Dr. I. Stephen Brown, a pioneering Philadelphia periodontist known for his skill as a surgeon, his early work with dental implants and his devotion to teaching generations of dentists, died suddenly July 20 during a drive back from the family’s mountain home. He was 86.

Brown, known as Steve, practiced for five decades in Center City and taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and what is now Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital. Even after retiring from private practice in 2022, he continued teaching dental residents at Einstein.

“He was a consummate teacher,” said Dr. Sander “Sandy” White, a restorative dentist who knew Brown for about 50 years.

Brown was born Isaac Stephen Brown and grew up on Long Island with his parents, Selma Weidhorn Brown and Bernard D. Brown, and his younger sister, Jane.

His father worked in the printing and stationery business. His maternal grandparents, Isidore and Bessie Weidhorn, were prominent in the local Jewish community. His grandfather helped found a Reform synagogue in Lynbrook, Long Island.

Brown was especially close to his maternal grandmother. After her husband died shortly before Brown’s bar mitzvah, she moved into the Brown family home.

“She was his best friend,” said his wife, Pauline “Pelley” Brown.

His Jewish upbringing emphasized family, integrity and doing the right thing, she said.

Brown attended Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland. He began as an English major and retained a lifelong love of literature, particularly Shakespeare.

During college, he decided to pursue dentistry after being influenced by a family friend who was a dentist. He left Western Reserve after his junior year and entered Temple University’s School of Dentistry, where he became class president and president of Alpha Omega, a dental fraternity with Jewish roots.

After graduating in 1965, Brown joined the Navy Dental Corps and was stationed in Rhode Island. The assignment unexpectedly led him toward periodontics, the branch of dentistry concerned with the gums and bone supporting the teeth.

When the periodontist at the base was transferred, Brown was asked to take over much of the work despite not yet having specialty training. He later entered the periodontal program at University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.

There, Brown became interested in the connection between periodontics and orthodontics — how the position of teeth could affect the health of the gums and supporting bone. His wife said he was the first dentist to pursue additional training integrating the two fields, known as Ortho-Perio.

Brown also became an early practitioner of modern dental implant treatment in Philadelphia after studying techniques associated with Swedish researcher Per-Ingvar Brånemark. He later helped teach other dentists through dental study clubs on how implants could be used to replace teeth.

He also explored the use of lasers in treating periodontal disease before the technology became widely accepted.

White said Brown’s importance went beyond particular techniques.

“He combined those two strengths — as a clinician and a teacher — to influence generations of dentists,” White said.

Brown practiced at 220 S. 16th St. in Center City. His wife said he did not talk to patients while they were reclined in a dental chair.

“He always sat eyeball-to-eyeball,” she said.

White said Brown put the patient’s welfare ahead of financial considerations or insurance rules.

“He knew what the right thing was to do for the patient, and he acted accordingly,” White said.

Teaching was equally important. Brown taught at Penn and Temple and spent decades at Einstein, where he was the director of its dental implant program. He was honored by having the residents’ implant day named the I. Stephen Brown Implant Day. After retiring, he returned regularly to teach residents.

“The greatest compliment that he could ever receive,” White said, “was that his students surpassed their teachers.”

Brown and Pelley were married for 61 years and knew each other for 64.

They met when she was a freshman at Beaver College and Brown was beginning dental school at Temple.

The couple had two children, Jason and Samantha Johnston, and four grandchildren.

Pelley Brown described her husband as “my greatest champion.” He was also a devoted father and grandfather. He made time to teach his own children to ski and play tennis and encouraged them to pursue their own interests without pushing them.

“He wanted them to be who they were and be the best at who they were,” she said.

Judaism remained important throughout Brown’s life. The family belonged to Society Hill Synagogue for decades. They celebrated Jewish holidays, held traditional Passover seders and made sure their children understood their Jewish identity.

A professional trip to Israel, where Brown lectured, deepened his attachment to the country. His wife said he became fascinated by Israel’s history and contributions to science and medicine.

Brown was an avid reader with wide-ranging interests in history, politics, Jewish history and antisemitism.

Outside dentistry, Brown also loved classical music, opera, skiing, tennis, golf and travel. He and his wife supported the Philadelphia Orchestra and other cultural institutions.

White remembered him as smart, kind, curious and unusually good at connecting people.

“He was the kind of person who somehow or other got to know everybody,” White said.

Pelley Brown said the family will remember above all his belief in integrity, learning and treating others well.

“It’s not about how much money you have,” she said. “It’s about who you are.”

Ellen Braunstein is a freelance obituary writer. She welcomes suggestions for individuals who had meaningful ties to the Philadelphia Jewish community. Email csix@midatlanticmedia.com.