If you’re from San Diego, or if you’ve spent more than five minutes in the airport, you can’t help but see symbols of this city’s history scattered throughout its landscape (no, craft beer isn’t our historical legacy, although that may be the impression from the inside of terminal 2…. I digress). Sure, San Diego is basically an infant when compared to ancient cities like Tikal or Rome, but San Diego has a rich and modern history that goes far beyond the tales associated with sugar cubes and popsicle sticks that made up our problematic 4th grade Missions projects. The history of San Diego is illustrated by its people.
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As a native to America’s finest City, I can point to the names of people who were touted as change makers in our city all throughout my education and I can assure you that none of them were dentists. Many moons later, as the proud Executive Director of the San Diego County Dental Society, I find the omission of this piece of our city’s history to be a lost opportunity (no disrespect to my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Lundberg, if you’re reading this). The role that dentistry plays in the creation of a modern city is a story of its own. Stories of dentistry in San Diego history include people who brought ingenuity and promise to a burgeoning town through their dedication, skills, and compassion. As some of the City’s first entrepreneurs, San Diego’s earliest dentists broke through racial barriers, improved the quality of life for their fellow San Diegans and established professional standards that remain today.
Old Town wasn’t always known for its margaritas. In 1858 you might have been looking for someone to extract your aching tooth and Dr. Frederick Painter would have been your man to do it. According to the book San Diego County Dental Society 1887–1987, by Dr. Thomas Baumann, the period between 1821–72 heralded innovations including the first gold filing, nitrous oxide, ether, and porcelain teeth. Without these critical treatments we can only imagine what would have become of the many people who helped build America’s Greatest City.
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A few years later in 1895, another great advancement occurred when Emma Read applied to become a licensed dentist, only to be told that it was useless for her to take the exam because it would establish an intolerable precedent. Not one for taking no for an answer, she persisted and passed the exam, and went on to become the President of the San Diego County Dental Society for five terms. Dr. Read paved the way for many women who would eventually enter dentistry. Side note: according to the American Dental Association, as of 2021, dental school enrollment is a 50-50 gender split. Thanks Emma!
In 1935, Dr. Jack Johnson Kimbrough hitchhiked to San Diego after hearing of a lack of black dentists in our town. He went on to become the President of the NAACP and an activist who fought to end racial prejudice. He was reported to have organized a sit-in at the U.S. Grant in 1948 to protest segregation. He was credited for helping to organize Time Saving and Loan Bank to facilitate loans for increased home ownership in all parts of San Diego by all races and was recognized by President John F. Kennedy in a reception honoring outstanding leadership.
Fast forward past dozens and even hundreds of other inspiring stories to 2023. The San Diego County Dental Society is in its 136th year. With a membership base of nearly 70% of the dentists in San Diego and Imperial Counties, a robust program of continuing education, advocacy, social events, and day-to-day support for its members, the SDCDS has a marked place in San Diego’s history and its future. Many of our leaders in dentistry are nominees seen in this issue. It is my hope that their stories and many more of accomplishment, compassion for others, fortitude and dedication to the advancement of the profession will become shared stories for others to learn from. The stories that make up the past and future of dentistry deserve to be told, and perhaps even have a place in terminal 2 (Commission for Arts & Culture, are you reading this?)
A perfectly designed home rarely happens by accident. Those kitchens that feel effortless and rooms that seem to tell a story the second you walk in? They’re usually the work of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
It’s knowing which ideas will actually work, which materials will hold up over time, and how to turn a collection of choices into a space that feels intentional. That’s where a professional interior designer comes in.
For the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California San Diego Chapter, the goal is to help people see interior design as more than just the finished look. Behind every well-designed space is a process built on technical expertise. Designers are educated in everything from professional software and construction details to building codes, space planning, materials, and functionality.
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“People don’t always realize how much goes on behind the scenes,” Kirsten Recce , current president of the ASID California San Diego Chapter, says. “Our designers are not just doing furniture placement and color selection and picking out new fluffy pillows. That’s not what they’re trained for.”
ASID members bring formal education, continued learning, and industry knowledge to their projects, helping create spaces that are not only beautiful, but designed to work. A paint color that changes completely depending on the lighting. A material that looks beautiful in a showroom but doesn’t make sense for everyday life. A layout that photographs well but doesn’t function for the people living there. These are the details where professional guidance can make all the difference.
