Destination: dentistry.

Byline: Ruth Vecchione

He has boyhood memories of Thanksgivings spent at his grandparents' house at 63 South Main St. in Uxbridge, where his grandfather practiced dentistry on the second floor.

"We played in his chairs upstairs. There were about 20 cousins doing crazy things, squirting each other," he said.

By the time he was in high school, Whitinsville resident Dr. Michael W. Cnossen knew he wanted to be a dentist.

Inspired by his grandfather, Dr. Homer R. Gray, he, along with two cousins, are in the fifth generation of dental professionals on the maternal side of his family.

His cousin, Laurie Wiersma of Uxbridge, works with him in his Northbridge dental office on Prospect Street as a hygienist. Another cousin, Dr. Paul E. Gray, is a dentist in Kentucky.

The first in the family line of dentists, Dr. Cnossen's great-great-grandfather, Moses Small, began practicing dentistry in the mid-1800s in Providence. According to Mrs. Wiersma, his two sons became dentists and practiced in Providence and Attleboro.

Dr. Small loved the mechanics of dentistry and patented a reflective mouth mirror, the AE Gray Mirror, that directed natural light from a window into the mouth, Mrs. Wiersma said.

It was Dr. Small's daughter, Julia, who began the branch of dentists in Dr. Cnossen's family tree when she caught the eye of his apprentice, Alfred E. Gray.

They were married in 1884, and four years later, Dr. Gray moved his practice to Uxbridge. He originally started in the Daley building, and then moved to the Taft block until it was destroyed by fire in 1896, according to Mrs. Wiersma.

Dr. Gray then moved his family and practice to the 63 South Main St. house. His son, Homer, carried on the family profession and attended Harvard Dental School, returning to work with his father, Mrs. Wiersma said.

Dr. Homer Gray was the first of the generations of dentists to get a degree in dentistry. Dental school took one year then. Before that, dentists learned dentistry through apprenticeships.

All four of Dr. Homer Gray's children worked in dental health. Dr. Cnossen and Mrs. Wiersma's mothers, Deborah Cnossen of Uxbridge and Ruth Myers of Douglas, both worked as hygienists in the second floor Uxbridge dental office.

Dr. Cnossen attended Tufts Dental School for four years and graduated in 1980. After graduating, he spent more than three years in the military as a dentist at Fort Benning in Georgia and Fort Hamilton in New York City.

Dr. Cnossen celebrated the 25th year of his dental practice in Northbridge in February. Starting with two dental chairs in an office on Cross Street, he now has nine chairs in his current location on Prospect Street. Most recently he brought in an associate dentist, Dr. Jason Tubo of Douglas.

"There's an amazing difference in technology since 1984," he said. He said he's been using technology right from the start and now has the latest digital technology for implants and orthodontics.

On a tour through his high-tech, full-scale dental office, Dr. Cnossen's pride and passion for his work become evident.

Equally evident are signs of pride in his heritage - five generations and 165 years of dentistry.

Holding up a long, sepia-toned sign with the words "Great Is Thy Faithfulness Through All Generations," he said it will soon be displayed in the hall of his modern dental office with a dental cabinet from his grandfather's practice and framed photos of the five generations of dentists.

"These were from my grandfather's office," he said pointing to two beautifully reupholstered Queen Anne-style seats.

His grandfather inspired him and he chose to follow in his footsteps. "Homer was a godly saint," he said.

Dr. Cnossen's mother adds that her father was one of the founders of the Uxbridge Nazarene Church in 1951 and was president for 43 years of the Douglas Camp Meeting, an interdenominational Bible camp, on South Street in Douglas.

Dr. Cnossen attends the same Nazarene Church with his wife, Christie, and he also served as president of the Douglas Camp Meeting for 14 years.

"There is a common thread that winds through each of these generations," Mrs. Wiersma said. "Each was known for their passion at work, their compassion for people, and their dedication to community, church and family. Each had a deep relationship with Jesus Christ and witnessed to that by their love for people and their generous hearts toward all," she said.

Dr. Cnossen's daughter, Cydney, an artist, lives with him in Northbridge. Another daughter, Devon Alvaro, is a nurse practitioner who lives with her husband, Mike, in Upton.

Will there be a sixth generation of dentists? There are enough cousins, so there just might be, Dr. Cnossen said.

ART: PHOTOS

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/JIM COLLINS

CUTLINE: (1) A portrait of five generations: Dr. Michael W. Cnossen and his cousin Laurie Wiersma, a hygienist, standing in back, represent the fifth generation of dental professionals in their family. Ruth (Gray) Myers, left, and her sister Deborah (Gray) Cnossen, right, were both dental hygienists. In the photos, from left, are Dr. Moses W. Small, Dr. Alfred Gray, Dr. Homer R. Gray and Dr. Paul Gray. Posing as a patient is Dr. Cnossen's dental assistant, Deborah Koopman.