October 2005 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends:
As many of you already know, due to unforeseen circumstances, I have sold my practice and am moving back to my hometown of Harrisburg PA. This was due to the tragic death of a Periodontist from Harrisburg, who was killed in a bicycling accident. The remaining partners in that practice have approached me with an offer of partnership, and I have accepted. This has been a difficult decision, but the change will allow me, Jane, and our children to be closer to our family.
Therefore, I have given my resignation to the board of the MCDS. It has been an honor and privilege to know all of you and to be an active member in our society. I hope that we all realize how important organized dentistry is to our professional lives, and how critical it is that we continue to remain involved and “stay the course”. It is only through all of our joint efforts that we will be able to take dentistry into the future, in a direction we know will benefit our profession and our patients. Without the involvement and support of organized dentistry, someone else will surely end up making critical decisions about our profession and how we treat our patients. This could lead to devastating consequence to our patients and dentistry in general.
Therefore, as I prepare to leave Middlesex County, I urge you all to continue your support and membership in the MCDS and to stay involved. Bring a friend or colleague to a meeting and help the Society grow.
I wish you and your families’ health, happiness, and prosperity.
-Ross Kline

Incoming President's Message

I want to thank Dr. Kline for his dedication and service to our society for the previous 5 years. As the new Acting President for MCDS, I want to assure our members that the transition of leadership will not present any problems for our meetings and CE programs for 2005-2006. All of our speakers and corporate sponsors were confirmed during the summer. I am excited by this opportunity and look forward to meeting you at our next general meeting.
Membership in our society continues to grow. We now have dentists with many different backgrounds and concerns. The MCDS Board of Trustees invites all interested members to our board meetings to learn how you can become an active member. Your participation is vital for the continued success of our society. Our officers, council representatives and committee chairpeople are eager to speak with you. Please visit our website for photographs, phone numbers and e-mail addresses or simply introduce yourself at our general meetings.
Please remember to register for our 3 full day CE programs. Your support is needed to attract corporate sponsorship and allow us to bring nationally recognized speakers to our society. This month, Dr. Donald Lewis will speak about dental office embezzlement. Dr. Lewis is a “Certified Fraud Examiner” and he has well over 150 reported cases in which healthcare professionals have discovered that they are victims of fraud and embezzlement.
I also urge you to register for our Mentor CE program. Dr. Martin Jablow, a MCDS member, is one of 3 experts that will speak at a course entitled “Dental Technology Solutions-Simplifying Technology”. These 4 convenient and inexpensive CE courses will provide you with 27 CEU credits!
I will see you in October!
-Stephen Lawson

