Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2017 - 47

Portrait of a Professional

Dr. Barbara Sheller
Seattle Children's Hospital
Dr. Bruce Hawley
PCSO Bulletin Contributing Editor

For many years, Seattle Children's Hospital (SCH)
has been a major regional center in the northwestern U.S. for complex pediatric medical and
dental care. Recently, Contributing Editor Bruce
Hawley interviewed SCH orthodontist and Chief
of Pediatric Dentistry, Barbara Sheller, for some
insight on the SCH activities of interest for our
readership.
Bruce Hawley (BH): How long has Seattle
Children's Hospital been in existence? What is
the long-term history of medical care at Seattle
Children's?

Dr. Barbara Sheller
Seattle Children's Hospital

Barbara Sheller (BS): The hospital, now called
Seattle Children's, was founded as Children's
Orthopedic Hospital (COH) in 1907. The current
main hospital campus was established in the
Laurelhurst neighborhood (northeast of the
University of Washington main campus) in 1953
and has expanded over the years to include 250
inpatient beds, ambulatory specialty clinics, a
research institute, and regional clinics throughout Washington and in Alaska.
BH: When and how did dental care enter into the
equation in the past, and how has this evolved
over the years?
BS: The hospital's early leaders recognized the
importance of oral health in a child's overall
health, so a dental clinic was built within the first
hospital building in the early 1910s. A two-chair
dental clinic was part of the 1953 building; it was
upgraded to a seven-chair clinic in the late 1970s.
Dental services were provided to children with
special health care needs by pediatric dentists, oral
surgeons, pediatric dentistry and oral surgery residents, and University of Washington (UW) dental
students.

Summer 2017  PCSO Bulletin

BH: When did orthodontics become a part of the
hospital's dental program?
BS: Dedicated community orthodontists provided
consultations for patients seen by the COH cleft
palate team for many years. With the creation of
the Craniofacial Center in the 1980s, the need for
in-hospital orthodontic services was recognized.
Dr. Lena Omnell was recruited as the first fulltime staff orthodontist in 1984 and retired in
2006. Most of her orthodontic patients had craniofacial conditions; they benefitted from a team
approach integrating pediatric medicine, plastic
surgery, oral surgery, social work, speech pathology, otolaryngology, and other disciplines. Dr.
Bryan Williams, Dental Medicine Chief from 1991
to 2006, guided the evolution of the hospital's
dental and orthodontic programs, fostering
teaching and research collaborations with the
UW School of Dentistry.
The mission of the SCH Dental Department is
patient care, research, and education. The faculty
includes pediatric dentists, orthodontists, and
oral surgeons. Trainees are UW pediatric dentistry
residents, UW oral and maxillofacial surgery residents, and a Fellow in craniofacial orthodontics.
BH: Who are the orthodontists at Seattle
Children's now?
BS: I am a dual-trained orthodontist and pediatric dentist and joined SCH in 1987. Dr. Hitesh
Kapadia, the chief of craniofacial orthodontics,
is a fellowship-trained craniofacial orthodontist
recruited to SCH in 2010.
BH: What kind of orthodontic patients are
treated at the hospital - what age ranges, and
are complex, multidisciplinary cases and patients
with special needs included? What are some of
the most challenging and interesting cases that
have been managed?

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2017