Sophia Arabatzis Balis, D.D.S.

Sophia Arabatzis Balis, D.D.S., was an educator and dentist devoted to the health and care of children and dental education.

She was born in 1930 and raised in Athens, Greece, the eldest of three children. She enrolled in the University of Athens School of Dentistry, graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1957, and spent 1958 as a Teaching Fellow in Operative Surgery. Her early experiences shaped her values and perspective based on community welfare and human rights.

In 1959, she came to the United States, enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, and worked as an intern in pedodontics and oral surgery at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburg. From 1960-1961, she interned in Oral Surgery at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and supervised senior dental students in Oral Surgery at the School of Dentistry, Pittsburg.

In 1963, she enrolled at the University of Toronto Dental School in Ontario, Canada, and received her second Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1966. She was licensed to practice dentistry in Greece, Canada, and the United States. In 1966, Balis was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD). She was a lecturer and clinical supervisor of sophomore and junior dental students until she retired in July 1991.

With her appointment, Balis became the first woman professor to be appointed to UMSOD, which was established in 1840 and is the oldest dental school in the U.S. Her career in Dentistry at the UMDS spanned more than four decades. She opened the way for women in Dentistry and introduced the study of Humanities in Dental Education. In 1968, she was the first to initiate programs to prevent caries (tooth decay) in children with fluoride application in Baltimore, now a universal practice. Due to Balis' efforts, thousands of women have graduated as dentists and dental hygienists, achieving academic appointments as faculty members at all levels of training for dental professionals.

Balis held many academic appointments since her graduation in 1959 from the University of Athens. She served as Dental Attending at Kernan Hospital, Supervising Faculty at UMDS, and as president of the Hellenic American Dental Society regional chapter. She presented at the “VIII World Congress of Psychiatry,” held in Athens, Greece as well as other international conferences. Balis received grants from the Maternal and Child Health Services Department. Her research focused on periodontal disease in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Down's Syndrome. Her lasting contribution to education is her paper on Humanities in Dental Education.

Balis worked tirelessly in the community promoting dental health education by lecturing in Baltimore City schools. She worked for the Baltimore City Health Department and collaborated with the Maryland Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. She was also a member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Balis continued teaching long after her retirement.

She was honored in 1974 by the Who's Who of American Women, was the winner of the IJ Preneech Prize in Endodontics from the University of Toronto School of Dentistry, and was appointed Professor Emeritus of the University of Maryland Dental School in 2006.

Balis married her high school sweetheart, George U. Balis, M.D., who also taught at the University of Maryland in the School of Medicine as a professor of psychiatry and director of education and training. They had two children, Theodora and Chrysanthy. Sophia A. Balis died on April 3, 2018.

“Every child is a human being in the process of becoming, with an inherent dignity that we have a responsibility to lovingly protect.” — Sophia Arabatzis Balis, D.D.S.