Dr. William Allen; Headed Major Dental Groups

Dr. William Allen, 72, former head of both the California Dental Assn. and the American Dental Assn. Allen served in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War before earning his dentistry degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons (now the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry). Later Allen became a trustee of the school. He practiced dentistry in Pasadena and became president of the San Gabriel Valley Dental Society. In 1980, Allen was elected president of the California Dental Assn. In 1986, he moved to Washington, D.C., to become chief lobbyist for the American Dental Assn. Three years later he transferred to the association’s Chicago headquarters as associate executive director and in 1992 was named executive director. Allen was active in the Tournament of Roses Assn. for 37 years and worked with Young and Healthy, a charitable dental service for needy children. He was a trustee of Huntington Memorial Hospital and a member of the Board of Counselors of the USC School of Dentistry. On Monday in Pasadena of pneumonia.