Dr. Jun Young Cho (BCD '70), associate professor of periodontics, has been a member of the Baylor College of Dentistry faculty for 35 years.

He has remained too busy to ponder why he has stayed so long. "My clinical duties keep me busy all the time; students always have patients in the chair in the clinic. I also have a number of interchange activities with Korean dentists, and I have published and illustrated three books," Cho said.

He enjoys medical illustration, and students from as long as 20 years ago (not long before his first edition of The Atlas of Surgical Periodontal Therapy) still remember that he was "always drawing" in the clinic. Now in its third edition, the periodontal surgical atlas is widely distributed.

Cho enjoys the occasional phone call out of the blue from a student who remembers his clinical direction in periodontics. "I supervise periodontal surgeries by dental students, and I encourage them to do the procedures even though they can graduate without them. They are often nervous at first, but they are excited once they complete a surgery successfully," said Cho.

"It's exciting to hear from a student who has been out of school for many years and calls to say they're doing lots of periodontal surgery," he continued.

After attending dental school in South Korea and completing a one-year general dentistry internship in New York, Cho entered BCD's graduate program in periodontics in 1967. He joined the BCD faculty in 1968 as a clinical instructor in periodontics and became a full-time faculty member in 1970 upon completion of the graduate program.

The biggest changes he has noticed around the dental school are the number of staff members and the size and features of the building, which was undergoing a major expansion when he arrived. "Construction occurred all around me during my residency," said Cho. "I still remember the pounding noises that interrupted some of our lectures."

For 10 years he has maintained extensive relations with Korean dentists through an exchange program with the Korean dental society. In addition to visiting Korea numerous times, he directs a weeklong continuing education course at BCD each year for more than a dozen Korean dentists. His department hosts several Korean dentists annually for a one-year residency in periodontics.

A gardener and an avid golfer, Cho has fond memories of participating in annual golf tournaments with BCD students, faculty and staff.

His only child, Dr. David Cho, graduated from BCD in 1999 and is practicing general dentistry in New Jersey. His only grandchild, Isaac, turns 5 years old this month.

Cho looks back (and forward) with no regrets. "My career has been fun and rewarding," he said.
 

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