Winter 99 Portrait of a Professional

Dr. John Grubb was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The son of a pharmacist, he grew up in a small town near Annapolis. At his first school, all six elementary grades were taught in one room. New schools were built as he entered middle school and high school. Dr. Jerry Nelson interviewed the new PCSO President by telephone on November 6, 1999.

Jerry: From Maryland to Southern California?

John: It’s a long story, but it starts with golf. My father gave me a set of clubs, and I developed a friendly relationship with them. I was offered a sports scholarship at the University of Maryland. I entered the School of Pharmacy, and played golf for the university.

Jerry: How did pharmacy lead to dentistry? Did you ever work as a pharmacist?

John: Only part time. I finished the pharmacy program, and played some in major amateur golf tournaments during that summer. Meanwhile, my mind was percolating about my future. I took a pilot’s training test at Lackland AFB and passed. I tested for the FBI agent program and was accepted. But a friend of our family was a dentist and encouraged me to apply to Georgetown University dental school, and arranged an interview with Dean Murto. I had not even applied, but I agreed to go to the interview. This was in August, and Dean Murto invited me to begin dental school four weeks later, which charged $3,000 tuition, and an equipment package of $1,500.

Jerry: At UCSF, the selection process is a little different these days. (And so is the tuition!)

John: At USC as well.

Jerry: Was Georgetown competitive?

John: Yes, very! We started clinic patients in the third year. Somehow, I was one of the 80 students out of the freshman class of 150 students who remained to start the clinic program. They only had 80 clinic chairs, so you knew the class would be seriously thinned out before junior year.

Jerry: Was this during the Vietnam War?

John: Yes. Just at the beginning of the conflict. Many of us signed up for the reserves so that we would have a choice of which service to go into. I signed up for Navy reserve because I liked the uniform. Each summer I attended an officer orientation program. The first was at Annapolis, then the submarine base in Connecticut, and finally on the U.S.S. Forrestal (retired to Newport in 1993).

Jerry: So after graduation you entered the Navy?

John: I was selected for the Navy Internship Program, which was in Oakland, Calif., at Oak Knoll Hospital. There were six two-month rotations, which did not include orthodontics. My first rotation was oral surgery; then anesthesia. I was supposed to go to periodontics, and then to prosthodontics, but both department heads were transferred out without a replacement, so I remained in anesthesia for the rest of the program. After the internship (this was when President Johnson announced he would not seek re-election). I was put aboard an LPH helicopter carrier, USS Tripoli, as the Dental Department Head. I was based in San Diego, and my family and I arrived in June, and I was shipped out in August, at the beginning of the Tet offensive. While in Vietnam, a surgical team visited our ship, noticed that I had extensive anesthesia training, and I suddenly was with the surgical team, no longer a dental officer. I spent a year with them, and saw many amazing surgeries.

Jerry: Was that the end of the service for you?

John: There was one more year, and it was pretty pleasant. My C.O. knew I was a golfer, and we often played together. When we came back to San Diego, I qualified for the All Navy Golf Team, and I was "forced" to play golf for the remaining year of my Naval Service. I was on call to play with Naval and government dignitaries who passed through San Diego, and I traveled with the golf team.

Jerry: How did orthodontics come to you.

John: That’s a good way to put it. My career is dotted with chance. I like to grab the good things that pass my way. I’m sort of a free spirit.

While in the Navy, I could see that general dentistry was not going to last me as a career. I strongly considered oral surgery, but four of my Naval colleagues, Denny Turner, Mark Simon, Jerry Prohaska, and Dale Wade, were talking about applying to orthodontic programs.

Jerry: That’s quite a lineup of prominent orthodontists.

John: Yes, and I was influenced by their ideas. I decided to apply to both to an oral surgery and orthodontic specialty program and sign up for the first offer. As soon as I sent off the applications, we were called to be a part of the Bold Mariner Operation, code name for a Vietnam sortie. I was out of contact for two months. When I got back and read my mail, I found a month-old telegram from Dick Rieidel, offering me a spot at the University of Washington if I respond- ed by a certain date, which had passed. I called him up and was relieved to hear him say I could be included in the class. I accepted.

Jerry: And the oral surgery application?

John: I was accepted two weeks later, and turned it down.

Jerry: Who was in your ortho class?

John: Don Joondeph, Jean-Pierre Joho, Denny Turner, Mark Simon, Dick Went, Doug Cameron, Paul Fraser, Paul Anderson, and Helga Zimmer-man. We had the most amazing faculty, including Dick Reidel, Al Moore and Paul Lewis.

Jerry: I take it you liked the program.

John: Jerry, let me say this. Every achievement I have ever made in orthodontics is built on what those professors and that program provided me! At the University of Washington, I learned to think, to reason for myself. No teacher had ever asked for that before. There was never any negativity. We were expected to work, to learn, to hone our powers of logic. When I asked Dr. Moore why do we need a master’s degree to be a clinical orthodontist, he let me know that he expected me to be smart enough to take a golden opportunity to learn. And that was all there was to say.

Jerry: Any other highlights from your residency?

John: Paul Lewis really knew how to finish cases. He set the highest standards for us. Bill McNeill was another star; one of the brightest people in orthodontics. He was very honest, pointing out my shortcomings and my strengths.

Jerry: Let’s take a turn here. How were you lucky enough to marry Sandy?

John: Something hit us both in the supermarket line. She was the mother of one of my patients, and we struck up a conversation and walked out to the parking lot together, where I introduced her to my girlfriend, who was waiting in the car. I couldn’t leave it there, though, and later called her, using my best pickup line, ’Are you married?‘ She said, ’No. Are you?‘’ Well, with that established, one thing led to another.

Jerry: I don’t have a count yet, but it sounds like there are a few kids in this blend.

