Dobbs Ferry, New York, is about as middle class American as it gets and is a suburb about 40 miles north of New York City. It ranks as one of the best places in the state to raise a family. And so, that’s where Edward and his wife, Karen, moved to in the 1980s to raise their four kids. The couple had three girls and a boy. And Edward was a dentist. He bought a hilltop house in Dobbs Ferry, one that had a large, full basement, and opened his dental practice in that basement. Karen, who had been a psychiatrist, gave up that career to stay home with the kids and become Edward’s office manager.

The practice thrived. Of course, Dobbs Ferry is an affluent place where kids take care of their teeth. And Edward advertised that he was a painless dentist. His advertisement had a catchy slogan, too: WE CATER TO COWARDS! And the gimmick worked. The basement office was always full from opening to close, and sometimes there were issues with parking in the drive and on the street. But working at home was what both Edward and Karen wanted for their family. Being at home all the time was their goal, being there for the kids, and nurturing their education and ambitions was paramount.

Edward was one of the first dentists anywhere to use digital imaging for his dental x-rays rather than developing large film. He was an early adopter of technology, and computers were present in the office and in the home at a time when most people still didn’t have a home computer. In fact, Edward’s son created an electronic notification system for letting the office know that a patient had arrived. Up until that time, one of the kids would simply yell something like, “Patient!! or “Here’s another one!” to let Edward know someone had arrived for their appointment. Interestingly, the primitive message system was a lot like what would become AOL’s Instant Messenger, something that hadn’t come out yet.

The house became a sort of central stopping point for kids in the neighborhood. There was always something fun happening at Dr. Edward’s place. The girls would have friends over, and that, of course, attracted boys to stop by. The boy’s chums, who were fascinated by all the technology and geekiness of the place, wanted to see the latest video programs and games that were only then becoming The Thing for young people to pursue. Karen made sure snacks and soft drinks were around. And all of this social activity was why Edward and Karen wanted to have the big house on the hill. Edward always said that if the kids were home, you always knew what they were up to.

All of the Painless Dentist’s kids grew up to be successful. Randi, the oldest girl, does media production for people like the Clinton Global Initiative and the United Nations after receiving a degree from Harvard. Donna received a doctorate from Princeton and is a renown classics scholar. After a degree in business, the youngest daughter, Arielle, is a successful businessperson and a venture capitalist. She turned down an offer from her brother to go to work for the company he started because, she said, “Who wants to work for your older brother?”

That older brother, Mark, did pretty well for himself, too.

He founded Facebook.