April 2002 Newsletter

As spring is upon us, and we await longer days and nicer weather, we begin another natural cycle. While spring "plants the seeds" for what will blossom and come to fruition in the summer, this too is the time when our dental society "sows the seeds" for our next seasons successes. During this time, a lot of activity is taking place that requires teamwork. And I have seen first hand how well the Middlesex County Dental Society exemplifies teamwork. As a group we prepare any resolutions that our component will present during the annual session in June. Our nominating committee meets to set up the Board, Committees, Council positions and Delegates and alternate delegates. Our president-elect must select a program chair, as well as think about the goals for the future term. So, as our Board works diligently during the spring, the fruits of our labor will not be seen until harvest season which is traditionally the fall, which coincidentally is when our next cycle begins. It is comforting to know that the New Jersey Dental Association and all of its components are in harmony with nature and the natural cycles that it must go through to continue to be productive year after year.

Faithfully,
Dr. Peter L DeSciscio

Attendance: Chustckie, DeSciscio, Glickman, Huberman, Kahn, Kline, Krantz, Lawson, Pollatos, Rosen, Schambra, Silverstein, Villa, Weiner, Ziemba
Acceptance of Minutes-2/12/02-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-P. DeSciscio
• All resolutions for MCDS to go before the House of Delegates at the Annual Session should be at Phyllis Cortazzo’s office by April 13, 2002
• Bruce Huberman appointed Celi Ziemba Program Chairperson for 2002-2003.
Treasurer’s Report-R. Kline
• We are being billed for association liability insurance in the amount of $336. We will find out the entire bill cost for this insurance
• Marlene is an independent contractor and gets a 1099 and we have been paying worker’s compensation. Since she is not an employee, we shouldn’t have to pay worker’s compensation insurance. We will check this out with Art Meisel.
Secretaries Report-M. Weiner
• All nominations for MCDS 2002-2003 calendar year were given to NJDA
• We will run nominations again in the April newsletter
Content Editor’s Report-M. Weiner
• We will begin promoting our next full day course, which will be presented by Dr. Dennis Tarnow in February 2003, starting with the April 2002 newsletter
• The March 2002 issue of our newsletter was sent to non-members to show the benefits of membership in MCDS
ADPAC Report-P. DeSciscio
NJDA PAC Night at the Races Fund Raiser will take place at the Pegasus at the Meadowlands Raceway on Wed., April 24, 2002. This is our fundraiser and we need member support
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session-A. Ziemba
Plan ahead and save the date:
• Annual Session will be held June 12th –14th in Atlantic City at the Taj Mahal.
• The fabulous Greaseband will perform at the President’s Dinner Dance on Thurs. June 13, 2002.
• Lecture schedule headliners:
1. Dr. Stanley Malamed – Wed. June 12th
2. Dr. Karl Leinfelder & Dr. Paul Des Jardins – Thurs. June 13th
3. Dr. Fotinos Panagakos – Fri. June 14th
Dental Education-P. DeSciscio
• The Council will contact Carolyn Breen to determine if the brochures providing information about careers in dental assisting were distributed to New Jersey High Schools according to plan.
• Dr. Markman and Dr. Benkel met with Carolyn Breen to discuss options to increase the number of dental hygienists in New Jersey
• The Council selected Dr. Harold Cohen, Dr. Art Bilenker, Dr. Jay Sher, and Dr. Anthony N. Di Cesare to present continuing education courses at Association Headquarters on designated weekends in April, May, September and October
• The Council approved a cover design for the new CE Folder and requested that Ms. DeCotiis obtain prices for printing the tri-fold pocket folder in black and white
• The Council requested that Ms. DeCotiis obtain proposals for practice management courses from select endorsed programs for consideration for the Fall CE Course sponsored by the NJDA
• The Council considered a request from Dr. Gene Napoliello for a scholarship award of $500 for Reney Williams of Gloucester County who is now attending Camden Community College. The Council recommends to the Board that the scholarship be awarded
• The Council considered a request from the Bergen County component to have continuing education credits awarded in half hour increments. Since current State Board regulations provide for one hour of credit to be given for each hour of instruction, this issue will not be pursued at this time