- September 13, 2005 -
Attendance: Ashmen, Fahsbender, Galin, Glickman, Kahn, Kline, Krantz, Lawson, Leizer, Rosen, Schambra, Silverstein, Vitale, Wasserman, Weiner
Acceptance of Minutes-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-Ross Kline
Life members to be inducted in January can access a bio form on our website. PA passed a law to allow hygenists to administer local anesthesia. NJ may be looking into this. We will be continuing our outreach to promote careers in dental assisting.
Treasurer’s Report-James Courey
See full report on page 3.
Editor’s Report-Mitch Weiner, Bob Silverstein, Constantine Simos
Just a reminder that the deadline for submission of content for the next newsletter will be the evening of the Pines Manor dinner at the latest. Thanks to all for their diligence in submitting content for the September issue on time.
Program Chairperson’s Report-Scott Galkin
We sent out a letter to all of the members listing the courses that they attended and the credit hours. All of the Tuesday night lectures listed as 1 CEU should be 2 CEUs.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Joel Leizer
The ADA meeting is at the beginning of October. The biggest issues this year will likely be access to care, dental education and licensure. These issues have been on the table for several years and are still being investigated.
NJDA Trustee’s Report-Richard Kahn
See report on page 4 under NJDA Noteworthy News.
NJDA Council Reports:
Membership-Scott Galkin
We have 12 new members.
Peer Review-John Fahsbender, Mark Vitale
One case went to a plenary hearing; the amount being asked for by the patient was split between the dentist and the patient. One case was resolved by mediation.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-Constantine Simos
Both Smith Barney Financial and AFTCO have expressed interest to advertise in the newsletter through the end of the 2005-2006 year. Sponsors are needed for the February meeting, Dr. Molinari’s presentation.
Budget and Finance-Ira Rosen, Nancy Villa
The budget will be ready for the next Board meeting.
Mentor-Ethan Glickman
For the Spring session 2005, we were fortunate to have Dr. Ed Galkin, one of our MCDS members of Woodbridge, speak to us about his incredible trip “Around the World in a Single Engine Plane in 42 days”. His mission was to raise funds and awareness of a very rare disease called, Fibrousdysplasis Ossifacans Progressiva. (MCDS has made a donation to combat the disease in lieu of honorarium). This presentation was combined with a scientific program about the “Florida Probe”. In addition, we held the “Annual OSHA Certification Seminar” Thursday, June 16, 2005 from 6:30-8:30PM at St. Peter’s Medical Center. Two ( 2) CEU credits were awarded to the 39 dentists and 108 staff who attended. This program satisfied the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, which is required annually for dentists and staff. At $15/per person, this is another great member benefit for belonging to MCDS!
Our fall session includes another OSHA Certification Seminar which will be presented on November 29, 2005, Tuesday evening, at St. Peter’s Medical Center. Next, we will have Dental Technology Solutions - Simplifying Technology on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:00AM to 4PM ( 6 CEU credits): Having a hard time keeping up with the latest dental technology ??? We have a possible answer for you – Dental Technology Solutions!
See the registration and information insert in this October 2005 MCDS newsletter.
New Business
• The Board voted to donate $500 to help find a cure for Fibrousdysplasis Ossifacans Progressiva in consideration of Dr. Ed Galkin’s lecture on May 26th.
• Mark Vitale’s sister (Laura-Jo Vitale-Bender) did a wonderful job coordinating staff night. Dr. Weiner made a motion to hire her as our event planner. This was tabled until next meeting.
• The Board voted to donate up to $2000 to help the dentists in Louisiana and Mississippi affected by Hurricane Katrina. The exact amount and mechanism for the donation will be determined later.
• The Board unanimously resolved to help Dr. Kaminker in any way we could and offer him our moral support.
• Dr. Kahn is running for Treasurer of NJDA. The Board unanimously resolved to support him.
• Dr. Kline submitted his resignation as MCDS President (he has sold his practice and moved to Harrisburg, PA). Dr. Stephen Lawson takes over as Acting President.
Good & Welfare
The Board wished Dr. Kline the best in his new endeavors and welcomed Dr. Lawson as Acting President.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bob Silverstein for Mark Vitale

In Memoriam
MCDS extends its condolences to Dr. Steven Cennamo on the loss of his son.

Puzzle Answers

••TENDINGBAR•TPAC
••USEIV•PAR•FARCE
RALPH•FERRIC•CORN
EASEIN•O•DARVOCET
FAA••OSHA••EASE•R
R•SIXMMSUNDER•RCA
ATEAM•E•TEDDY•AOL
MAPM•MACH•S••USMC
ENABLER•OS•EM•M•A
•DRILLSARGENT•IRS
NYACK••E•T•OMELET
O•T••C•S••FL•SEMI
VII••DMO•BEAST••N
•GOODTIPPER•T••PG
ULNAR•N•AIRSONCE•
PO•RUSS•INITIALS•
NONSMOKINGSECTION

