This article first appeared in the March 1964 issue of the Ohio Dental Journal
M. E. Niswonger: Outstanding Dayton Dentist
By E. J. Spencer, D.D.S.
No Dayton dentist brought himself more recognition as a speaker and writer nor more credit to the Dayton Dental Society in its first 100 years than Dr. Milo E. Niswonger. An authority in the field of prosthetic dentistry, he willingly shared his long research and study with dentists throughout the country. He conducted clinics, he appeared before dental groups of any size and he freely circulated papers on his presentation. And if any colleague missed hearing him or seeing his demonstration, or felt he needed additional information, Dr. Niswonger was happy to provide demonstration in his private laboratory.
On February 23, 1939, Dr. Hugh MacMillan of Cincinnati, wrote him: “The men are continuing to talk about your meeting Tuesday night and will continue to do so for some time to come….For a number of years I have been interested to see you develop as the leader in our part of the country in your particular field.” After Dr. Niswonger’s death at the age of 47 in 1939, after an illness of two weeks, direct referrals and requests for his writings continued for many years.
He was born in Brookville, January 10, 1892, fifteen miles from Dayton, the Niswonger family having been pioneers in Montgomery County. His mother, whose maiden name was Engle, was of the pioneer family for which Englewood is named. Educated in the Dayton public schools, he was graduated from Ohio State University’s College of Dentistry in 1914. He served in the Army Dental Corps during the First World War.
Dr. Niswonger
“Enthusiastic, Tireless”
Dr. Niswonger was an enthusiastic worker on any endeavor. An ardent rose culturist, he was an organizer and officer of the Dayton Rose Club. Active in the Masonic Order, he rose to the 33rd degree in Masonry. He was president of his Lions Club.
He worked tirelessly in his profession. Unfortunately, no account was kept of his professional experiences, but his files show correspondence as early as 1922 in which his experimental and research work was credited by a metal manufacturer as helping develop new formulas.
After receiving some of his cast gold plates for full dentures, a Chicago manufacturer inquired, “we are somewhat interested to note whether or not these palates you have sent us were swaged. They do not look as though any swaging has been done, however, they seem to fit the model more perfectly than anything we have ever seen along this line.”
Dr. Niswonger was president of the Dayton Dental Society in 1923-24. He did extensive research in the anatomical mechanisms relating to the movements of the mandible as a basis for artificial denture construction. He made motions picture to demonstrate his findings in the “working bite” and the rest position of the edentulous mandible.
Dr. Niswonger was on many working committees, chiefly the Program Committee of the Dayton Dental Society and the Ohio State Dental Association. He was .president of the Dayton Society when it was decided that the Ohio State Dental Association would hold its annua meeting in Dayton in the autumn of 1924, and he was in a large way responsible for the success of the State meeting that year. In 1925 Dr. Niswonger was endorsed by the Dayton Dental Society to the Governor of Ohio for the State Board of Dental Examiners.
Dr. Mike, as his friends called him was a very prolific scientific writer and lectured on all phases of Prosthetic Dentistry. Besides doing research and technic, he also developed instruments for recording the vertical dimension and the rest position and its association with Centric Relation. The Society has the first instrument that was developed for this purpose by Dr. Mike.
The proper location of both anterior and posterior teeth on the denture so as to achieve a balanced and stable upper and lower denture was also developed by Dr. Mike.
One experiment was performed on a close friend and associate, Dr. Homer Brewer. The experiment was the making of full upper and lower dentures with teeth only on one side, from the centrals back and including the molars. It was demonstrated by having the patient eat an apple, biting it off and then chewing it, to show how it is possible to make really stable dentures.
He also developed formulae for soft medium and hard wax materials used in taking denture impressions.
Important Research
His most important research centered on “The Determination of the Vertical Dimension, through the study of the Rest Position of the Mandible and its Association with Centric Relations of the Jaws.”
Numerous articles on his subject have been published in the national dental journals by Dr. Niswonger.
He was program chairman for the Ohio State Dental Association in 1935, the same year that O.B. Kneisly, also from Dayton, was president of the Society.
It was at the December meeting of that year that the Dayton Dental Society presented Dr. Niswonger with an honorary resolution for the splendid job he did for the State meeting as program chairman. The Society invited him to be Master of Ceremonies at “O.B. Kneisly Night,” honoring O.B. Kneisly for the outstanding service he was rendering as president of the Ohio State Dental Association.
This meeting was devised and carried through very successfully by Earl J. Spencer, president of the Dayton Dental Society. Dr. Niswonger and Dr. Kneisly were both deeply touched by the honor bestowed on them at this meeting.
Most fortunately for the Dental profession, Dr. Niswonger took time to record his findings, so the results of his developmental work have continued to serve.
