By Gina Duwe
Gazette Staff

EVANSVILLE-Dr. Charles Nelson is one of the few people who decided when they were little they wanted to be a dentist, he says sitting in the lobby of his Evansville office.

His dad suggested the profession on the way home from a trip to the dentist when Nelson was about 12.

"He said, 'That would be a nice job for you. Why don't you think about being a dentist when you grow up?'" Nelson recalls.

He did just that and never "swerved from the idea."

Now after 50 years in dentistry Nelson is set to retire Aug. 1, and turn his practice over to Madison dentist Melanie White.

One of the biggest regrets Nelson has in leaving his practice is missing out on the social aspect. Through the years he's seen three generations of some families pass through his chair.

Evansville dentist Dr. Charles Nelson examines a patient's teeth.
Dan Lassiter/Gazette Staff

There's great satisfaction in being able to do something for other people that contributes to their health, he said.

His last patient will actually be his first patient in Evansville from 48 years ago.

"I just got to thinking, wouldn't that be funÉthat's quite a deal, isn't it?" he said.

When patient Richard Golz sits down in the dentist chair next Monday at 39 W. Church St., everything will have come full circle for Nelson.

"It's a long time, but time went so fast," Nelson said. "It's almost hard to believe 50 years has gone by already."

Nelson attended Milton College before graduating from dental school at Marquette University in 1956. He served two years in the Army dental corps before starting his own practice in downtown Evansville.

Since then, changes in dentistry have been profound, he said.

"When I first came to Evansville, all the kids had cavities," he said. "Now days, thanks to our efforts in dentistry and the interest of public health and education É we hardly find that situation anymore. Kids just don't have cavities anymore like they used to."

People are taking better care of their teeth, leaving few to lose their teeth or need dentures, he said.

"I think dentistry has progressed tremendously," he said. "I just wish I could be starting over again because it's so much fun. It's so much fun to see things progress at the rate that they do. It's been a wonderful profession for me. I've loved every minute of it."

Nelson said his main concern the last couple years has been what would happen to his patients if he got sick and couldn't work anymore.

"Now that problem is solved, and I'm so relieved over that," he said of White taking over. "Fifty years is a long time to work."

He's "delighted" to have found White, who graduated from dental school at the University of Minnesota five years ago.

White is a Green Bay native who received her undergraduate degree at UW-Madison. She practiced in Minneapolis for two years and has been in Madison the last three.

She said Nelson's practice was a perfect size and fit for her.

"I had spent probably the last year looking at practices, waiting for the right fit," she said. "And this fit. É I'm walking in to some very big shoes."

White is moving to Evansville this month and will be remodeling the office before opening in September.

"I'm so pleased for her," Nelson said. "I'm very optimistic about her. I think she's just going to be a wonderful, wonderful asset to the community."