November 2007 Newsletter

10/9/07

Attendance: Ashmen, Brunsden, Chustckie,Courey,Desai, Fahsbender, Galkin, Glickman, Kahn, Krantz,Leizer, Modi, Nandra, Prabhu, Rosen, Savage, Schambra, Silverstein, Simos, Stein, Villa, Vitale, Weiner, Marlene Glickman.
Acceptance of Minutes-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-James Courey
Dr. Courey attended the NJDA Delegates meeting on Wednesday, September 12th in place of Nancy Villa. They commended MCDS for our approach to membership issues and CE courses. The all-day Cathy Jameson CE course was an overwhelming success and was the best attended course in our history.
Treasurer’s Report-Robert Ashmen
See full report on page 3.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Peter Clemente
See full report on page 5.
NJDPAC Report-Mark Vitale
Jim Shultz and the members of the NJDPAC Executive Committee thank the members of the MCDS BOT for their enthusiastic support.
Give Kids a Smile-Cavan Brunsden
Give Kids A Smile will be held on Friday, February 1, 2008. This annual event provides access to care for those children who do not have access to a dentist. This is the ADA’s national program that highlights the access to care issue and demonstrates that organized dentistry can and does provide care to those in need. We must stand in the forefront of this issue so that we establish ourselves as the profession that has the solution, or else others may chose to do so. Please support this effort by personally volunteering your skills, talent, and staff to help us extend the reach of organized dentistry as it continues to serve you. You are organized dentistry.
Council Reports:
Council on Dental Benefits - Mark Vitale
A motion was proposed to have an Alternate Member for this Council who will accompany the Chair to the meetings. The Board will then be adequately represented if the Chair of the Council is unable to attend the meeting. This position will be presented to the general membership for interested volunteers.
Dental Education-Bob Ashmen
The council will be awarding four $500 scholarships to students in dental assistant programs in NJ. The council will also be sending 2 representatives to the School Counselor Association Annual Fall Conference in Long Branch, NJ this month. The council will be selecting the four speakers for the Weekend Study Club for Spring 2008. The Smile On-Line website continues to be up and running well.
Governmental and Public Affairs-Mitch Weiner
See full report on page 6.
Membership-Tara Savage
The NJDA Council on Membership met on October 11, 2007. Tricia DeCotiis reported that dates have been set for the student programs at UMDNJ Dental School. The programs are scheduled for October 17, 2007 (sophomores), November 7, 2007 (freshman), December 6, 2007 (junior past-presidents lunch), and March 19, 2008 (senior licensure presentation & dental expo day). Ms. DeCotiis has begun visiting doctors in GPR programs to recruit non-members. This is the third year she is doing this. She will visit a total of 9 programs. She also plans to visit Temple and UPENN dental schools in the spring to meet with and recruit graduating seniors returning to NJ. The NJDA weekend study club series has begun. Upcoming dates are October 13, November 10, and December 2. These courses are fully sponsored and offered at no cost to members. As of October 10, 2007, membership has 4,721 members for 2007. This is slightly ahead of the total at the same time last year and just 55 shy of the year end total for 2006. MCDS is running a seminar entitled, “Today’s Dental Practice: Acquisition, Management, Lifestyle.” The program will take place at the NJDA headquarters building on January 24, 2008 at 6 pm. The program will be sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Insurance Resources and is offered at no cost to MCDS and NJDA members.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-David Stein
The sponsors for the October 16th meeting will include:
1) Care Credit, 2) Hayes Handpiece Repair, 3) James Luongo Financial Services, 4) Dexis Digital Radiography, 5) The Dentists Insurance Company, 6) 3M Unitek, 7) American Express.
Budget and Finance-Ira Rosen
The Budget and Finance Committee made the following proposals for 2008 which were adopted by the Board of Trustees at the October 9th meeting. Due to the significant increases over the past few years for the rooms and food at the Pines Manor, as well as other increases in expenditures due to inflation, the following recommendations were approved and included in the upcoming budget:
1. Increase in annual MCDS dues of $10 for 2008 from $150 to $160. Rationale: Dues have not been increased in ~12 years, but we have had a significant increase in costs over that period of time. This increase is less than 7%.
2. Increase fees for our staff members at Staff Night to offset the large increasing costs associated with this event.
3. Increase tuition and fees as needed for all CE and Mentor programs to more accurately reflect the costs associated with these programs.
The Board of Trustees also approved $3,000 that is included in this budget for educational grants to be allocated as follows:
1. $1,000 for RWJUH
2. $1,000 for JFK
3. $1,000 for MCCC Hygiene Program
The goal of the committee is to more closely meet our costs and maintain the MCDS treasury, so that we can continue to provide the best member benefits possible for our membership as well as continuing to support organized dentistry.
Motion by Dr. Silverstein, seconded by Dr. Weiner, for the Board to approve the budget proposed by the Budget and Finance Committee. Motion Passed.
Mentor-Ethan Glickman
Our next OSHA program satisfies the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, which is required annually for dentists and staff will be given on November 15, 2007, Thursday; 6:30 - 8:30PM. Each office person trained will receive certification that they have been properly instructed for this OSHA regulation on Infection Control. Two CEU credits will be awarded to those attending this 2-hour seminar. This seminar is available to our members for $15/pp as a member benefit of MCDS. A big “Thank You” to Dr. Joe Fertig for arranging all our room accommodations for the MCDS-OSHA programs at St. Peter’s Medical Center in New Brunswick.
See the OSHA insert in this Newsletter for information on registration.
MCDS Study Club - Dr. Ethan Glickman, facilitator; Subcommittee report: Membership Committee – Dr. Tara Savage; Chairman
