After 47 years, 2 dentists retire with a mouthful of Park Heights memories

The key is to listen to the patients.

At least that’s what helped unlock longtime dental careers for Drs. Charles Shelton and Willie Richardson.

The dental duo spent a majority of those years in a brick houselike practice on Park Heights Avenue that they bought in 1979. Now the 80-year-olds, who attended the University of Maryland School of Dentistry together, are retiring and saying goodbye to a lifetime of smiles.

“It has been a long, happy road there,” Shelton said.

Shelton always knew he was going to pursue a career in the healthcare field so he could serve the community. His older brother and his niece are also dentists.

Richardson, who graduated from the now-shuttered St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, became a dentist almost by accident, he said. He was a lab technician at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore when he got out of college.

One day, he was in the hospital cafeteria, where he saw a man surrounded by books. The man told him he was a dental student. Richardson thought it was interesting and asked how he could get into the field.

“I took the exam, I got it, and I went,” Richardson said. “That’s basically how I went to dental school.”

In true Smaltimore fashion, Richardson and Shelton found out they were attending the same dental school by chance. Richardson used to drive a cab when he worked at the hospital.

Richardson gave a ride to Shelton and his girlfriend, who is now his wife of over 50 years. Through small talk, they discovered they’d both be at Maryland that fall.

The first African American graduated from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1972. Shelton and Richardson were members of the class of 1974.

“I enjoyed it so much the time just went by so fast,” Shelton said.

By 1979, Shelton and Richardson had worked for years at different practices. After a fire damaged the practice Richardson was at, the two decided to find a dental home of their own.

Time speaks first when you enter the reception area of the practice. It looks like a set from a 1980s sitcom. The walls have dark wood panels, and the chairs are burgundy. Snippets of photos of patients are spread across plexiglass.

Richardson and Shelton keep conversations reserved when talking about the span of their careers. But the people who’ve been with them sure don’t.

After 57 years of marriage, Shirley Richardson still thinks her husband is “all that and a bag of chips,” she said. The self-affirmed country girl from Chase City, Virginia, commends him for rising from humble beginnings, pushing through dental school and keeping a practice running so long.

“You can never tell my husband what he can’t do because he loves a challenge,” Shirley Richardson said.

Richardson and Shelton attribute their practice’s longevity to good service and availability. For decades, the practice stayed open seven days a week. They rotated weekends, excluding major holidays.

Kim Jones took advantage of those extended hours during a weekend in 1999.

Jones had a tooth that needed to be pulled. She said she had studied to be a dental assistant, but when she had her own dental procedures, bad experiences left her scared.

The procedure at Richardson and Shelton’s practice went so smoothly that she asked if they were hiring. Weeks later, she got a call back.

For 27 years, she served as Richardson’s dental assistant, watching young clients grow older and eventually bring their own kiddos to the practice.

“One of the great things I admire about him is his leadership,” Jones said. “He teaches not only his staff, but he teaches his patients.”

Shelton also had a longtime dental assistant, his daughter, Lauren DuBose. DuBose watched as her father welcomed local patients and newcomers from Jamaica and Trinidad. His chairside manner always had a stroke of humor and he was willing to explain every procedure thoroughly, she said.

“It’s always been like a family type of atmosphere that a lot of patients appreciated,” DuBose added.

Shelton worries their absence will leave a void, especially because there aren’t many local Black dentists, he said.

Less than 4% of dentists are Black, according to research from the American Dental Association.

Shelton is looking forward to leaning into some of his hobbies in retirement. He’ll detour from his normal routine of getting to the office at 6 a.m., testing the equipment and peacefully sipping a cup of joe before patients arrive. Now there are books he needs to finish and model aeronautics to build. Fishing is also high on the retirement checklist.

Richardson plans on finishing his book about how oral hygiene can affect other parts of the body. A part of him will miss the routine drive from Catonsville, but he knows he’ll adjust to having more free time.

“I try to take one day at a time,” Richardson said. “I always tell people to enjoy the journey. That’s all there is.”