Membership-A. Pollatos
• The next Council on Membership Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2002
• We had three prospective members attend February’s General meeting
• We are aware of billing discrepancies with the dental residents and are looking into resolving this problem
• We plan to follow-up with residents in June to see where they are headed. NJDA should have their e-mail address on their application and if they leave the county, we should put them on a non-member list
Peer Review-J. Fahsbender
Two cases were resolved through mediation in favor of the patient. One case will have a plenary hearing.
MCDS Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-R. Kline
We will have two sponsors at the April General Meeting at the Pines Manor. (Amreicus Dental Laboratory and OrthoCad Company). In addition, we will be looking for a committee chairperson to spearhead a new initiative to get more corporate sponsors for our events. Members of the Board have come up with several ideas to re-energize this committee.
Mentor-E. Glickman
The Mentor Programs for Spring 2002 that are being presented are:
• What Makes An Effective Leader – Thursday, April 11, 2002
• Two Annual OSHA Seminars – Thursday, April 18, 2002 and June 20, 2002
• Using Feng Shui to enhance our Dental Practices – Thursday, May 9, 2002
More information about the seminars are in this MCDS Newsletter
We sent an invitation to the 200 non-member dentists of Middlesex County to register for these Mentor Programs. We hope that by attending these exciting programs they will experience first hand some of the activities that we provide on a regular basis to our members. As a promotion to join MCDS; if they pay the non-member registration fee for any of these four Spring 2002 courses, we will deduct the total amount that they have paid for their office to attend and apply these monies towards the membership dues they would pay to become a member of Middlesex County Dental Society for their first year.
We contacted the editors of the other New Jersey Dental Societies in an effort to network with them. We extended an invitation to their members of their component dental society to attend these seminars. This offering to NJDA member Dentists will open the door for MCDS members to attend their courses at their member registration fee. This will make available to us many additional courses that will upgrade our academic knowledge and clinical skills as well as the opportunity to obtain additional continuing education credits [CEU] for state licensure.
To date, Passaic and Atlantic Cape-May Dental Societies have promoted our programs in their monthly newsletter. We have already received calls to attend from several of our fellow NJDA non-Middlesex members.
The Mentor Programs for Fall 2002 that are being developed are:
• Linda Lakin - Practice Management – Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002
• Positive Motivation – Julian Ernest & Corrine Engel - Toronto, Canada
• The Andrews Bar & Sleeve Bridge – Dr. James Andrews - Nov. 2002
Continuing Education-M. Schambra
Dr. Tarnow is scheduled on Friday, Feb. 21, 2003 to lecture (contract pending). The topic will be Implant Dentistry in your office. The board agreed that this lecture would be held at the Pines Manor.
Job Bank-R. Kline
We have re-evaluated our quarter of 2002 in terms of response from both employers looking for employees and employees looking for work with our Job Bank. Due to a rather lackluster response, we will be scaling back our advertising and possibly putting our efforts more into developing better relations with both the Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene associations in terms of having them and their associated training facilities contact MCDS when their members request job information. This will be especially important during periods of graduation from these programs. In addition, we may look into linking our advertising efforts with our MCDS web site.
Old Business
A revision and finalization of the Rules of the Board will be done in committee.
New Business
Marlene has been our Executive Secretary since March 2000 and she has asked for a review and salary increase. It was decided unanimously by the MCDS Executive Committee that based on her outstanding performance to date, a salary increase would be offered.
Respectfully submitted, Mitch Weiner, DMD, Secretary