The next meeting of the MCDS Study Club will be on Thursday, October 18, 2007. We will be meeting on the main level of the Clarion Hotel on Rte 27, Edison, NJ. The format is a dinner meeting (each member attending pays for their own meal), starting at 6:30PM, in a roundtable discussion group.
We discuss cases that our members are actively treating and share information on everything from starting a dental practice, associating or retirement concepts with everything in between that is informational and practical in running a quality and efficient dental practice. Please consider joining your fellow colleagues in this new type of Study Club at MCDS. This is a very valuable member benefit for all our members of MCDS. Please contact Marlene Glickman, our Executive Secretary, at 732-238-1255 for additional information and registration in advance.
CENTRAL NEW JERSEY DENTAL HYGIENE STUDY CLUB
MCDS will be assisting in the formation of a new study club for Middlesex County Dental Hygienists, called the “CENTRAL NEW JERSEY DENTAL HYGIENE STUDY CLUB”.
That’s right, a study club for dental hygienists in the Central NJ area, sponsored by Middlesex County Dental Society. The CNJDH study club is inviting new members to join this Fall 2007.
This is an opportunity for CNJDH study club dental hygienists to take an active role in their professional development and be able to enthusiastically participate in the dental team process of providing our patients with the best quality professional care! LEARN from qualified, informative & professional guest speakers arranged & provided by MCDS.
EARN CEU’s - just one year’s membership will provide the required 10 CEU’s needed for licensure/year.
The meeting will always be held at the same location and time: 6:30-9:00 PM, Wednesdays at the Clarion Hotel, Rte 27 South, Edison NJ. Two CEU credits will be awarded for each meeting.
A Round-Table discussion will be held after each speaker’s presentation for those who are able to stay after 9:00PM. CNJDH study club members will be able to share their knowledge and experiences while learning from each other.
The first meeting will be on October 24, 2007. Topic: Principles of Ethics and Conduct in Dental Practice.
Speaker: Robert A. Shekitka, DMD (Dr. Shekitka is Immediate Past President, New Jersey Dental Association and he is on faculty at UMDNJ).
This CNJDH study club is available to our staff hygienists’ as a Dentist-member benefit of MCDS.
See the insert in this Newsletter for information on registration.
Oral Cancer Screening-Arpan Nandra
In the summer, Dr. Nandra participated in a health fair at Petra company for the employees which was a great success. There was a fairly large turnout and the screening generated much interest. People were made aware of the fact that their dentist should be checking for lesions that can also be indicative of other diseases in the body.
Dental Shadowing-Paresh Patel/ Marlene Glickman
The Dental Shadowing Program has been working out very well for those students who have chosen to participate. They are informed about the program by Greg Sobel at Rutgers’ Career Services. We are still looking for dentists who would like to participate in the Dental Shadowing Program, particularly those in or close to New Brunswick to accommodate those students who do not have a car. If you would like to be one of the dentists to allow a Rutgers’ student to shadow at your office, please contact Marlene Glickman @ 732-238-1255.
Old Business
• Motion by Dr. Silverstein and seconded by Dr. Rosen for the Board to authorize the purchase of an insurance policy (up to $300) with a Fidelity Bond to insure Dr. Silverstein against identity theft as a result of using his personal credit card to secure our PayPal account. Our PayPal account is our mechanism for accepting online course registrations using credit card payments. After investigating the differences between PayPal and a merchant account, PayPal’s mechanism for integration with our web site is the most straightforward. A vote for this motion would indicate that the Board wants to allow online course registration using credit cards. Motion passed.
• Dr. Vitale made a motion (properly seconded) that he and Dr. Silverstein investigate what changes would need to be made to our By-Laws in order to add a new Board position of Educational Assistant, and to amend the duties of the President Elect to include taking over the current duties of our Program Chairperson. Motion Passed.
New Business
• Dr. Rosen made a motion to increase MCDS dues from $150 to $160. Seconded by Dr. Silverstein. Background: this motion came out of the Budget and Finance Committee meeting to partially cover the increasing costs of running our society. Motion Passed.
• Dr. Villa made a motion (which was properly seconded) to review the fees charged and our expenses after each course, so that the Board will be well informed regarding these issues. Marlene will make these presentations under the Executive Secretary’s report. Motion passed.
• Dr. Rosen requested that a committee be formed to devise criteria by which the Board would approve the grant money set aside for the residency and hygiene programs in the proposed budget. This committee was formed, and includes Dr. Glickman, Dr. Weiner, Dr. Leizer and Dr. Rosen.
• Dr. Krantz made a motion (properly seconded) that CE course fees will be approved by the Board based upon the recommendation of the person running the course. Motion passed.
• Dr Vitale has advised the Board to submit a list of the courses offered by MCDS to the State Board of Dentistry along with a synopsis of each course.
• A motion was proposed by Dr. Krantz (and properly seconded) to conduct an annual review of the executive secretary in October of every year. Any raise, if proposed would be accounted for in the annual budget and implemented in January of the following year. Her review will be conducted by a yet to be named committee. Motion passed. This year, a raise of one dollar/hour was approved by the Board (from $22 to $23 per hour).
Good & Welfare
Dr Danny Krantz speaking as an NJDA officer, commended the accomplishments of the MCDS with respect to its active Board, the wide variety of CE courses offered to its members and the efficient manner in which the courses were run. Currently, the MCDS serves as a role model for other counties with respect to its membership drive, its well attended monthly meetings, its corporate sponsorship and its CE.
Respectfully Submitted,
Maya Prabhu