NJDA Noteworthy News
STATE BOARD OF DENTISTRY REPORT – Dr. Robert A. Hersh
Enteral Sedation Regulation was adopted. Because of inadequate course availability, the permit requirement of this regulation will be deferred until July 1, 2006.
The Criminal Background check will not be implemented for dentists until the November 2007 biennial license registration renewal.
An amendment to the parenteral sedation and general anesthesia regulations has been drafted. This amendment will allow contract anesthesiologists without a hospital affiliation to provide anesthesia in dental offices.
The State Board is investigating whether records of minor infractions can be expunged. The current regulation contains no provision for the removal of minor infractions from the records of dentists.
A letter was read from UMDNJ regarding an Australian orthodontist who could not serve on the faculty of the dental school because of his non-licensed status in New Jersey. The issue of whether a dentist not licensed in NJ could participate in a “hands on” CE course in New Jersey was discussed. The issue was referred to committee for a more thorough evaluation.
Dr. Herbert Dolinsky has been elected to the position of President of the State Board of Dentistry and Dr. Peter DeSciscio has been elected Vice President of the State Board of Dentistry. Both are members of NJDA.
COUNCIL ON DENTAL EDUCATION & MEMBERSHIP – Ms. Tricia DeCotiis
Weekend Study Club continuing education courses have been arranged for the year. The first course will be held September 17th on Forensic Dentistry and to date has 17 registrants. The second course will be held October 16th on Digital Photography and has 19 registrants to date. The third course is scheduled for November 13th on The Risks, Benefits, Indications and Techniques for Immediate Loading/Provisionalization of Dental Implants and to date has 11 registrants. The 4th course is scheduled for December 10th and has 3 registrants to date. The subject is Beyond Pregnancy: Bringing a New Focus to Oral Health Issues of Women.
The Council on Dental Ed is also running the Dental Assistant scholarship program. September 15th is the deadline for students to submit applications. Four $500.00 scholarships will be awarded by the Council.
The Employment Exchange Program is very active. To date we have 292 dentists, 76 dental hygienists and 24 dental assistants registered with the program.
As of the date of this meeting, 4,534 members have paid their 2005 dues.
The next Women’s Initiative course is scheduled for November 19th on the Fundamentals of Creating a Staff Driven Practice. This course will be available to members and non-members and their staffs. It will be held at the Pines Manor and will be funded by the company presenting the program, Staff Driven Practices.
COUNCIL ON DENTAL BENEFITS PROGRAMS – Ms. Mary Moskal
There was a meeting with representatives of the NJSOM to discuss problems that oral surgeons have relative to treatment that is covered under both a medical and dental plan, so that NJDA would be in a better position to assist. Many of the problems discussed were Delta-specific, and NJDA was able to communicate with Delta in advance in an attempt to gather information and solicit Delta’s assistance with its policy on submitting to the medical plan first. Significantly, Delta has agreed to assist dental offices in tracing medical claims to which the carrier has not responded. However, in a departure from past policy, Delta will be requiring dentists to submit EOBs from medical plans, even when the dentist knows that the procedure is not covered by medical. On another front, Delta Dental Plan is introducing a new plan (“Patient Direct”) that will be marketed to individuals without group dental coverage. This plan appears to be similar to the other discount programs already on the market. Finally, ADA has just posted on its website a “Third Party Complaint Form” similar to what NJDA has been doing for many years. Dentists who submit complaints via this mechanism will not receive assistance; it is for data collection purposes only.
There was a meeting with Congressman Pallone where it was vowed to bring together the resources to create more clinics in NJ to serve disadvantaged children. Governor Cody has created a $30 million initiative to get ten more care facilities. These facilities (FQHC) are Federally Qualified Health Centers. Liberty Science is developing a program with the schools for oral health education and has contacted NJDA to be a partner. Mr. Meisel reported that the Task Force on Access to Care had one meeting with the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services. Future meetings are expected to involve the Department of Education and the Department of Human Services.
MARKETING & GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS – Mr. Eric Elmore
The membership directory is now on line at the NJDA Website. Any changes will be posted every six weeks, starting from July 31, 2005. Also, the internet message boards are now active.
