Well-known longtime family dentist retires after 60 years in Fallbrook

Dr. Ronald Allison is retiring from his dental practice after 60 years in Fallbrook.

Allison founded his practice in 1960, after graduating from University of Southern California's Creighton Dental School and spending two years in the U.S. Navy, followed by 10 years on reserve while in Fallbrook.

Allison said he will miss seeing all of his patients and staff the most and that he loved seeing them every working day and hopes to continue to see them around Fallbrook.

"I enjoyed going to work every day," Allison said. "My staff and patients became my second family."

Allison and his wife, Ginger, will continue to reside in Fallbrook, where they enjoy spending time with their three sons, Derek, Kirk, Kent, and daughter, Tracy.

Allison's son Kent said, "My dad was the throwback dentist, the Norman Rockwell town dentist, the only man or woman in the medical profession that I know to put his personal cellphone number on the office answering machine."

Kent Allison said his dad spent many trips caring for and becoming part of the Yap and Truk communities that are part of the Micronesian islands.

"One year he and his brother, who is an ophthalmologist, came home from one of their missions trips with big tattoos on their chest and arms. Well, they had us all going for about a week until the tattoos started to smear," Kent Allison said.

Aside from being a family man, Ronald Allison was involved in his dentistry field. He was a co-founder of the dental assistant school at Palomar College and co-founder of the North County Dental Implant Study Group. Allison was an active member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association and San Diego County Dental Society.

From 1960 to 1970, he spent time helping teach in the dental treatment department at the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles. He also donated time at the Guadalupe Clinic at the Mercy Hospital, which has since been adopted by Scripps as the Mercy Clinic. The Guadalupe Clinic opened in 1944 as one-room clinic for the underserved open in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego.

He also spent time administering dental care to those in need on the Micronesian Islands.

During his career, Allison was involved in the Fallbrook community, serving on many boards. He was president of the Fallbrook Public Utility District board for one year and member for 10 years. He was a board member for the Fallbrook Sanitary District for two years and Fallbrook Hospital Foundation member for four years. He was a member of the Fallbrook High School Vocational Council and president and member of Fallbrook Rotary Club for 50 years. He served as vice president for one year of Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce and as a board member for 12 years.

For years, Allison rejected talk of retirement, as his devotion to his patients was a top priority.

"It's been an amazing career," his son Kirk Allison said. "Dad spent years answering emergency phone calls on weekends, during family vacations and making trips down to the office in the middle of the night to help patients. We are planning a big retirement celebration for him."