Jack Menius was a key contributor to the establishment of the SAID organization. As one of the founding fathers and the second president of the organization, he helped form the mission and philosophy of service to special needs patients.  Jack may be the only Masters level pediatric dentist to devote his entire dental career of 28 years to institutional dentistry and the education of undergraduates and graduate students in developing skills to meet the needs of people living in an institutional setting.  In addition, he encouraged the dentists he taught to use these learned skills to help integrate people with disabilities into their private practices. 

 

He was an avid supporter of SAID from its inception to its maturity by sharing his experiences and techniques used in the treatment of special needs patients.  He, along with others, developed and introduced a number of treatment strategies that continue to be of value today.  Patient centered therapy was a vital tool in his practice.

 

Jack was a strong and effective advocate for special needs patients.  He had a clear vision of the future needs of people who were moved from his care into the community through the process of deinstitutionalization that became prominent during his career.  He tried to lay the ground work for a network of community based dentists who would meet the challenge of providing dental service to people after they were living a more independent life in the community.  He truly was a visionary, a dedicated educator and a mentor for many of us who followed in his footsteps.  We were fortunate to have someone who was talented and dedicated as Jack to walk beside us in our journey through this very challenging field in dentistry.  Jack exhibited the true concept of SAID.  

 

Thank you Jack for everything.