• A spirited campaign for president elect of the ADA was won by John S. Findley, D.D.S. from Plano, Texas. The 2nd Vice President position was won by O. Andy Elliott, II, from Martin Kentucky.
• The ADA budget is as follows: $114,082,500 expenses for 2008 and $113,089,500 in revenues for 2008 — there is a deficit of $992,800. The ADA House of Delegates voted a dues increase of $9 to $498 from the current $489 to compensate for the shortfall. This represents a 1.8% increase. If the increase was adjusted for inflation the dues would be $504. The revenue is as follows: $53,944,350 from dues and $59,145,150 from non-dues income totalling $113,089,500.
• A significant portion of the ADA HOD resolutions and discussions involved Universal Health Care and Access To Dental Care. The Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations (CAPIR) will be holding a summit meeting to address this topic. The death of Diamonte Driver, the 12 yr old boy from Maryland who died from a brain infection resulting from an untreated tooth infection was constantly referred to in presentations and discussions relating to access to care. Also addressed to a significant degree was S-CHIP (Special Children’s Health Insurance Program) which is a political issue with the Pres. Bush and the Congress. Pres. Bush wants to keep the eligibility at 200% of the poverty level and Congress wants to increase it to 400%, which would make all families earning up to $82,000 eligible. This would include 72% of the population. The feeling is this is the beginning of socialized medicine.
• A resolution passed at the HOD recommended that constituent societies be urged to pursue legislative or voluntary agreements to require domestic dental labs which subcontract prosthetic cases to foreign labs to notify the dentist in advance so they may tell their patients.
• There will be a public relations effort to educate the public concerning fluoride intake in infants and children, especially as it relates to infant’s formula. There is also an effort to inform the public concerning dental tourism, which involves patients going out of country to obtain dental treatment.
• The HOD voted to recommend amalgam separators be placed in all dental office waste water lines. It is mandatory now in the following states: Maine, N.H., Vermont, Conn., R.I., Mass., N.Y. N.J. and soon in Oregon and New Mexico. The ADA is developing a pamphlet discussing the safety and effectiveness of restorative materials which it is recommending be provided to all patients. This is considered for Best Management Practices.
• The HOD recommends that dentists have training in Emergency Preparedness in response to a National Disaster.
• The HOD voted against a resolution to support a 1 year post graduate residency after dental school as is currently required in New York. It was felt that this requirement should be left up to the individual states.

