Dr. Howard Elson attended Queens College in New York City, and the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he earned his DMD degree in 1972. After a stint in the U.S. Army (Fort Jackson, S.C., where he "preserved the biting strength of our troops"), Dr. Elson completed his residency in Pediatric Dentistry in Pittsburgh. Dr. Elson spent two years as an associate, then started his own practice in McKeesport, PA in 1978, which he still maintains today.

Dr. Elson has presented many seminars and lectures on Pediatric Dentistry, and has served as local dental society president and public relations director for the Dental Society of Western Pennsylvania. He has served as Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists and has received awards and honors from the United States Army, Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity and the American Society of Dentistry for Children, among others.

Dr. Elson and wife Robin, a CPA, have two children, Philip and Lauren. Philip is the play-by-play "voice" of the Arkansas Travelers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim AA minor league baseball affiliate. Their daughter Lauren is a teaches 3rd grade at Community Day School of Pittsburgh.

Born within walking distance of Yankee Stadium and raised near Shea Stadium, Dr. Elson developed a love for baseball early on. Years later he did a three-year stint on KDKA radio as a sports commentator, then as the host of his own radio sports talk show. In 1988 he was honored as "Western Pennsylvania's funniest and best commentator."

His office is decorated as a theater. Ticket stubs are used as appointment cards, and theater paraphernalia adorns his waiting room and office. But Dr. Elson sees a line between dentistry and comedy. "I don't want my patients coming to me because they heard me sing or saw me in a play," he said. "I want them to come to me because I'm a good, kind, gentle pediatric dentist who treats them well... and then I might sing for them."