Alphonso Trottman, dental pioneer, passes

Dr. Alphonso Trottman, who was the first Black orthondontist in St. Louis, died on Monday, January 6, alongside family, after a recent illness. Alphonso ‘”Al” Trottman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, at a time when U.S. hospitals and schools were segregated, racial discrimination was rampant, and opportunity for Black people was scarce – especially for one with a single teenage mother of limited means, a father he never knew, and a temporary stay at an orphanage, with his older brother, while their mother sought a better life for them in East Chicago, Indiana.

He was an attentive, beloved father of three; former U.S. Air Force Officer; retired trailblazing orthodontist and dental professor who built thriving practices and mentored many in dentistry and beyond; and an advocacy-oriented thought leader who by age 30 was featured in U.S. news articles about the scarcity of dental care, especially orthodontics, for Black people. 

Born in 1936, Al spent his early childhood in St. Louis with his mother, Pauline, and older brother, Robert. After the boys’ stay at the Annie Malone Children’s Home, they joined their mother in East Chicago, Indiana, and later gained a stepfather, Richard Davis. Al graduated in 1954 from Roosevelt High School, with extracurriculars ranging from Drama and Boys’ Glee clubs to Student Government and President of the National Honor Society. Named “the most likely to succeed,” he graduated from Indiana University’s School of Dentistry in 1961 and married his high school sweetheart, LeGrande Thomas. They had three children over the span of eight years and two continents. 

Throughout his life, his belief in justice and faith in God fueled his passion for helping the underserved, bravery to break down barriers, and tenacity to achieve with his signature mix of outspokenness, earnestness, and grace. Simply put, he made a way out of no way with help from key people.

His life was a series of firsts: He was the first Black orthodontist in Missouri (and one of few in the U.S. then), among the first to choose to integrate his high school to access more resources, and the first Black graduate from St. Louis University’s school of orthodontics. At his time of death, he was 88 years young.

The Trottman’s eldest, Yolanda, was born in Tripoli, Libya, North Africa, where Al served in the U.S. Air Force for several years and, in keeping with his thirst for knowledge and mastery, learned Arabic. Gerald was born in Gary, Indiana, where Al established a dental practice. He later closed it for a scholarship opportunity to study orthodontics at St. Louis University, a gamble that cost him financially upfront: With no Black dentists positioned to buy his practice, and no white ones who’d be willing, he sold the equipment he could, chose optimism, and bet on himself. Melanie was born in St. Louis and the family settled into a home in University City for decades.

Al immersed himself in the community through professional positions and volunteer posts. He was Director of the Yeatman Medical Health Center, taught dentistry part-time at Southern Illinois University (SIU), directed an SIU dental clinic in East St. Louis, Illinois, and served on the Board of the orphanage where he’d stayed as a child. He also joined church communities, including Berea Presbyterian, St. James AME, and most recently, Friendly Temple Church.

But his own dental practice was where he most shined and cared for youth. It was the center of his unceasing pursuit of perfection, problem-solving, innovation, and generated mutual delight for him and patients. As a lover of the arts, he treated it as his stage, and he was the headline performer. His jokes, quizzes, songs, and wisdom engaged (and cleverly) distracted patients while he customized smiles to make them shine. It was more than exterior beauty to him; it instilled confidence to help his mostly Black clientele boldly take on a world that might not have fully open arms. 

Al prepared his own children to seize the world, too, sometimes with a heavy hand but tempered with love and a desire for them to be their best. Like LeGrande, he also wanted them to have compassion for community and lift others while climbing. In that spirit, he gifted them with a family faith grounded in a belief in God and giving, good educations, a strong work ethic, grit, self-respect, and travel. He also bequeathed the gift of gab, humor, and his multigenerational friendships that enrich his children’s lives now. Alphonso’s life was emblematic of extreme evolution, elevation, and defying the odds – a true American story of success. 

He is survived by his children: Yolanda (Gboyega) Adewumi of New York, N.Y., Gerald (Angela) Trottman of Nashville, Tenn., and Melanie Trottman of Washington, D.C.; his grandchildren Amber and Timothy Trottman of Nashville; his younger brother, Galen (Lori) Davis of Seattle, Wash.; and a nephew and niece born to his deceased older brother Robert (Jackie) Trottman: Robert (Cheryl) Trottman and Karen Trottman.