Various State Lame Duck Legislation:
• The Dental Consultant Legislation is bottled up in the Senate Commerce Committee. Art Meisel and Jim Schulz have met with State Senator Nia Gill, Chair of the Committee, to emphasize our position and Senator Gill implied support for the bill. Staff has also secured the support of the committee’s staff. This is the Association’s top legislative priority in the Lame Duck session.
• Paid Family Leave Legislation is expected to be advanced during the Lame Duck session. The effect of this legislation could have a significant impact on dentistry based on our profession’s disproportionately high female employee base (females use the provisions of the Family Medical Leave Act in greater numbers than males). Specifically, the legislation removes the small business exemption from the Family Medical Leave Act (which is businesses with 50 or more employees), providing up to 12 weeks of leave for (full time- likely 25 hours per week or more) employees and then adds a new twist which pays them from a state fund that is capitalized with an assessment on employees and businesses. Sadly, the NJDA remains the only healthcare association in New Jersey opposed to this legislation. Governor Corzine is very much in favor of this bill and he is getting encouragement from organized labor which is the instigator of the legislation. Senator Cody is also supportive and will likely advance the legislation in the Senate. While the NJDA is part of a larger coalition in opposition to this legislation, we are resigned that it is likely to become a reality.
• The $75 Medical Malpractice Insurance Relief Subsidy Fund assessment, which is paid for by dentists, physicians, attorneys and optometrists for the past 3 years to offset medical malpractice costs, has not yet been renewed because of an aggressive lobbying effort put forward by the State Bar Association and the NJDA. However, recent recommendations from a state panel concerning medical malpractice caps felt the fee should be reinstated. We anticipate another attempt to pass this legislation during the fall session.
• The Health Care Consumer Information Act Expansion legislation would add dentists and chiropractors to list of health care providers subject to the law. Specifically, the legislation would require dentists to disclose all criminal convictions, malpractice judgments, settlements or arbitration awards, state board actions or any suspension or revocation of hospital privileges for posting on a state website for public access and review. The legislation is sponsored Senate President Codey who has not advanced the legislation because of a request by the NJDA. Although this legislation is likely to ultimately be enacted, the NJDA is working with the sponsor to craft a better and more complete bill.
• The Spousal Survivor Legislation is expected to see action in the Assembly in Lame Duck. The NJDA is working to advance this legislation which will protect spouses and estates in the event of death or incapacitation of a dentist/owner.
• Limited Teaching Certificate legislation continues to be advanced by the UMDNJ-NJDS. NJDA remains steadfast in its supporting for the bill due to our close working relationship with the dental school. However, it is progressing slowly through the legislative process.
State Legislative Proposals:
• Dental Composite Reimbursement — would mandate that insurance companies cover posterior composites at regular UCR levels. Sponsors for the legislation have been identified in the Assembly but not yet in the Senate. We are expecting to introduce the bill in the Lame Duck Session and push it in the spring.
• Dental Health Certificate and Dental Examination Requirement legislation are two bills with similar missions, which is to require dental examinations for students as a condition of enrollment in educational institutions. The proposed legislation is closely related to the current immunization laws. Several other states have passed similar bills but NJ’s would require it.
• CE Expansion for Access to Care legislation is expected introduced during the Lame Duck Session and advanced in the spring. This proposed legislation would provide hour for hour (up to 20 hours) CE credit for treatment delivered to the underserved.
• Meth Resolutions are proposed bills for NJ that support current federal legislation which address Meth Mouth and methamphetamine awareness (particularly in our prison health care system and in the Latino community, where Meth use is becoming more prominent). The NJ Department of Corrections and the NJDA are partnering to offer the first-ever CE course on Meth Mouth and meth awareness for correctional dentists. This is groundbreaking in the USA. The NJDA is at the forefront of this issue and is helping drive national policy and public awareness on the matter along with the ADA.
State Regulations:
