PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners

The North DakotaState Board of DentalExaminers is pleased tointroduce…The North Dakota StateBoard of Dental Examinersalso introduces…North Dakota native DaleBrewster, DDS graduated fromBowbells High School in 1966 andreceived his Bachelors of Sciencedegree from Minot State College.He taught school in the Minotpublic system for three years beforeembarking on a new career at theUniversity of Minnesota School ofDentistry, where in 1979 he earnedhis degree. After graduation Dr.Brewster was employed by agraduate adult special prosthodonticprogram through the University ofMinnesota, enriching his educational experience.Dr. Brewster established a private practice in Crosby, ND in 1980and moved to Stanley, North Dakota a short time later where he hasmaintained his private general practice for the past 24 years. Thislocation has allowed him to continue his lifetime farming interest andlove of the outdoors. The Brewster’s also love to travel, especiallywhere hunting and fishing are involved although Debbie has beenknown to say, “He hunts too much!” Dr. Brewster further extendshis service to the people of North Dakota through the Minne-ToheHealth Center serving the members of the Three Affiliated Tribes(the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa peoples) where he has contractedwith the Indian Health Services for the past five years.Dr. Brewster and his wife Debbie, a Minot native, have shared29 years as husband and wife, and have raised three children.Andrea, age 26, is enrolled in dental school at the Arizona School ofDentistry in Mesa, Arizona. Leah, age 24, is a registered nurse andlives in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Jacob, age 20, is a student at theUniversity of North Dakota.When asked about his appointment to the Board, Dr. Brewstercommented “Working with the Board of Dental Examiners is anexciting and challenging position. I hope to serve the public and thedental profession fairly.”Robert Lauf, DDS was raised andeducated in North Dakota. Afterreceiving his Bachelors of Sciencedegree from North Dakota StateUniversity he went on to study atthe University of Nebraska receivinghis DDS degree in 1989. In 1990 Dr.Lauf became established with GooseRiver Dental Associates in Mayville,ND where he resides today with hiswife Kimberly and their two children,Savannah, 15 and Robert III, 14.In a relatively short time Dr.Lauf’s passion for dentistry hasbecome apparent through his dedicated service to patients as wellas his fellow dental professionals holding various responsibilitieswith the ADA and it’s component and constituent organizations.Dr. Lauf has been a supporter of dental education, participating inthe ADA Dental Education Summit and is an ardent supporter ofthe dental needs of the elderly population through his service onthe Older Adult Access to Oral Health Care Advisory Committeewith the ADA Health Foundation and Glaxo Smith Kline. DrLauf has also served on the ADA Elder Care Task Force. TheSeptember/October 2006 issue of the AGD General Dentistryfeatured an article co-authored by Dr. Lauf, “Assessment of DentalCare Access and Utilization Among the Older Adult Population inthe United States”. In addition, Dr. Lauf is credited with servingthe dental community as a consultant for the ADA’s Council onAccess, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations (CAPIR) and haschaired the Committee on Access for the ADA. Dr. Lauf has beenactive closer to home serving two consecutive terms as Presidentfor the North Dakota Dental Association in 2001 and 2002.Fortunately for the dental consumers of North Dakota,participation in dentistry does not end in the private dental operatoryfor Dr. Dale Brewster and Dr. Robert Lauf. Welcome Aboard!Board to participate in the stateHealth Care Professionals Emergency Credential SystemEarlier this year the ND Department of Health, Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response, contacted the North Dakota StateBoard of Dental Examiners to discuss the Board’s participation in a voluntary emergency response system for health care professionals.Federal bioterrorism grant dollars are available to each state to implement a Health Care Professionals Emergency CredentialingSystem which includes a Health Alert Network (HAN). The HAN is a real-time, or near real-time database of health care professional’slicensing status information shared by state licensing boards and is used to verify and credential volunteers willing to practice in a nonemployerfacility in the event of an emergency. The North Dakota Department of Health administers the grant and maintains the HANdatabase of licensed health care professionals in ND and in the event of an emergency, will activate the HAN to contact volunteers.Currently, the licensing boards for the physicians, nurses, pharmacists and social workers in North Dakota are participating in theHAN and in 2006 four other health care professions were identified by the Department of Health including dentists, registered dentalhygienists, registered dental assistants, respiratory therapists, psychologists and veterinarians.Beginning in 2007 for the 2008 license renewal year, the State Board of Dental Examiners will recruit for the volunteer emergencyresponse system as part of our license renewal process. Participation is voluntary and not required to renew your license. Should youchoose to volunteer to participate in the Emergency Response System, you will be provided additional information from the NorthDakota Department of Health, Division of Emergency Preparedness & Response.Participation in the HAN requires additional database technologies paid for by the federal grant and will allow the Board of Dental Examinersto implement an online license renewal system as well as online license and continuing education verification for consumers and licensees.Page