Dr. Saul Schluger, UW Professor Who Set Up Periodontics Program

Services for Dr. Saul Schluger, a pioneer in the field of periodontics (treatment of gum disease and supporting bones) and a professor emeritus of the University of Washington, were held Sunday.

Schluger, known as ``Poppa Saul'' by peers and students, died at his Seattle home Friday. He was 82.

His achievements in his field and at the university were so renowned that an endowed chair in clinical research has been set up in his name. When funded, it will be the only endowed chair in the UW School of Dentistry.

Schluger was born Jan. 9, 1908, in Jersey City, N.J. He attended New York University and in 1929 entered the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.

After receiving his dental degree in 1931, Schluger returned to Jersey City to enter private practice and six years later became a specialist in periodontics.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and among other things served as an instructor in mines and demolitions, aerial photography, map-reading, and transporting the sick and wounded.

In 1946 he accepted an invitation from Columbia University to administer the first specialty program in periodontics.

In 1958, Schluger joined the University of Washington School of Dentistry and established the first periodontics program west of the Mississippi. At the university, Schluger was able to attract a training grant from the National Institute of Dental Research that helped support students in a postgraduate program.

As associate dean of graduate dental education and director of admissions in 1974, Schluger was an outspoken critic of failures to recruit women to the field.

He lectured throughout Asia and Europe, was the primary author of several textbooks and designed dental procedures and instruments, including the ``Schluger file.''

Schluger was a former director of the American Board of Periodontology and president of the American Academy of Periodontology. He received numerous awards for his contributions to the field.

He was also named a distinguished alumnus of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry and an honorary distinguished alumnus of Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery.

Said colleague Dr. Robert Johnson, chairman of the periodontics department at the UW, ``Saul brought the field out of the dark ages.''

Schluger, an avid supporter of the arts and theater, became the first president of the Henry Art Gallery Association in 1968 and was on the board of directors of the Virginia Wright Fund, which is dedicated to the advancement of art in the region. He played a role in bringing the ``Broken Obelisk'' sculpture to the UW's Red Square.

He is survived by his wife, Helen, of Seattle; and four daughters, Susan and Cheryl of Seattle, and Karen and Valarie of California.

Memorials may be made to: The Saul Schluger Endowed Chair of Periodontics; Health Sciences Development, SC-61; University of Washington; Seattle, 98195.