sub-department of surgery to teach dentistry. So when Dr. Ross was handed his diploma from the dental branch, he called A&M and asked, “Okay, what’s next?”
Unfortunately, at that time, A&M wasn’t able to devote the space to set up a dental program, nor did they have the funding to buy any of the necessary equipment. Not wishing to deny Dr. Ross, they proposed that he teach cardiology for a few years until they could work something out.
“Cardiology!?” Dr. Ross bellows with laughter. As if there is no break in the story and no period of re-evaluation, he continues, “So I went down to the largest bank in Houston, walked in the doors and was introduced to the Vice President, because nobody else knew what to do with what I wanted. Within a few minutes talking with this man, he gave me a loan to build a dental clinic for dogs and cats. Looking back on it from this perspective, he must have been crazy,” he laughs, “but he gave me enough money to build my first little clinic here in Houston.”
Dr. Ross built The Houston Veterinary Dental Clinic in Highland Village, just inside loop 610 on Westheimer. Now a bustling upscale shopping center, Dr. Ross built the first veterinary dental clinic in the nation back when the village was a little center on the other side of the tracks. In the beginning, business was slow, and his first receptionist was a female Doberman Pincher named Zin, who Dr. Ross claims was one of the best receptionists he has ever had. She kept out the salesmen and never had a problem with a client or a patient. Most of the early business was referrals from the veterinarians Dr. Ross knew in town. Word spread in the animal world, and an equal development of referrals came from the veterinary community and the breeders and show individuals that were looking for dentistry help. Dr. Ross quickly found that clients and pet owners were not the only groups looking for his assistance.
“From the time I had completed the work at the dental branch and opened my first practice, the requests for Continuing Education programs were just monumental from all across the country. I was spending almost as much time in Continuing Education work as seeing patients when I started, and shortly after I graduated, dentistry really began to get a foothold in veterinary medicine and began to organize and develop,” Dr. Ross concedes, without taking personal credit for his massive contributions to the development.
After three years in his first clinic, Dr. Ross built a combination facility with a group of veterinarians in Southwest Houston and moved his dental practice into one of Houston’s first Animal Emergency Clinics. The clinic grew quickly with the addition of a small veterinary lab that was doing work for several veterinary hospitals in the area. After a period of time, several specialists in dermatology, ophthalmology, radiology and surgery began referral practices in the facility. With 25 veterinarians involved in the clinic in the early 80s, the large number of referral practices outgrew the facilities.
Wanting to create a spay and neuter clinic in Houston, Dr. Ross and two of his classmates branched off and began their own clinics. Starting as neuter core, the clinics gradually evolved into a general practice, and became the PetVet Hospitals, with four hospitals in the Houston area and one in Dallas. As most of Dr. Ross’ decisions, this development became something bigger than he had ever expected.
When the PetVet hospitals were organized, Dr. Ross and his partners were looking to relocate the Dallas facility, and they stumbled upon an exiting coincidence. The real estate group that was helping to find the Dallas PetVet locations happened to be the same agency that PetsMart was using to help them find their first store spaces in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. That realtor suggested that the two groups join efforts. As a result, PetsMart asked Dr. Ross and his partners to take over the development of veterinary hospitals for PetsMart in Texas, which eventually grew to include Colorado, New Mexico, Georgia and the Carolinas.
“We went from just a couple veterinarians running four little hospitals in Houston into major corporate management mode, so for a number of years, a great deal of our time and effort was in the management and development of PetsMart hospitals. About the time we got them going, PetsMart thought they could take them over, so they made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. We sold the hospitals in those states back to PetsMart, and they ran them for themselves until they merged with the current Banfield group.”
The four PetVet Hospitals in Houston are still functioning today, and the group has sold the Dallas location. As an owner in PetVet and participation with the PetsMart groups, dentistry was a part-time occupation of Dr. Ross’ for quite a number of years. It wasn’t until the development of his own practice in the last 5-7 years that dentistry has returned to a full-time occupation for Dr. Ross.
Though Dr. Ross’ early plans for an academic career may not have come full circle, he has managed remain highly involved in many areas of education. When the director of the animal research facility at the UT Dental Branch retired, the school was having a difficult time finding someone with any dental background to fill that position. While Dr. Ross wasn’t particularly interested in the position as a full-time, long-term career decision, he viewed a return to the dental school as an opportunity for continuing education, and he accepted the position on a part-time basis.
“I told them I’d handle it until they found someone that could take the full-time position, and that part-time slot lasted four or five years,” he laughs. “It was a long temporary position as the Director of the Vivarium; a position which carried with it the chairmanship of their Animal Care and Use Committee. It had been kind of a perfunctory committee, and at the time I took the position, the federal government decided it was time for animal care and use committees to get serious about their responsibilities. It was a time of confusion and turmoil within the animal research world.” Dr. Ross continues with his trademark chuckle, “Here I was again, knowing absolutely nothing about it and being asked to take over the chairmanship, but it worked out fine.”
Another area of education that Dr. Ross has enjoyed is his involvement with training and mentorship programs. Specifically, he has directed dental training programs for two individuals, both leading to board certification. Dr. Gary Goldstein is now a member of the AVDC and the Director of Dental Services at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Robert Boyd is also a member of the AVDC and the only other veterinary dental practitioner in Houston.
“At a time when there were no residency programs available anywhere in the country, the College of Veterinary Dentistry created an Alternate Pathway Program whereby the people that were boarded, which almost exclusively at that time were out in private practice as opposed to being in academics, could work with an individual for a number of years and submit case reports,” Dr. Ross explains. “I wound up working with Bob Boyd for a number of years. He passed his boards with flying colors and has been very active in the College ever since.”
In fact, the College itself has been quite active. The College of Veterinary Dentistry has grown to nearly 100 members, a number of which are from countries other than the United States. Organized dentistry started here in the states, but the people that have taken serious interest in dentistry from other countries have come here and received their board certification, and now there are several colleges of dentistry in Europe, Japan, Australia and South America is developing. There are a number of boarded dentists in Canada, but most of them have evolved through the training groups and boarding process of the Veterinary Dental College here in the states.
These training groups and colleges would likely not exist if not for the persistent passion of Dr. Ross, who founded the American Veterinary Dental Society in 1976 and served as the first president. As the society developed rapidly over the next several years, he founded the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, for which he and Dr. Peter Emily, a human dentist out of Denver, were asked to write the first exams, and therefore made honorary members. It wasn’t until 1988 that the AVMA decided to form the American Veterinary Dental College. Along with seven others, Dr. Ross wrote the first exam for the College, of which he is a Charter Diplomate, and was grandfathered in. “So,” Dr. Ross summarizes with a shrug, “I wrote the first exam for the Academy and the first exam for the College.”
As Dr. Ross made great strides in educational development and recognition of veterinary dentistry on an international level, he continued to return to his alma matter. He talked subsequently with A&M about every five or ten years. It wasn’t until March 2006 that the University instilled a dental department in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Clinical Associate Professor, Dr. Jonathon (Bert) Dodd, now holds the position that Dr. Ross envisioned so many years ago, and Dr. Dodd attributes this development to Dr. Ross in support of his nomination for this award.
“It is now 34 years since Dr. Ross tried to establish a dental department at the College of Veterinary Medicine,” states Dr. Dodd, “Dr. Ross was truly ahead of his time and his persistence has benefited so many practitioners. As veterinarians, we all owe a great deal of thanks to this pioneer with such great foresight.”
In his modest nature, Dr. Ross responds, “It’s nice to have people that will lie for you, isn’t it?”