Lastly, NJDA’s Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) is scheduled for Friday, February 3, 2006. We have joined with the ADA and will have the GKAS Day on the same day it is celebrated nationally.
COUNCIL ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS – Mr. Jim Schulz
The fluoride issue is being delayed and probably stopped because the Public Health Council is being changed to an advisory committee and they are not going to move the regulation at this time. Governor Codey has received a lot of correspondence from other public health services indicating their disapproval of his action. Next week we will be meeting with Commissioner Jacobs of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.
On September 21, 2005 NJDPAC is having a fund raiser for Dr. Jeff Van Drew at the Association headquarters after the regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting.
NJDPAC is doing well and he thanked everyone for their support.
COUNCIL ON ANNUAL SESSION
Annual Convention shows a $50,000 surplus with a small amount owed still outstanding. As you know, the Society of Periodontists partnered with NJDA at the annual convention for the first time this year. The Taj Mahal will host the 2006 Annual Session and the speaker roster is well underway and should be finalized in September.
At the last Council on Annual Session meeting a resolution was passed which would require amending the NJDA Bylaws. The hygienists and assistants, who were co-sponsors of the Annual Session Convention and fully participated in all the Council’s meetings, could not vote for the Vice Chair of the Council. The NJDA Bylaws state that only members can vote. Under the Bylaws, they can be consultants. A motion was made and adopted to amend the NJDA Bylaws to allow those participating organizations one vote per organization on all matters that come before the Council on Annual Session, including the election of the Vice Chairman
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND LEGAL COUNSEL’S REPORT – Mr. Art Meisel
NJDA had received an invitation to meet with the Department of Environmental Protection. They were given a draft of a proposed regulation that would require dentists to conform to Best Management Practices. This is something that both NJDA has been promoting for the last two or three years and the ADA has been talking about longer. There was one caveat: The Department would add as part of the Best Management Practice a requirement to have amalgam separators in dental offices and facilities. The Department wanted to get a sense of how we felt and we explained that we supported BMP’s but opposed the requirement to install amalgam separators. There will be a Task Force convened by DEP and we will have four representatives on that Task Force along with others which include the operators of waste water treatment plants, clean water advocates and others. This will be an informal sit down with no vote but seems to be a mechanism where the various interested groups sit at the table and have a discussion. The DEP will have representatives present and they will listen to everyone before they publish the proposal.
We also received an invitation to meet with Commissioner Campbell of the DEP, the current chair of the Task Force and the senior staff of the DEP. By the end of the meeting. the Commissioner said that we had raised some issues that he really had to think about. Mr. Meisel felt we still have an uphill battle but felt that the door seemed to be open. To assure adequate expertise during the Task Force meeting convened by the DEP, it was decided to reach out to ENVIRON. Environ is the group that did the work for the ADA on an environmental scan. The individual from that group who was very involved was a gentleman by the name of Jay Vandevan. The report that was performed nationally for the ADA has just been published this past May in a peer reviewed journal. Mr. Vandervan has been contacted and has agreed to appear on behalf of the Association at a cost of $2000. The data seems to show that by use of BMP without amalgam separators, which would include chairside traps and filters immediately before the vacuum pumps, approximately 81% of amalgam would be removed. If amalgam separators are used, an additional 14% would be removed, totaling 95%. If nothing was used, it is estimated that the treatment plant would recover 95%. The main difference is if amalgam is captured in the dental office and disposed of properly, then an estimated eighteen pounds of mercury would not reach the atmosphere in the form of mercury vapor.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Dr. August D. Pellegrini
At the ADA Conference, access to care, licensure with a standard national exam (two remain – ADEX and WREP) and environmental issues were the topics discussed.
NJ Donated Dental Services Annual Report revealed that the DDS program was formed in 1998 and has serviced 6,049 patients, donated care valued at $9.9 million, with participation of 748 dentists and 130 labs.

