Passings

Matteson, Former Director of Radiology, Passes Away

Last month, Dr. Stephen Matteson, former director of radiology at the UNC School of Dentistry, passed away at the age of 76.

Matteson spent 13 years on the school’s faculty in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences, starting in 1975. During his tenure at UNC, he contributed to the educational training of hundreds of dentists and oversaw the school’s radiology program. He was well known and respected for his passion for teaching in the D.D.S. and allied dental programs. In 1979, Matteson received the Richard Hunt Award for outstanding predoctoral instruction. While at UNC, Matteson was appointed to lead the panel developing the original FDA-sponsored radiographic selection criteria for dentistry. In 1988, Matteson was recruited to the University of Texas Health Science at San Antonio Dental School, at which he served as chair of the Department of Dental Diagnostic Sciences. He retired as professor emeritus in 2002 before returning to the University of Texas in 2005.

After earning his D.D.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, Matteson served as a general dentistry officer in the U.S. Air Force for two years. He then returned to his home state of New Jersey, where he spent 10 years in private dental practice before entering an oral radiology residency program at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Once he’d completed his radiology training, he joined the UNC School of Dentistry faculty from 1975-1988.

Matteson served as president of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, the American Board of Oral Maxillofacial Radiology and the national supreme chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon. During his life he published more than 50 scientific articles and served as radiology editor for Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology.

Matteson is survived by his wife, Dr. Mary Ann Matteson, his three children and five grandchildren, all of whom live in San Antonio.