Dr. Max Listgarten

November 4, 2008 11:21 am Published by

Dr. Max Listgarten, now retired and living near his children in San Francisco, led the University of Pennsylvania Department of Periodontics for a generation.
At Penn he created the Microbiological Testing Lab (MTL) which received and analysed bacterial samples taken from perio patients. MTL offered appropriate chemotherapeutic agents (antibiotics) to referring dentists that were most likely to succeed in treating a given type of periodontal infection.
The Oral Cavity is a major gatekeeper for the billions of viruses and bacteria that infiltrate our body each day. These microorganisms could have a much more central role in our daily lives than anyone can now contemplate.
Dr. Listgarten laid a foundation in researching and understanding the relationship between the oral cavity, periodontium and systemic disease. Max also worked with Dr. Jan Lindhe, another periodontist and former Dean at both University of Pennsylvania and University Goteborg.
Anyone seeking to know where dentistry will be in thirty years should study what these geniuses were doing thirty years ago. Their work may not be easily accessible online but it is worth the trip to a dental school library and dust off a hardcopy journal on a rack.

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