• Amalgam Waste Regulation- Effective October 1, 2008 all dental offices that place or remove amalgam will be required to implement Best Management Practices (BMP), which will be printed again in the November Capsule. Amalgam separators must be installed and put in use by 10/1/09 for all qualifying offices. Please note that newly constructed offices or expanded offices will be required to comply immediately with these regulations. NJDA and NJDEP are working together to provide member dentists with information (both online and via CE Courses given throughout the state) on the regulations. Dentists who have septic systems will be required to follow similar rules issued under a separate special permit. For the first time, this DEP permit will not cost any money, at least for the next 5 years.
• PIP Fee Schedule Regulation- NJDA has helped block efforts by the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) to change dental reimbursement rates from 3 regions in the state down to 2. Dental will keep 3 distinct regional reimbursement rates for PIP claims whereas Medical reimbursement rates will be confined to 2 regions statewide. We are also moving forward with talks with the DOBI to update the PIP dental fee schedules.
• Fluoridation- Beach Haven has voted to remove Fluoride from its drinking water. The vote came with no advanced notification, was pushed thru by Mayor Stewart and the Council. The NJDA is working through a couple of member dentists to schedule a meeting with the Mayor to discuss this measure. Please note that Monmouth and Mercer counties are the most heavily fluoridated counties in the state. However, due to the fact that most municipalities in these counties share the same water supplier, if one municipality voted to remove fluoride it would remove it from all of the municipalities that share its water line. NJDA continues to closely monitor the situation.
2008 Major State Issues:
• State Budget — Cuts to Medicaid and Service Taxes — the 2008 state budget is likely to be ugliest and most hurtful in memory due to a host of factors. At issue for dentistry is the elimination of the Adult Dental Medicaid program as well as an imposition of professional services taxes. The NJDA is closely monitoring this situation too. Neither is expected to make a huge dent in the $5 to 7 billion deficit NJ faces. The selling of state assets (e.g. - NJ Turnpike, State Buildings, Stadiums/Arenas) will go further to reduce the mounting deficit but will come with significant long-term costs.
• Universal Health Care — Governor Corzine and Senator Joe Vitale (Woodbridge), Chair of the Senate Health Committee, are making a big Universal Healthcare push for NJ. If enacted, it could cost the state an additional $7 billion (on top of the $5-7 billion deficit). These costs would be borne in large part by the NJ taxpayers as employees. This legislation would provide for a minimal level of healthcare coverage similar to the way auto insurance works in NJ. At the moment, dentistry is not part of this initiative, but there is growing interest in changing that.
• Tort Reform — NJDA has joined a coalition to help create awareness on this issue.
2008 Public Affairs Initiative:
NJDA is scaling up its communications efforts via print, radio (when cost effective), TV (when cost effective), and internet. We will concentrate on six different themes in 2008: Children’s Dental Health Month/GKAS (January and February), Oral Cancer Awareness (March and April), Promotion of NJDA (May and June), Statewide Senior Dental Health Awareness (July and August), Minority and Multicultural Health Month (September and October), Oral/Systemic Links Awareness Month (November and December). Stay tuned for more information on this in the upcoming months. We will need your help to make this initiative effective.
Federal Affairs-
• SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) — Bush vetoed legislation which would have provided mandated, among other things, a dental benefit for children paid for by an increased tax on tobacco. The veto will likely not be overridden due to a lack of votes in the House of Representatives (purportedly, the Senate has the votes). Three NJ Republican Congressman voted “no” on the legislation: Congressman James Saxton (609) 261-5800, Cong. Scott Garrett (201) 712-0330 and Cong. Rodney Frelinghuysen (973)-984-0711. Call these Congressmen and let them know how you feel about their lack of support.

Congratulations to Dr. Monika Chan who was certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics in April.

Congratulations also to Dr. Robert Silverstein, who was certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics in June.

Congratulations to MCDS members Drs. Mark Messer and Brad Strober on receiving the “Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition” Award (L.L.S.R.) from the AGD. This is a new award and only 32 dentists (three this year from NJ) have received it so far. This highest AGD award recognizes members who have attained Mastership status, volunteer professionally, act as leaders in the dental community and further their education.

November 2007 Newsletter

Program:

President's Message - Dr. James Courey

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Treasurer's Report

Announcements/Articles