Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2018 - 20

Portrait of a Professional

Dr. Stephen F. West, San Francisco
Dr. Gerald Nelson
Former PCSO Bulletin
Editor-in-Chief

I had the privilege of spending a morning with
Dr. Stephen West, learning about his life. I have
shared experiences with Steve, both in the orthodontic associations in which we have served, and
at the UCSF Graduate Orthodontic Program. I
was a student at UCSF when Steve's dad, Dr.
Eugene West, was the chair of the program.
Jerry Nelson (JN): Steve, let's start with your
childhood.

Dr. Stephen West

Stephen West (SW): I was born and raised in San
Francisco, with an older brother, Bob, and younger
sister, Nancy. Bob is a retired landscape designer
and Nancy is an OB/GYN in Auburn, CA. My
mother, Dee, and father, Gene, met during the
war at Fort Riley, KS. As a dentist, my dad entered
the Army as a captain. Mom was a Women's
Army Corps lieutenant. She ran the mess hall,
which fed 13,000 soldiers per day. Dad may have
been the head of our family, but mom ran the
house!
My dad, of course, was an orthodontist, as was
my grandfather, Fred West. We lived in the City,
but in the summer we would go to a summer
house in Redwood City, near Emerald Lake. Swimming was our daily occupation, which turned out
to be a lifelong interest for me. We also took an
annual trip to Dunsmuir (near Mount Shasta) for
fishing on the Upper Sacramento River, which I
continue to do with my children and grandchildren.
JN: You mentioned the avocation of swimming -
how did that develop?

Steve and Rosie at his dental
school graduation, 1978

SW: I was on the swim team in high school and
went to college at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). During my sophomore year, my application to transfer from UCSB to UC Berkeley was accepted, but
when we won the Pacific Coast Athletic Association swimming championship, I decided to
remain at UCSB. I love swimming, and for years I
swam at Burlingame Swim Center in the early
mornings before going to the office. About 10
years ago, my son Pat and I did the Alcatraz swim
without wetsuits.
JN: Did you consider only orthodontics as a
career, or look into other options as well?
SW: Dentistry was an obvious choice given my
dad and grandfather, and I was interested in science and biology. I had spent time in their office
helping and observing and found the atmosphere
to be a happy and engaging one.
JN: Did your brother and sister show any interest
in dentistry?
SW: They also worked in the office, tracing headfilms and doing other jobs, but I think I really
appreciated the clinical activities and the families
who came in.
JN: You graduated from UCSF DDS in 1978 and UCSF
orthodontics in 1980. Did you have to interview?
SW: No, it was just an application process at that
time. I did also apply to the University of Washington, but Dr. Reidel called my dad and asked if I
was serious about that. The UCSF orthodontic
program chair was Dr. Robert Isaacson, who was
committed to building a busier resident practice.
Besides my dad, there was Don Poulton, Joe
Gryson, Rod Mathews, Fred Fullmer, Shelly Baumrind, Karin Vargervik, Ron Roth, Neal Wells, Mike
Meyer, and Bob Scholz. Not all of them were fulltime faculty. Dr. Scholz had us all using the
Frankel appliances. Four of my 10 ABO cases
(1992) were treated with Frankel appliances prior

Three generations of orthodontists: Steve's dad,
Gene; his grandfather, Fred; and Steve
PCSO Bulletin  Spring 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2018