Drs. Mendez and Hochstedler Retire

Two leaders of the Department of Prosthodontics recently retired from the LSUHSC School of Dentistry. Drs. Arturo Mendez, department chair, and J Hochstedler, director of the postgraduate program, both retired this summer. With over 60 years of combined service, their contributions and achievements will leave an indelible mark on the institution.

l-r, Dr. J Hochstedler, Dean Gremillion, Dr. Arturo Mendez

Arturo J. Mendez, DDS, MSc, professor of prosthodontics, joined LSUSD in 1978 and was named department chair in 2008. A native of Mexico, he received his DDS in 1974 from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Escuela Nacional de Odontologia (National School of Dentistry), in Mexico City. He then attended The Ohio State University and in 1978 received a master’s of science as well as a certificate in prosthodontics.

Promoted to the rank of professor in 1989, Dr. Mendez served on the visiting staff of Charity Hospital from 1985-1996 and was appointed director of the LSUSD Implant Clinic in 2007. A member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) national dental honor society, Dr. Mendez has served as secretary-treasurer and president of Theta Kappa, the LSUSD chapter. He is also a member of the C. Edmund Kells Honor Society and the Pierre Fauchard Academy, an international honorary dental society, and a fellow of the American College of Dentists. Dr. Mendez is a past president of the Carl O. Boucher Prosthodontic Conference. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious LSUHSC Allen A. Copping Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Mendez has lectured extensively and taught numerous continuing education courses throughout the United States, Mexico, South and Central America, Jamaica, Europe, and China. He has chaired and served on many LSUSD committees; he has also authored numerous articles and book chapters. For the immediate future, Dr. Mendez will remain in New Orleans and continue in his professional prosthodontics practice in Metairie. Eventually, he and his wife, Chay, plan to move to Austin, Texas, where their two married sons and grandchildren reside.

J Hochstedler, DDS, FACP, associate professor of prosthodontics, has been on the LSUSD faculty since 1992. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 1976, he practiced general dentistry in a solo private practice in Knoxville for fourteen years. In 1990-92, he attended the Medical College of Georgia prosthodontics residency program and received a certificate in prosthodontics. He was appointed acting director of the LSUSD advanced education program in prosthodontics in 2000, and director in 2005.

Dr. Hochstedler has mentored the research of many prosthodontics residents and authored numerous scientific papers. He is currently on the editorial board of the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. A member of the Kells Society and OKU, he served as Theta Kappa secretary-treasurer from 2011-2014. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, a fellow in the American College of Dentists, a member of the American College of Prosthodontists, and past president of the Louisiana Section of this group. He is a recipient of the LSUSD Golden Apple Teaching Award.

Dr. Hochstedler and his wife, Mittie, have relocated to Panama City Beach, Florida, where he has joined the dental staff of the Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare system.

Prosthodontics department members:  (back) Drs. Van Nortwick, Esquivel, Hochstedler, Carruth (front ) Drs. Brindis, Yu, Mendez, Moeller, Ms. Collins Phillips, Dr. Awada, Mr. Zavala

Marco Brindis, DDS, has been named interim chairman of the prosthodontics department. A native of Mexico, he received his DDS in 2001 from the Universidad Continental in Mexico City. He is a 2007 graduate of the LSUSD postgraduate program in prosthodontics and has been on the faculty since 2007. Laurie Moeller, DDS, has been named interim director of the postgraduate program. She received her DDS from LSUSD and certificates in general dentistry and prosthodontics from the Veterans Administration. Dr. Moeller joined the LSUSD prosthodontics faculty in 1993.