1/3/07 – Dr. Craig M. Savin is an interesting man. He has been 20K feet up Mount Everest, worked as a forensic odontologist after Hurricane Katrina, was a founding member of Homeland Security, worked in private practice with his brother, and presented to NASA and Japanese astronauts important information about the future of dentistry in space.
About Dr. Savin
Please tell me where you went to school and the focus of your CEs.
I completed my undergraduate studies at University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry and biochemistry, and then attended Northwestern University Dental School (NUDS) in 1985 for my DDS. My continuing ed is diverse. It includes forensic odontology, some government courses, cosmetics, and the use of Botox for TMJ therapy (which led to helping many people find relief).
Do you still teach and lecture?
Northwestern University in Chicago closed at least five years ago. I used to teach human anatomy as a sophomore at NUDS, then worked there as an associate professor. Throughout my career, I’ve lectured on anatomy and forensics, and I taught bite-mark-related courses at NUDS, as well. In 2007, I lectured in Las Vegas and California on Lumineers for DenMat. I’ve done several hundred cases with minimal and no-prep applications, plus thousands of traditional veneers.
Do you currently have a private practice?
I had both of my hips replaced in 2006, and due to complications as a result of my surgery, my lower back and neck were virtually destroyed. I can’t physically do dentistry anymore. I’ve had one hip replaced again, and another coming in 2008. Because of this, I retired from dentistry in September of 2007.
My father opened his dental practice 50 years ago, and my brother and I co-owned the practice for 22 years. My brother now owns the practice independently.
Do you have a professional mission statement?
My motto is "through adversity comes opportunity." Ironically, this was my motto even before my unplanned career change after 22 years in private practice. I’m still reinventing myself and want to make an impact by helping dentists and the general population live better lives.
Savin’s Work
What is your experience as a forensic odontologist?
I have been in forensics for 18 years. In dental school, I began working with the forensic department at NUDS. My forensics work included identification of bodies in plane crashes, anatomy of a pit bull, and murder/bite mark cases. From there, I was asked to work for Cook County Coroner’s Office in Chicago. In 2000, I helped identify hundreds of bodies in heat-related deaths. The government’s Disaster Mortuary Organized Response Team (DMORT) approached me to work in mass disaster identification, and I have worked for them for 15 years now. My contract is for intermittent employment with the government. The DMORT used to be under Department of Health & Human Services, then, after 9/11 (my birthday), Homeland Security took over our division. Tom Ridge, HLS Secretary sent us "founding member" certificates, which is quite interesting.
How did you become involved in Hurricane Katrina clean up?
FEMA controlled our team for this. However, due to an abrupt change in the “governmental environment,” we went back under DHHS under the National Disaster Medical System NDMS with sub-groups of DMORT teams. All of these departments fall under Homeland Security.
What did you do in your Katrina work, as it relates to dentistry?
It was an amazing experience. You can never really appreciate the severity of Katrina without having been there. It was devastation beyond belief. Our job was to determine anti-mortem records, but offices were destroyed to the foundation – or the records were wet and rattle snakes were in the rooms. We would go in and retrieve coffins in swamps with alligators. There were brown recluse spiders. In Baton Rouge, we were in a makeshift morgue for 16 to18 hours a day for two weeks. It was mentally and physically exhausting. We had to have vaccinations. One man had to go home from high blood pressure the first day.
It was a spiritual experience, though. Letters poured in with thanks for helping people find closure by identifying their loved ones. I will never forget it, but I hope I will never have to repeat it. We have been on call several times for hurricanes, but I have not had to go since Katrina.
What do you find rewarding and memorable about your Katrina experience?
I talked with the department head of the Dental School in New Orleans. He told us stories about the devastation to dentists who had to leave the state to practice after the disaster. Some practiced out of the dental school or other dentists’ facilities. Katrina caused the largest number of displaced people in the history of the US. Dentists out there lost everything.
In my experience, we sometimes had to identify bodies from the emulsion on the paper that held dental X-rays because the ink, when wet, transferred to the paper. The experience started me thinking, if anti-mortem records were stored in an off-site facility, our government’s job would be so much easier after a disaster. That’s why I am working with DDS Works now. I really believe that off-site digital X-rays and records for dentists is a necessity in this day and age.
If I had experienced a disaster like Katrina when I was in private practice, everything I had would have been demolished – my records, computers. However, if everything is stored on the Internet, with data saved on offsite servers, it can be retrieved after a disaster. DDS Works has multiple mirrored servers housed in a facility that US banks use to keep records safe. It’s like Fort Knox.
Savin’s Current Projects
What are you currently working on that our DB readers will find interesting?
Housing dental records thru an easy-to-use PPM online – www.ddsworks.com . It functions according to how we think, so it flows nicely for users and feels natural.
I also have my hand in a number of projects to help others, such as ergonomics for dental workers and a disinfectant solution for areas of mass populations, like airports. I may also reopen my project with NASA to work towards standardizing dentistry that can be performed in outer space. I spoke on this topic in Japan a few years back and worked with NASA on a proposal for experimentation. My life goal is to use my skills and knowledge to help people.
If you would like to contact Dr. Savin, email him at csavindds@ddsworks.com.