Lynn D Carlisle, DDS

This year marks the 30th year since Bob Barkley's death in 1977 at age 46 in a tragic small plane crash in west-central Illinois. During this year, "In a Spirit of Caring" is honoring Bob Barkley and his work in dentistry, by publishing or re-publishing articles he wrote. His groundbreaking work on preventive dentistry, participative dental practice management, team building, re-inventing dental education and the selection, hiring and training of team members and the selection and training of dental students still ripples in dentistry today.

This year marks the 30th year since Bob Barkley's death in 1977 at age 46 in a tragic small plane crash in west-central Illinois. He was on his way home from a speaking engagement. Bob was born on August 23, 1930. He practiced in a university town of 13,000 people, Macomb IL, close to Ipava where he grew up.

Here is how Barkley described Macomb and Ipava."Where in the world is Macomb, Illinois?' I am often asked. 'Macomb is the largest town between Ipava and the Mississippi River,' is my reply." (A whopping distance of 70 miles.)

I still remember the time and place I heard about his death from Loren Miller, DDS who was Director of the Pankey Institute at the time. I was shocked and saddened when I heard of his death. Bob was one of my prime mentors.

From my perspective today as a 65 year old with 45 years in dentistry, I am in awe at how much he accomplished in his approximately 20 years as a dentist. I know of no one in dentistry who accomplished so much at such an early age. He had developed his innovative disease control program by his mid 30's.

In Pankey's definition, he was a master. He could write about, talk about and do the finest and best dentistry - technically and behaviorally.

In Pankey's definition, he was a master. He could write about, talk about and do the finest and best dentistry - technically and behaviorally.

During this year, "In a Spirit of Caring" will be honoring Bob and his work, by publishing or re-publishing articles he wrote. I have also asked several people (including the members of the ISOC advisory board) who were deeply influenced by his work to write articles on Bob.

His groundbreaking work on preventive dentistry, participative dental practice management, team building, re-inventing dental education and the selection, hiring and training of team members and the selection and training of dental students still ripples in dentistry today. I am amazed at how current it still is in it's application to the above areas and how dentistry as a whole has not integrated his work.

Bob Frazer has stated "There never has been a dental box office attraction like Barkley was in his day. Today only Gordon Christensen would have rivaled him. A master storyteller who wove humor into his poignant stories, he regularly spoke to audiences of 800 to over 2,000."

I continue to receive requests for information on Bob Barkley and his work, including his book "Successful Preventive Dental Practices". His widow Willa Barkley Jefferson and step-son Doug Reese are planning on republishing this book in late 2007. His articles are among the most read on ISOC.

At the time of his death, Bob was planning to write a new book titled "Humanistic Dentistry". He was excited about the new developments in organizational psychology and the research on helping relationships in humanistic psychology and how they applied to the practice of dentistry.

He more than anyone else, introduced the importance of psychology and the behavioral sciences in practicing dentistry.

Willa Barkley Jefferson and Doug Reese have given ISOC permission to publish the manuscript "On Becoming a Humanistic Dentist". This manuscript is the last known article he wrote prior to his death and it provides a glimpse of his thinking at the time of his death.

Bob Barkley was the major influence on my generation of dentists (but most did not truly understand what he wrote and talked about). Anytime his name comes up in a discussion, my generation of dentists will light up and relate a story of how he influenced them. They mainly will repeat one of Bob's stories and it's meaning to them. As Bob Frazer said, he was a charismatic master storyteller.

Many of these stories are in the articles he wrote and I am sure many of the people I have asked to write about Bob Barkley will repeat these stories.

Those of you who do not know Bob Barkley or his work will enjoy getting to know him and learn from him as his articles are republished and people write about his influence on them.

Those of you who did know him and were influenced by his work will enjoy re-experiencing Bob and his vision for dentistry.

If you wish to add your thoughts about Bob Barkley and his influence on you, I encourage you to use the discussion forum for short posts or send me your article(s) in MS Word or Word Perfect by e-mail and I will review it and probably publish it. My e-mail address is webmaster@spiritofcaring.com

Or of you only have a printed copy, please snail mail them to me at:

Lynn Carlisle, DDS
1276 Crystal Bluffs Loop
Carbondale, Co 81623

Please e-mail me at webmaster@spiritofcaring.com to let me know you are sending them.

If you have tapes or videos of Bob Barkley please send them to his step-son Doug Reese, who is the archivist for the Barkley materials. E-mail him at wealthassociates@earthlink.net to find out how and where to send them.

Related Articles

·  Bill Brown's top ten most influential dentists -- Part I ·  Anatomy of a top relationship-based dental practice ·  The behavioral origins of the Co-Diagnosis, New Patient Dental Examination Experience. ·  Bud Ham's tribute to Bob Barkley - a unique perspective ·  Rich Green, DDS reflects on Bob Barkley's impact on him and dentistry ·  How to build effective interpersonal relationships with dental patients and team members.