MCDS COLLEAGUE PROGRAM
Please become part of the Middlesex County Dental Society Colleague Program.
By sharing the wisdom gained through our individual experiences of managing a Dental Practice, we can help our member colleagues’ meet the many challenges that they may encounter. This will become a very valuable benefit for our members of MCDS. Complete this form and fax it to the MCDS fax line @ 732-390-2332 or call Dr. Ethan Glickman 732-572-4244
Name ____________________________________Office Phone _______________
Office Address ________________________________________________________
Type of Practice / Years in Practice _______________________________________
Name of Dental School / Year Graduated ___________________________________
I am seeking the advice of a Mentor______ I would like to be a Mentor _____
The goals of the MCDS Colleague Program are:
1. Promote camaraderie and a feeling of belonging to the dental community.
2. Introduce the benefits of organized dentistry, including the many resources that are available to our younger new dentists.
3. Serve as a resource for practice-related questions and concerns.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
The N.J. Division of Consumer Affairs has re-extended the 2001 licence renewal period for all N.J. registered dental hygienists until April 30, 2002 and the 2001 CDS registration renewal period for all active status licenced dentists from March 1, 2002 to April 30, 2002.

Dentist Wanted
Work in a high tech, modern, fee for service practice - 3 days.
Future F/T & Partnership
South Shore, Staten Island
Call 718-356-1733 or Fax 718-317-7631

MIDDLESEX COUNTY DENTAL SOCIETY
Children’s Dental Health Month
“Smile for America”
NJDA at the Circus Continental Airlines Arena
Sunday, March 10, 2002
10:00 am Floor Show 11:00 am Circus
Contact Dora Cheek at 732-821-9400
Nurses Education Night NJDA Headquarters, Route 1
Tuesday, March 19, 2002, 7:00 pm
County-wide School Poster Contest East Brunswick High School
Tuesday, May 14, 2002, 7:00 pm
If you wish to participate in the
Children’s Dental Health Program,
CONTACT: CAVAN BRUNSDEN, DMD at 732-679-2323

CPR Review Course

MCDS members who are interested in receiving CPR and or First Aid instruction in their own office should contact Marlene Glickman, our Executive Secretary for information. We will fax to you the names of Certified instructors that have given this program to our own members of MCDS. CPR certification is required for Expanded Function Dental Assistants as well as Hygienists. Dentists on staff at many of the local hospitals are also required to maintain their CPR certification too.
CEU, NJ State Board of Dentistry credits are available for these programs.
This is an excellent opportunity to present this valuable information to our staff, in the convenience of our own office at a time that is best suited for us.
Contact: Marlene G. Phone: 732-238-1255 Fax: 732-390-2332

MCDS Review Course for
CDA / RDA Assistants
We are all aware that there is a shortage of Expanded Function Dental Assistants in Middlesex County. We put costly ads in the newspapers only to find out that no one is out there to respond to our need to properly staff our offices. We contact the Dental Employment agencies and again discover that they do not have the personnel that we are seeking!
If we are to be pro-active on this issue we need to take some affirmative action to correct this major problem!
We can sponsor a review course for our current assistants that will prep them for the CDA / RDA exams. MCDS will set-up the program and the individual dental offices will pay the tuition for each of their assistants. This program will be coordinated with Dr Carolyn Breen of UMDNJ- School of Health Related Professions.
When they are Certified and Registered then they can apply to the NJ State Board of Dentistry and become an Expanded Function Dental Assistant. This will enable them to help us become more productive in our office and open the door for entry level assistants to join our staff, thereby helping to fill the void that we are presently experiencing.
Please let me know if you support this type of program. If enough members contact me then I will pursue setting up this review program for our MCDS members and arrange for the classes to be given locally in Middlesex County.
Contact: Dr. Ethan Glickman Fax: [732]-572-4274 Phone: [732]-572-4244
I SUPPORT THE MCDS CDA / RDA REVIEW PROGRAM

Name______________________________________________

Telephone_________________Fax______________________

	(2/10/02)	(3/9/02)
Checking	22,037.46	21,698.04
Money Market	51,575.48	51,670.97
TOTAL	73,612.94	73,369.01

April 2002 Newsletter

President's Message

April Showers Bring May Flowers

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Treasurer's Report

Balances

NJDA Board of Trustees Report

Announcements