Still, one of the biggest misconceptions about hiring an interior designer is that it’s reserved for massive renovations, luxury homes, or people who already know exactly what they want. The process can feel intimidating. Where do you begin? Is a designer worth the investment? What if you only need help with one room?
ASID’s answer: start with one hour.
ASID’s Spruce Up events break down one of the biggest barriers between homeowners and professional design: knowing where to begin. Held twice a year, the community program gives homeowners the chance to work directly with an ASID designer through a one-hour, $125 consultation in their own home. Whether you’re looking for advice on furniture placement, window treatments, kitchen and bath updates, remodeling ideas, vacation rentals, color selections or something else entirely, the upcoming September 2026 event offers an approachable way to get expert guidance before committing to a full project. Signups are open through Sept. 7, with consultations taking place Sept. 21 through Oct. 31. Proceeds benefit ASID San Diego’s educational and community programs. Register here!
Courtesy of ASID
“It’s a great opportunity for people who are in that exploratory phase,” Recce says. “Maybe they’re not sure they want to hire an interior designer yet, or they think it sounds daunting or expensive. This gives them a chance to discover what working with a designer is actually like.”
Design is personal. A good designer isn’t just creating a beautiful room; they’re helping create a space that fits the way someone lives.
“We’re a resource to all of San Diego County,” Recce says. “It doesn’t cost anything to pick up the phone and call and ask. We’ll answer.”
Mai Vue was just 34 weeks pregnant when she delivered her baby. Her pregnancy had been complicated, and she’d had a recent second trimester pregnancy loss, which led to her receiving specialized care from Sean Daneshmand, MD, a Scripps Clinic perinatologist who oversees high-risk pregnancies. Dr. Daneshmand and his team took care of Mai during her pregnancy, through the birth of her healthy baby girl and beyond. Mai was part of a program Scripps launched to provide support to new moms in the weeks and months after delivery. The postpartum program, known as Scripps Health’s Fourth Trimester Continuum of Care, provides care for women with high-risk pregnancies to optimize their health after childbirth and reduce the risk of complications in future pregnancies. Click here to learn more.
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It’s estimated that one in five people in the U.S. will develop skin cancer at some point in their lives. When you factor in living in a sun-soaked city like San Diego and the outdoorsy lifestyle that comes with it, that figure can jump to as high as one in three, which makes early detection and intervention all the more important. Dermatologists at Bighorn Mohs and Dermatology Center are using innovative imaging methods and advanced surgical techniques to diagnose and treat skin cancer. For certain cancers in sensitive spots, like the face, dermatologists perform Mohs surgery, removing skin tissue layer by layer until reaching healthy, cancer-free tissue. They also use a process called immunohistochemistry to view tissue samples taken during Mohs surgery in far greater detail than previous methods. Read more about how Scripps is advancing skin cancer care here.
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When endurance athlete Isaac Sanchez learned he had cancer, he felt blindsided. He was healthy, surfed often and was training for an Ironman triathlon. But he had to put that on hold to undergo treatment. His physicians at Scripps Cancer Center developed a plan to treat the cancer in his tonsil and lymph nodes that included six-and-a-half weeks of near-daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. He also worked with a Scripps Cancer Center dietitian to enhance his nutrition to promote strength and healing. Today, Isaac’s back to doing what he loves. Read more of his story here.
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While glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agents have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, their recent emergence as weight-loss wonder drugs marked a new frontier in medicine. But their effectiveness has left some patients wondering what to do once they’ve reached their goal. Stopping the medication could mean regaining some, if not all, of the weight. A Scripps Clinic internal medicine physician recently conducted a small study of whether GLP-1 patients who had reached their goal weight could maintain that weight by taking their regularly prescribed injection every other week instead of weekly. Spoiler alert: 30 of 34 patients did. Read more about the study here and what that may mean as pharmaceutical companies roll out oral GLP-1s.
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Chemotherapy and radiation have long been considered gold standards of cancer treatment, but they can cause severe side effects. A promising new approach called theranostics—a combination of “therapeutics” and “diagnostics”—could offer patients with certain types of metastatic cancers new hope. It’s a two-step process that uses a drug that binds to specific receptors on cancer cells. Advanced imaging detects this radioisotope, allowing doctors to then use a second radioisotope that binds to the cancer cells and destroys them. Click here to learn more about how specialists at Scripps Cancer Center are using theranostics.
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