John: It all adds up to seven, five from me and two from Sandy. Their ages range from 22 to 36; we have two flight attendants, a park ranger, an engineer, a marketing director for a national firm, a teacher, and a recent college graduate. Oh, and one four-year-old granddaughter.

Jerry: Since I have a similar family situation, I know it is a rich and busy life. How did you get to Chula Vista? Snatch another leaf out of the wind?

John: In a way, yes. Classmate Dick Wendt’s in-laws lived in San Diego, and an orthodontist friend, Ed Kemler, wanted Dick to come to work for him. Dick decided against that, but asked me if I would consider talking to Ed. I’m glad I did.

Jerry: Did Ed hire you?

John: Interestingly, he wanted his practice covered for six weeks while he took his family around the U.S. in a motor home, but no plans for a job after that. He said if any patients needed to start, I could go ahead. While he was gone, I started 15 patients. When he returned, he let these patients be the start of my practice in his office. So he took me in as a partner. We maintained separate practices for 12 years, when I went out on my own.

Jerry: Did you like working for Dr. Kemler?

John: Yes, absolutely! Ed was not well known in national orthodontic circles; he was simply a superb clinician. Every case was finished ideally. He had taken the Tweed course with Charles Tweed in the 60s, and passed his ABO shortly after. He guided me carefully, pushing me to take the ABO early in my career, but making sure the cases I presented were up to snuff. He told me I had to not just pass my ABO, but be selected to show my cases. With his help, that’s what happened.

Jerry: You have gone through the chairs in your local Angle Society. How were you first invited to join?

John: I joined a mutual assistance group with Wayne Watson, Dennis McKee, and Rick McLaughlin. They sponsored me.

Jerry: You have been on faculty at USC since 1993. You and Peter Sinclair co-direct the ortho-gnathic surgery program. It sounds like a very strong program.

John: I would agree. We have a solid connection with four surgeons, Tim Smith, Mark Kohn, Duke Yamashita, and Ron Kaminishi, who lecture, see patients, and attend the surgery conference every week. As a result, our students are exposed to a high number of orthognathic cases. Naturally, many of these patients also require input from the periodontists and the prosthodontists, so our interdisciplinary program is also quite respectable.

Jerry: We hear good things about the USC orthodontic program.

John: Our department chair, Peter Sinclair, has stated his mission: "To set the standard, and lead the way." He believes in it and so do we as faculty and residents. His strength is organization, and that empowers achievement. He has an incredible mastery of the literature, and he supports his faculty and respects the residents. Our morale is very high. I think Dr.Sinclair is the one of the finest academicians in the world today!

Jerry: I am curious about your practice. I know you feel technology is a tool for achieving excellence in orthodontics.

John: I’m going to let you talk to our office manager, also my wife, Sandy Grubb.

Jerry: Hello, Sandy, I am grateful that you can speak with me. I understand the practice has new quarters.

Sandy: Yes, we just moved into the new office in January, 1999. We also have a partner, Dr. Kami Hoss, a USC graduate. Both Kami and John see patients four days each week. The partnership is a wonderful thing, because it gives both men a more flexible schedule, which allows John to lecture. Dr. Hoss‘ spouse is a pediatric dentist, who shares our building with us.

Jerry: What is your take on the practice?

Sandy: I have been an office manager for nine years. What impresses me the most is John’s persistence to finish each case to the best standards, regardless of the fees. He does a significant amount of pro bono work and these patients are treated like everyone else. I think he has the best practice in Chula Vista, and it is built on quality results. The local dentists know this is his goal, and they support him for it. We also get a large share of the complex cases, both from our town and from areas 30 to 40 miles away.

Jerry: How does technology fit in?

Sandy: We are thoroughly wired. We have an orthodontic management software system, a web page, and inter-office video conferencing, which is a very powerful aid to inter-disciplinary treatment planning. We have installed a complete digital x-ray system for panograms and cephalograms, and all our photographs are digital. Dr. David Hatcher and John have been working on a project to include 3-D x-ray imaging.

Jerry: Do you work with insurance companies?

Sandy: We complete and submit the forms, but we are basically fee-for-service. We have no managed care agreements.

Jerry: Thank you for your contribution, Sandy. I now would like to ask John to give us his vision for the PCSO during his Presidency.

John: There has been such a talented string of PCSO Presidents over the past decade, and they, along with their volunteer Board members, have brought many excellent changes to the PCSO. Any incoming president has a wonderful legacy to work from. I plan some refinements of existing programs in five areas:

• Continuing Education. Our first mission is to provide excellent continuing education. To me, this means we must excite the members with our courses. We need vitality. Lee Boese has been extremely effective leading us in this direction. There is more to come.

We need to centralize our educational program. It will help us attract better speakers, and have more clout in this increasingly competitive market.

• President’s Lecture. I plan to initiate a PCSO President’s Lecture; sort of PCSO’s version of the Salzman or Mershon Lectures. We would honor a highly respected orthodontist with the invitation to address the PCSO at the Annual Session.
• PCSO Web Site. I hope to see this project realized this year. We have a great committee working on it , and you will soon see the results. I hope to have some continuing education on the site.
• PCSO Strategic Planning. We will continue to work on the strategic plan, focusing on issues such as: Access to orthodontic delivery; the newly emerging gender equality in the specialty; the crumbling of racial stereotypes, the large indebtedness of graduates.
• PCSO Board Effectiveness. I don’t like to waste time at meetings, and we are working on a re-organization of the Board meeting protocol. We have engaged an expert to help us. I am looking forward to streamlining this.

Jerry: Any words of wisdom for the newer orthodontists out there?

John: I’ll keep is short and sweet:

• Go where you want to live.
• No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
• Quality, quality, quality! The rewards will follow.

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