Spring 2008 - UNC School of Dentistry - University of North Carolina ...

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individuals at age 32 had periodontal
disease, indicate that this
younger group may need more
attention.”
The 903 participants are part
of a longitudinal study of a group
of children born at Queen Mary
Hospital in Dunedin, New
Zealand, between 1972 and
1973. The recent study’s senior
author is Dr. W. Murray
Thomson, a professor of dental
public health at the Sir John
Walsh Research Institute at the
University of Otago’s School of
Dentistry, in Dunedin.
The study suggests that the
benefits of public health measures
to reduce the prevalence of
cannabis use may carry over to
gum disease. Additionally,
researchers wrote, studying a
possible association between
cannabis use and periodontal disease
in other populations “should
be a priority for periodontal
epidemiological research.”
Other study authors were
Drs. Richie Poulton, David
Welch and Robert J. Hancox, all
of Dunedin School of Medicine,
the University of Otago;
Jonathan M. Broadbent of the
Department of Oral Sciences,
University of Otago; and Drs.
Terrie E. Moffitt and Avshalom
Caspi, with King’s College
London and Duke University.
Funding was provided by the
National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research and the
National Institute of Mental
Health, both components of the
National Institutes of Health; the
Medical Research Council of the
United Kingdom; and the Health
Research Council of New
Zealand, which supports the
Dunedin Multidisciplinary
Health and Development
Research Unit.
Immediate Past President of ADA Gives
Commencement Address
Dr. Kathleen Roth, immediate
past president of the American
Dental Association, gave the
keynote address at the UNC
School of Dentistry’s 2008 commencement
ceremony.
The 6 p.m. May 11 ceremony
took place in Memorial Hall on
the University campus.
Roth completed her term as
ADA president in
October 2007 —
the second woman
to serve as ADA
president since the
organization’s creation
in 1859.
Prior to this role,
Roth
she served a fouryear
term on the ADA Board of
Trustees as Ninth District trustee.
She also served on the Council on
Membership and
Communications and, when that
council was divided, as vice chair
of the Council on Membership.
She also served on ADA task
forces on education for dental
hygienists and accreditation of
international dental schools,
“It is critical that
the practicing dental
community and our
newest of graduates
engage in a lifetime
of service to all ...”
DR. KATHLEEN ROTH
among other ADA initiatives. She
is a past president of the
Wisconsin Dental Association.
Among her other leadership
activities, she participated in a
Congressional briefing panel on
women’s oral health in 2003 and
made a professional presentation
on women’s oral health at an international
dental congress in New
Delhi, India, in 2004.
Roth, who also is a dentist in
general practice in West Bend,
Wis., is a graduate of the
Marquette University School of
Dentistry. Her alma mater presented
her with a 2005 Dental
12
Community Service Award.
“Dr. Roth is the epitome of
leadership within dentistry,” said
School Dean John N. Williams.
“She encourages others through
her integrity, positive attitude and
forward-thinking approach. Her
interests are many—access to care,
technology, the future of dental
education—yet she never forgets
that the patient is at the center of
all discussion within dentistry.”
Roth said she valued her role in
congratulating and addressing the
graduating class of 2008.
“As new colleagues entering the
dental profession, they will be
faced with many challenges and
limitless opportunities. It is critical
that the practicing dental community
and our newest of graduates
engage in a lifetime of service to
all—those with resources, as well
as the underserved in our country.
“These new graduates will
soon begin to create a path in
their professional lives and within
organized dentistry. The potential
for great things is open to each
and every one of them.”