THE ART OF DENTISTRY - School of Dental Medicine - Case ...

WAZNEYS BROUGHT THE FAMILY TO CWRU
According to John L. Wazney, CIT, D.M.D. ’74, ’79, he and
Marion [Marion Wazney, WRC, D.M.D. ’74, ’80] both
moved from Bucks county Pennsylvania to attend CWRU undergraduate
schools. John graduated from Case engineering school
and Marion graduated from WRU with dual degrees in Biology
and Chemistry. They were married after their sophomore year of
undergraduate school. Three years later they began a new life
journey at the CWRU School of Dental Medicine.
Perhaps it was predestined Erica would also become a dentist.
Says John, “Erica was born the evening I graduated from dental
school,” he explains. “Marion still had a year to go, and now we
had a baby to raise. She was back in summer clinic after a short
two-week break. After graduating dental school she undertook
four more years of oral surgery residency.”
John now practices in Willowick, Ohio, He has recently added a
new associate to his practice, the couple’s daughter, Erica Wazney,
D.M.D. ’05. Marion has a private practice in oral surgery in
Lyndhurst, Ohio.
The Wazneys are proud to represent three generations in the field
of dentistry. John’s father, Joseph T. Wazney, was a professor at
the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University.
DENTAL SCHOOL—AT A ‘MELLION’ M.P.H.
Two generations of the Mellion family—Joseph T. Mellion,
D.D.S., M.S.D. ’78 ; his late brother, Francis E. Mellion,
D.D.S., M.S.D. ’83; and Joseph’s sons, Zachary J. Mellion,
D.M.D., M.S.D. ’04; and Alex T. Mellion ’11 have sped
through their undergraduate and dental school programs at
CWRU in compressed time frames. Alex is currently in his third
year of a six-year undergraduate/graduate program as he pursues
his D.M.D. degree. Joe’s brother Nick received his D.D.S.
degree from The Ohio State University.
Joe, Alex, Zach Mellion at Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Daughter Sarah is attending medical
school at the University of Cincinnati,
“but we let them attend family events
anyway,” jokes Zach. John T. Mellion,
LAW ’47 uncle to Joe, Frank and
Nick, is a WRU graduate.
Joe made the decision to become
a dentist early. “In tenth grade, I
decided to become an orthodontist. I had
Francis E. Mellion,
D.D.S. ’83, M.S.D.
worked for an orthodontist while I was in high school and in
college. He was my mentor and is still my friend.” Joe interviewed
at the dental school in 1973 and “I immediately felt at
home. I was accepted to the school during my interview,” he says.
“I found the people at CWRU to be very personable and I felt
that their program would fit my needs. I was never disappointed.”
They met as children, and in his first year of dental school,
Joe married Dianne Fisher Mellion, M.S.N. ’78. “All of our
children worked in our practice,” says Joe. “Some decided they
wanted to go into orthodontics, but we never pushed their choice.”
He adds that Zach had “many different college opportunities,
but chose the six-year program at CWRU because of the value
of the education offered here.”
Zach and Nick are in practice with Joe. Frank was also in the
practice before he died in 2003. Zach and Joe both say that
having multiple generations in the practice improves it. “Zach
came from school with a lot of great ideas,” says Joe. “We are
now treating the second and third generations of some of our
patients. To address this, Zach came up with the ‘Generations
of Smiles’ concept.” Adds Zach, “being exposed to my father’s
practice prior to dental school gave me practical experience with
clinical issues, but more important, patient and practice
management.” Zach also credits his father with being receptive to
new ideas. “During dental school and residency I learned many
different ways to make a practice more patient-friendly. My dad
has been open to new ideas and willing to make those changes.”
Alex decided on dental school after “being surrounded by
dentists, and by seeing my dad’s passion for his profession.
I did look at other careers—business, medicine—but I was
pulled back to dentistry.
“I chose CWRU because I wanted to stay in Ohio. I was also
impressed with the facilities, and the changes they are making to
the curriculum. Things like the sealant program are very exciting.
I also really enjoy the problem-based learning modules, and the
big-picture approach they teach here.”
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