Editors Note: The WSDA recently lost another incredibly respected WSDA member: dentist, editor and educator Dr. Vincent G. Kokich, Sr. passed away suddenly on July 24. After retiring in 2010, Kokich was preparing to return to his role as educator at the UWSoD. Always a consummate professional, it has been said that Kokich would rather have been remembered first as a devoted family man and second, a teacher. A renowned educator, scholar, researcher and a leading advocate of interdisciplinary dentistry, Dr. Kokich was a prominent lecturer, having presented more than 950 lectures throughout the world. We asked colleagues to comment about their experiences with this titan of dentistry. His obituary follows their remarks. I knew he was different. That first Gross Anatomy test in our first year of dental school (1967) had the handwriting on the wall that a knowingness set Vince apart from everyone else from the get go. To those who knew Vince, perhaps the most significant clinical dental teacher of all time, the Gross Anatomy test was his birth. I think our professor’s name was Dr. Harry Kashiwa. He walked to the front of the class, disgusted with class’ performance on our first practical. However, the professor said, that there was a Mr. Kokichi that had excelled. We all looked around and no Mr. Kokichi. Then Vince Kokich sheepishly raised his hand as he thought it might be him. It was. Vince was first our #1 learner and he had become dentistry’s #1 teacher. In our third year, Vince and I were selected into Dr. Paul Hines “honors gums” as we called it. Dr. Hines put us onto Bob
Dr. Vince Kokich was an amazing educator and even more gracious and kind person. His desire to help others in their lives surpassed most other teachers I have known. He elevated the profession by bringing fact based clinical experience to his teaching and helped revolutionize the orthodontic specialty. We have lost him way too early and our hearts go out to his family at this very difficult time. He will always be in our memory as one of the best we have known. — Drs. Bryan and Linda Edgar Vince was a great teacher and even better person. He had a way of taking complex subject matter and breaking it down into understandable and usable information. He was always quick to smile and had such a warm and inviting personality that you immediately felt comfortable with him even if you just met him. He gave so much of himself to the UW School of Dentistry and alumni that it’s hard to express the immense appreciation that those of us involved in the school have for what he has done. The practicing community will miss him deeply. — Dr. Mark Walker The word that I think of with Vince is “teacher.” Unlike many lecturers he would make an interesting point, and then answer the resulting questions from the point often before the audience could raise their hands. I realized that he not only put on a nice lecture but that he had spent the time to anticipate possible questions and answer
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them on the very next slide. That ability to share what he knew and explain it so thoroughly was what made him a great teacher. — Dr. Greg Ogata I had the professional satisfaction of working with Vince for 35 years. As a full time practicing pediatric dentist he was the primary orthodontic referral for my patients. I also had the honor of being a part of the northwest network for dental excellence study group. This study group met monthly for most of those 35 years to review and treatment plan complex cases and to learn from each other. Vince, Dave Mathews, Frank Spear, Ralph O’Connor, John West, Bob Dunley, Dave Steiner, and I forged a professional and personal bond that transcends all understanding. It paved the way for the development of interdisciplinary dentistry as we have come to know it. We came to respect, value, love, and challenge each other in a way that is indescribable and incomprehensible. His death has left a void in my professional life and a hole in my heart. His final chapter and book are written. He was a one of a kind. — Dr. Daniel Cook Dr. Kokich was a pillar in Washington’s dental community. He was not only a tremendous educator, who instilled his passion and excitement for dentistry in all his students, but his generosity and advocacy for the profession was unmatched. He will truly be missed. — Dr. Danny Tremblay
Dr. Vincent G. Kokich Sr.
Dr. Vincent G. Kokich,Sr., longtime Washington dentist and WSDA member, died on July 24. He was 68. Kokich retired from private practice in 2010, but was in the process of renewing his license so that he could once again teach orthodontics at the UWSoD — he was a University of Washington School of Dentistry alumnus and a professor of orthodontics at the school dating to the mid1970s. Dean Joel Berg said, “As a faculty member, he was instrumental in helping our School establish its reputation as one of the world’s premier centers of orthodontics education. It is incredibly difficult to measure this loss. Vince Kokich will be missed profoundly by all of us.” A lifelong resident of Tacoma, he attended Lowell Elementary, Mason Junior High and Stadium High School. He graduated
in memoriam drs. kokcih, foreman, reichelt and smith
Dr. Vincent G. Kokich, Sr.
Barclay, the father of preventive dentistry. Vince was a visionary. He wondered “why are we cutting off sick gums. Like Barclay says, we should teach them plaque control and then their perio surgery might actually help the patient instead of a requirement for the students.” This process has lasted until today. Vince and I, with the help of our wives, made a “Save the Teeth” syllabus identifying the four stages of gum disease which are designations still used today in periodontal disease sequencing. Vince was a visionary. He was a master teacher. He was interested in you. He listened like no other. He was a good father and a thoughtful, loving husband. His focus was family. He lived balance. But most of all, he was a friend, and whenever anyone spent a little time with Vince, they always felt better afterwards. I will miss you forever, Vince, and I know the gifts you gave us will last in our hearts and our children’s hearts. You did do it your way. — Dr. John West