Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program Receives $100,000 Gift

01/11/2018

The Center for Advanced Dental Education (CADE) received a $100,000 gift to its Pediatric Dentistry Program from a SLU alumnus and his family.

Pediatric Dentistry Program donors and CADE leadership

(From left) John Hatton, D.M.D., professor and executive director of the Center for Advanced Dental Education (CADE), Joe Vonderhaar, Elizabeth Vonderhaar, M.D., Lisa Vonderhaar, Edward Howenstein, D.D.S. (Dentistry ’52), Kathleen Howenstein, and Daniel Stoeckel, D.D.S, pediatric dentistry program director. Submitted photo

The gift will provide six new dental chairs, three handicapped accessible doors, two 2 Airbex NOMAD X-ray machines and a digital camera from Edward Howenstein, D.D.S. (Dentistry ’52) and his wife, Kathleen, during the fall semester.

The gift honors the couple’s son, Randy Howenstein, who died in 1985.

SLU's Pediatric Dentistry Program trains residents to treat children with complex medical conditions and those with dental needs. The program, six years in the making, began on July 1, 2017. It is the only residency program of its kind in eastern Missouri or southern Illinois, and will serve children referred from SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's hospital, among others.

The two-year graduate program provides dentists with the chance to receive clinical experience and specialized study in treating children, including advanced diagnostic and surgical procedures, oral pathology, child-related pharmacology, child development and how to care for patients with special needs among other topics.

“We are pleased to see the growth of the Center for Advanced Dental Education and happy to have this opportunity to give something back to SLU,” Edward Howenstein said.

“It’s exciting to see the school build on its legacy of training dentists through this new Pediatric Dentistry Program," he continued. "We decided to make our leadership gift because it’s important to us to help launch the resident training program as well as the clinic to provide dental care for any child in need, including cleft palate treatment.”

The Center for Advanced Dental Education’s mission is to achieve the highest level of excellence in scholarship and patient care while educating dentists in the specialties of orthodontics (tooth straightening), endodontics (root canal treatment), periodontics (gum disease therapy) and pediatric dentistry. The center aims to serve its students, the profession of dentistry, the community of St. Louis, and the communities in which the graduates of CADE will practice their dental specialty.

Saint Louis University is a world-class Catholic, Jesuit institution educating nearly 13,000 students on two dynamic, urban campuses - in St. Louis, Missouri, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818, the University is now celebrating its bicentennial.

With a legacy of innovative academics and research, compassionate health care and faithful service, Saint Louis University attracts a diverse community of scholars who push intellectual boundaries in pursuit of creative, meaningful ways to impact the world, striving to serve a higher purpose and seek a greater good.