Jack Fullwiler: Dentistry's new dean in Idaho

<p>Jack Fullwiler, who followed in his father's footsteps, has been practicing dentistry in Coeur d'Alene for 30 years.</p>

by BILL BULEY
Staff Writer | August 15, 2010 9:00 PM

One might assume that when Jack Fullwiler was growing up near Sanders Beach, he probably wasn't allowed candy. After all, his father Richard was a dentist in Coeur d'Alene.

But you would be wrong.

"My dad had a sweet tooth," Jack Fullwiler said, smiling. "We just sort of didn't have it around the house. There was never pop around the house. Candy was kind of a treat. But there were always cookies or something that was sweet. I think he was the worst sweet tooth of us."

But Richard Fullwiler was also the best when it came to keeping teeth clean, white and healthy, and spent nearly four decades as a dentist in the Lake City. His passion was passed on to his son, who's been a dentist for 30 years.

In the past three decades, he estimates he looked into the mouths of thousands of patients, 20-25 each work day. He's pulled his share of teeth, filled many more - and managed to keep his fingers intact.

"What I've always done is prided myself on quality," he said. "I try to meet or exceed expectations of people."

Fullwiler, who employs five at his general practice in Coeur d'Alene, was recently named the president of the Idaho State Dental Association. It means a little extra responsibility in keeping up on the latest procedures, the latest happenings, in the Gem State's dental community.

"I think it's kind of exciting," he said.

The 1965 Coeur d'Alene High School graduate is enthusiastic as ever about his profession, and is partnering in his practice with his step-son, Justin Rader. He's healthy, fit and looking forward to keeping patients smiling.

"I don't have any hobbies I like doing better than dentistry right now," Fullwiler said.

•••

What led you to your career as a dentist?

My father was a dentist. He went through the University of Oregon and graduated in 1951 and came back here and practiced. He was a native, graduated from Coeur d'Alene High. He practiced for 37 years. I practiced for eight years with him.

I originally did not want to be a dentist. I graduated in accounting (from Eastern Washington) and went to Southern California and worked as an accountant.

Accounting and I didn't deal with each other well, even though I had a great job. I worked in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Those were good days. It was sweet. I figured, if I can't deal with it, then I'm not going to do it. So I went back to school at Long Beach State and got into dental school at the University of Pacific and graduated in 1980.

Dentistry didn't appeal to you right away?

It was also one of those things, I didn't want to do the same things my dad did.

So why have you stayed with it?

I really like performing the dentistry. I like helping people, trying to make them more comfortable or look better, whatever they want to do, and I like the interaction with people. After a while, you just become friends. They're kind of your local information. A lot of your information is from these people you've been treating all these years.

Are people still afraid of the dentist?

I don't think so. Modern dentistry is not completely painless, but it isn't too bad. We've learned to just handle situations a lot better. A lot of fear was that people in the past had so much work to do.

People are more healthy now. Their teeth are in better shape. You don't see these terrible, bombed out mouths.

So we are doing better caring for our teeth?

In school, they teach better nutrition and better hygiene, generally. There's a fluoride program here in Kootenai County I think helps. All in all, people are just healthier.

How bad is pop on your teeth?

It's awful. First of all the sugar. The other thing is, soda itself is an acid. Repeated exposure to it, you can tell pop drinkers. A lot of decay right around the gum lines. It really is insidious, besides your teeth, soda's just not very good for you.

You just fight this decay all the time. We say, 'You've got to quit or you're just going to lose your teeth.'

Do you give a lot of advice to patients?

You try to encourage them to be more healthy. Some people just are. Then there are people you go, 'Look, not only are you destroying your teeth, when you start getting all this kind of decay, it's expensive to fix.'

Is health care reform having any affect on your profession?

A lot the laws were written so vaguely, as they're starting to define them right now, we don't know how much affect it's going to have on dental care. They don't even know what's going on with health care generally.

All this health reform actually affects everyone. Everyone's trying to figure out what's going on. It's really interesting. People are trying to predict what's going to happen with oral health care. There's several different ideas of how it's going to end up.

It seems like there are always different and new methods when it comes to good health care, but the overall care of teeth remains brushing and flossing, right?

Yes, that's it. It is pretty simple. Keep your mouth clean. Overall dental care is pretty simple. Floss and brush.

Should teeth last a lifetime?

Absolutely. Some people suffer from gum disease. You can work with it, you can help that out with brushing and flossing. As much as we like to say all this stuff you can prevent, there is such a thing as heredity. As hard as some people work at it, they will still end up with certain problems.

Is there any way to keep kids and adults from candy?

I think all kids like candy. If you have sweets out, they will eat them.

My dad used to give tickets for free ice cream to Dairy Delight to kids who behaved themselves. He used to bribe them with sweets.

Have you ever been bitten by a patient?

I've been bitten, but I don't think I've ever been bitten on purpose. I have gotten my fingers out of the way fast enough. You'll just say close, and you're expecting them to close and they'll go a little quicker than you were ready for.

Was dentistry always a big topic of conversation between you and your dad?

We didn't talk much dentistry until I came back and was a dentist. And then we talked a lot about it. It became a very close bond to us. He loved dentistry. He loved it until the day he retired and missed it. When I talk about the connection with people, he told me that's what he missed most, was seeing his old friends. He sort of had to find new social avenues to see these people.

After he retired he used to come into the office two to three times a week for years and years just to check on things.

How was his advice?

He always gave good advice. He was real level headed and liked people. He always was good at how to handle certain situations, especially when I started out with him. It wasn't so much technique stuff, it was handling people. It's about people. It's about making people happy. The technical part you can do. Some people are better than others. But what you really need to do is make people happy.

How is it working with your step-son?

I'm mentoring him like I was mentored. They can only teach you so much in dental school. They basically teach you how to pass your boards. There's all these other things you have to pick up on your own. Through the years I had great mentors. My father, there were several other really good dentists I looked up to, who taught me things.

Are you glad you followed in your dad's footsteps?

It turned out this was the right profession for me. I took a long route to get here, but it's where I should be.

Family: Wife, Ruth. Three step-children.

Date of birth: Aug. 12, 1947

Education: North Idaho College, Eastern Washington University, Long Beach State, University of Pacific in San Francisco.