Digital revolution in prosthodontics - American College of ...

Nancy “Deal” Chandler,
MA, RHIA, CAE
Executive Director’s Corner
Accelerating pace of change
invigorates College
We are off to a great start in 2008! We have a position of
strength—a team of Board leaders, committees, task forces,
volunteers, growing membership ranks, staff, and corporate
partners with the reach and brand required to take us to the
next level and realize our strategic goals. We have a history of
innovation—innovation is an important piece of our heritage and
now we are leading science and technology initiatives through
such venues as our Digital Prosthodontics Technology
Conference held in January with the University of North
Carolina School of Dentistry. We have the ability to change—
just look at the many milestones we have achieved since our
founding in 1970. As the pace of change accelerates around
us, we are more agile and flexible than ever before. Our
metamorphosis to a new governance structure and our Board’s
adoption of a new policy in February that commits the Board to
conducting its affairs in an open and transparent atmosphere
have enhanced the trust and understanding we have with
members and other stakeholders.
As the pace of change accelerates around us, we are more
agile and flexible than ever before.
I hope you share my enthusiasm for how far we have come and
for what lies ahead in the ACP’s brilliant future. This will be
a pivotal year in our history—a year that will redefine
our relationships with our members—a year where our newly
created Regions and Regional Directors will reach out to Section
Officers and members in new ways to stir grassroots member
involvement in our College. The ACP Board encourages your
participation in ACP activities, especially within your Regions
and Sections, and will consider your opinions in the Board’s
deliberations and decision-making.
Our metamorphosis is not limited to a new governance
structure—it includes our Web site and ACP Web Services, new
and updated product offerings, and continuing education. For
example, significant changes in the format and content of the
ACP’s Annual Session were made last year, and there are more
exciting innovations in store for the 2008. I was recently
approached by one member who felt negatively about the
quality of the ACP’s Annual Sessions. When I asked about the
last time he attended the Annual Session, he said five years ago.
I challenge him and others like him to come back to our Annual
Session starting this fall in Nashville, and I’m confident you will
leave with changed and positive perceptions.
Your insights about ACP membership are important to us, so
take advantage of the new opportunities to communicate with
your leadership and influence the direction of the College. Set
aside your old views about the ACP and help us to reshape the
ACP membership value proposition in ways that have meaning
for you and for all of our members.
Member’s essay on historical
Stevenson reveals curious
dental mystery
ACP member Robert B. Stevenson,
D.D.S., M.S., M.A. presented a paper
titled, “Stevenson’s Dentist – Unsung
Hero” at the 2006 Robert Louis
Stevenson Conference held at Saranac
Lake, N.Y. The article was published in
the Journal of Stevenson Studies,
University of Stirling, Issue 4,
pp. 43-51, 2007.
Dr. Stevenson demonstrated the surgical mallet and chisel likely
used by an Oakland, Calif. dentist when removing RLS’s teeth in
preparation for complete dentures in April 1880, three weeks
before Stevenson got married. Dr. Stevenson’s presentation also
included a floor fan, which used to disperse familiar dental office
odors of eugenol/clove and ether, a common anesthetic, around
the lecture room. A variety of other oral surgical instruments
used to extract teeth that were available in 1880 were also
demonstrated, including sound effects.
Fellow appointed to specialty
group board
The Academy of Osseointegration’s
Foundation Grant Review Board
appointed Glenn J. Wolfinger,
D.M.D., F.A.C.P., to a position on the
board. The foundation annually
contributes more than $100,000 to
subsidizing the care of eligible patients.
This committee is responsible for
reviewing charitable grant applications
and selecting grant recipients.
Dr. Wolfinger is a partner at Prosthodontics Intermedica, in
Fort Washington, Pa., one of the first dental implant treatment
and training centers in the United States. Dr. Wolfinger, a
Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, has served
on several College committees.
ACPEF adopts new mission
statement
The mission of the ACPEF is to secure and steward resources
with the aim of advancing prosthodontics. The ACPEF
provides funding to support education, research and growth of
the specialty and discipline of prosthodontics.
ACP staff welcomes membership coordinator
The ACP is pleased to announce the appointment of a new
Membership Coordinator Rachel Brunswick.
She has a non-profit background including a recent
position with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s
Team in Training program. As campaign coordinator she
managed all aspects of the triathlon & cycle portions of
the program including – recruitment, retention, communications
and customer service – for the Western Pennsylvania
and West Virginia Chapter.
Rachel earned a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration
in non-profit management from Slippery Rock University
of Pennsylvania. Rachel recently relocated to Chicago
from Pittsburgh with her husband Jared, a safety manager
for U.S. Steel. She’s thrilled to be a member of the ACP
team and looks forward to working with the College and its
esteemed members.
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ACP MESSENGER WWW.PROSTHODONTICS.ORG SPRING 2008