SUPPORT YOUR SOCIETY WHILE MAXIMIZING YOUR MEMBER BENEFITS
MCDS’s three full-day courses in October, November and April will provide our membership with 3 continental breakfasts, 3 lunches and 21 hours of CE for only $150 (or $65/individual course). This is all due to the generosity of our corporate sponsors, Benco Dental (Oct.), Excel-Berger Dental Laboratory (Nov.) and Kuwata Pan Dent Laboratory (Apr.). We are urging ALL of our members to FILL OUT and RETURN YOUR REGISTRATIONS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE as our October lecture is rapidly approaching. It is only with the continued enthusiastic support of the membership that we can continue to attract sponsors who will assist us in defraying costs so that we can deliver the nations top speakers to you at cost. SUPPORT YOUR SOCIETY.

Attention MCDS Members
Anyone who is interested in providing pro bono emergency dental care for victims of Hurricane Katrina who have been resettled in Middlesex County, please call Marlene at 732-238-1255

Congratulations in Order
MCDS Congratulates past-
President Dr. Peter DeSciscio on his election as Vice President of the NJ State Board of Dentistry

Provide NJDA with your
email address!
By having your email address, NJDA can get vital and timely information to you, such as the surprise visits from DEP. Register at www.NJDA.org.

NJDA Noteworthy News

Council on Governmental Affairs – Mr. Jim Schulz
A year ago we were struggling with the affects of the gross receipt tax on cosmetic procedures and lobbied to have it reduced to just in-house cosmetic bleaching. This year we are trying to get the tax repealed. Currently the state budget process is evolving. The Professional Service tax bill is dead. There is a new tax on the horizon, a revenue tax. Every HMO will be subject to a corporate business tax. The insurance world is up in arms and, of course, there is concern that premiums will then go up. There are a lot of questions concerning what will or will not be taxed.
For the first time, every trustee, officer, council chair and component president joined Diamond Club. We are moving in the right direction and acknowledged all the hard work that Dr. Charles Perle did to accomplish this. This only reinforces how productive calls from members to members are.
Dr. Frank Graham asked that PAC and Diamond Club trustees go back to their respective components and explain what is expected from the leadership. We should cultivate “Leadership by Example”. It was suggested that the component newsletters document the PAC and Diamond Club members.
Council on Dental Care Programs – Mary Moskal
The Dental Practice Association of New Jersey, Inc. (sponsored by the Atlantic-Southern Dental Foundation) has recently received regulatory approval and becomes only the third licensed Dental Service Plan in New Jersey, the others being Delta Dental Plan and Unity Dental Service Plan. DPANJ has made arrangements with Benecare for administrative services, and is currently soliciting for participating dentists in the southern part of the state, with plans to go statewide in the future. Dentists may want to have a clarification of some issues in the participating dentist agreement and determine the plan’s “policies and procedures”.
The descriptior for the CDT 2005 procedure code D1320 (tobacco counseling for the control and prevention of oral disease) is vague. NJDA staff does not have further information as to what this service may include (e.g., length of time, prescribing of medications, etc.) The state is considering allowing benefits under Medicaid for this procedure.
NJDA has received an inordinate number of complaints related to MetLife’s consultant reviews. Although claims were eventually paid after NJDA intervention, the problem is obviously systemic and NJDA wrote to MetLife’s national dental director to request his personal investigation of the situation. ADA was also advised of the problem.
There is a website (www.doctoroogle.com), billed as being “by patients for patients”, where dental patients can post reviews of their dentists in five areas: Facilities; service; painless; results; and cost. Although New Jersey is not specifically listed on the menu, many New Jersey dentists appear in the New York section.
Communication & Governmental Affairs – Eric Elmore
The Membership Directory is nearly completed and should be in the mail by the third or fourth week of July. There is enough advertising to cover the expenses and we should have an electronic version available by July 11th on the website. This information will be updated approximately every six weeks by adding data of new members. The Web audit is complete. Everything has been updated and everything that needed to be changed was changed. The message boards are now active on the Web. The Smile Line is temporarily off line.
