Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2022 - 65

Clinical Practice
Pearls of the Pacific
In Memory of Earl's Pearls
Dr. James Chen
San Francisco, CA
PCSO Bulletin Contributor
I was a bright-eyed first-year orthodontic resident
when I met Dr. Earl Johnson. He was both our clinical
instructor and our biomechanics lecturer during
residency at the University of California, San Francisco.
I fondly remember frantically jotting down all
his cool tricks ( " pearls " ) for orthodontic treatment,
patient management, and office management during
residency. He was so innovative and creative and
something I hoped to strive to become once I graduated.
Because of his engineering background, he
taught us to look at orthodontic treatment from that
perspective. Everything he taught us in class and in
the clinic was both efficient and routinely simple. All
the residents he taught greatly appreciated his time
and efforts during residency.
Dr. Johnson published many if not all of his innovative
and creative ideas in his " Earl's Pearls " (now " Pacific
Pearls " ) section of the PCSO Bulletin. He held this
role for many years, constantly coming up with new
techniques and ideas. When I was asked to take over
writing " Pacific Pearls, " I was extremely excited to be
able to follow in Dr. Johnson's footsteps. However, I
soon realized that all of the innovative techniques and
ideas I wanted to show were already published because
I literally learned everything from him. I want to
highlight some of the Earl's Pearls that I routinely use
in my everyday practice and teaching: turbo torqueing
second molars, lower second molar uprighting spring,
impacted canine retrieval mechanics, placement of
gold chain/button on impacted teeth, identifying the
ideal lumen size for the gold chain, bracket position
and band position of second molars, how to determine
your archwire sequence based on force delivery,
slingshot technique for stubborn lower incisors,
adding a garbage disposal in the sink for lab work, and
final equilibration of occlusion. These are just the few
pearls that Dr. Johnson has published on, and all of his
pearls are compiled into an Earl's Pearls book. When I
took over this role, Dr. Johnson would send me little
bits of information and tips for my own pearls because
he still enjoyed that side of orthodontics.
Dr. Johnson always expected the best from each
resident because he sincerely felt that each patient
we treated deserved that level of attention and caring;
all the residents loved him for this. He instilled in all
the residents this belief, and because of the level of
excellence he requested of us, to this day I treat every
patient as if he or she were the attending overseeing
the case. I strive to give my best for every case and
every patient because that is how Dr. Johnson treated
and demanded of us residents. Dr. Johnson cared
about the profession of orthodontics, he cared about
his patients, and he cared about us residents. He was
always available, whether in the clinic or meeting for
a meal, to talk shop or just about life in general. Dr.
Johnson made it clear that he would be available
during and after residency to help us. His generosity
with his time is something I am truly thankful for.
Dr. Johnson was the master of ceremonies for my
year's graduation. He told us that residency gave us
the life preserver, and it is our job to use it to get back
to the ship. Since that quote, I have this image of
him cheering all of us residents on as we matriculate
through private practice trying to use what he taught
us to get back on the ship. He was the consummate
support/cheerleader for us. Dr. Johnson affected our
lives in so many ways, and he will be missed dearly by
all his residents and all those who were lucky to have
met him.
Summer 2022 PCSO Bulletin
65
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2022