This summer we will be attempting to get banner advertisements from our endorsed companies. We have had some preliminary discussion with a company that creates websites and are trying to get a one page information only website address free for our members. Costs will occur when a member wants to make any upgrades to the information only website. Press releases have been sent out to local newspapers of the new officers and trustees. This year we are attempting to build better relationships with the media and have targeted approximately 35 media contacts.
The Member’s Edge program has received good reports from three of the companies (Ray Catena, Cruise Value and Joseph A. Banks). We plan to continue with all the companies in this program through the holiday season and re-evaluate them in January, 2006.
Meetings & Events – Ricky Dibofsky
Dr. Carmine LoMonaco is the newly appointed chairperson and the Council will elect its new vice chair at that meeting. Ms. Dibofsky is still conducting her site visits for a possible venue change. To date, we are still looking at the Taj Mahal, Bally’s and the Convention Center.
Council on Membership – Tricia DeCotiis
It was suggested that components invite junior and senior students to their local meetings much like Essex does in September at the officer visitation date.
Letters have been sent to the GPR Directors which will be followed up by phone calls. The directors are being contacted in order to schedule meetings between NJDA and the residents.
Weekend study clubs: September 17, 2005 Forensic Dentistry: October 16, 2005 Digital Photography for the Rest of Us: November 13, 2005 The Risks, Benefits, Indications & Techniques for Immediate Loading/ Provisionalization of Dental Implants: December 10, 2005 -Beyond Pregnancy: Bringing a New Focus to Oral Health Issues
Licenses are up for renewal this year. The Legislature has passed the Nurse Cullen Law requiring that all health care providers be fingerprinted and background checks be made. This will be phased in over the next four years and should not be a concern with the dental licensure renewal this year.
NJDA will have a Hospitality Suite at the ADA Annual Session on Friday, October 7, 2005, for three hours between 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The purpose of the hospitality suite is to recruit new members.
President’s Report – Dr. August D. Pellegrini
This past Monday, July 27th, Dr. Pellegrini went to the State House in Trenton, along with Dr. Graham and Art Meisel. Both the Senate and the Assembly presented NJDA with a joint resolution acknowledging NJDA’s work with Give Kids A Smile (GKAS). The resolution will be displayed on the wall of the Board Room.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & LEGAL COUNSEL’S REPORT – Mr. Arthur Meisel
The $75.00 fee that was being charged to subsidize medical malpractice premiums is being challenged by the New Jersey State Bar Association. The Court recently granted summary judgment to the State, however, the Bar Association is talking about appealing. On Monday, July 27th, Acting Governor Cody submitted a reorganization plan that would make the Public Health Council an advisory committee. We are meeting on Tuesday with the Chief of Staff of the Governor’s office to talk about this change and fluoridation. We are assessing how this affects us. We would have to go through the Department of Health rather than the Public Health Council. After carefully assessing the situation, a decision will be made whether or not we want to challenge the reorganization plan in court after the meeting in the Governor’s office and after the Budget is passed. A decision will be made in conjunction with the President, Executive Director, President-Elect and immediate Past President. It was the general consensus of the Board of Trustees that this be done, if deemed appropriate.
We submitted a comment on the readoption of the State Board of Dentistry rules on one proposed addition to the patient record rule. The enteral sedation regulation has been adopted but will not become effective until it is published in the NJ Register. Presently, there is no application form for a permit nor any approved courses to take. This is a serious problem and, in turn, could greatly affect the public. We will continue to pursue this so that the public is not harmed.
The Task Force on Access to Care proposed a recommendation adopted by the Board to develop and implement a pilot project program in one grade in one school in one school district. That way, unforeseen problems can be identified and resolved in a manageable way before a more ambitious program is rolled out. A meeting has been held with Celeste Wood, an Assistant Commissioner in the Department of Health & Sr. Services and with Bev Kupiec. They are both in favor and will set up a meeting with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.

MCDS Welcomes new
Hospital residents
JFK:
Dr. Snehal Patel, UMDNJ
Dr. Ewa Baginski, UMDNJ

RWJUH:
Dr. Jenan Agnihotri,UMDNJ
Dr. Joseph R. Caravano,UMDNJ
Dr. Aristotle Lyssikatos, NYU
Dr. Priti Jain, Univ of Illinois
Dr. Virginia Suarez, UMDNJ

October 2005 Newsletter

Outgoing President's Message

Incoming President's Message

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Treasurer's Report

Announcements/Articles