September 2006 Newsletter

You have awesome people representing you on the MCDS Board of Trustees. Many of your Board representatives have been serving MCDS for their entire dental careers, and they have been doing so with distinction. Year after year our Mentor program continues to excel; our full day CE programs present nationally renowned speakers for a nominal registration fee thanks to our Corporate Sponsorship program; we make a positive difference in our communities through our Children’s Dental Health Month events; our Newsletter and Web Site provide timely information at minimal cost; the list goes on and on. So many dedicated people are donating their expertise and skill to the functioning of this Society. And still, we could benefit from your participation.
Someone once told me in so many words, “You are either going up, or going down in life. There is no coasting. In order to coast, you have to be going down hill.” Our dental society is a diverse group, with many female dentists, many younger members, and many different nationalities among us. Our Board could do better to adequately reflect that diversity.
I am asking you to get involved because at some level, without your input, we are coasting. Your uniqueness is a valuable asset to our Society, but if you don’t participate, we never get the benefit of it.
How can you make your voice heard? Participate in the business meetings during the general meetings; if you understand how you are being represented, you can give us meaningful input. Donate to the New Jersey Dental Political Action Committee (see our web site’s Archives page for a donation form); we only get heard at the state level if we have access to our representatives, and our donations get us access. Ask me how you can help; I’ll find a way to put your talents to use. Maybe it looks like a position on a council or committee. Maybe it looks like coming to Board meetings just to provide the rest of the Board with your perspective. Maybe you have an idea for a new program. Whatever the capacity in which you choose to serve, you gain the satisfaction that your opinion matters and we get the benefit of your uniqueness.
There is usually no business meeting at the September general meeting. Several years ago the Board chose to use this meeting to provide time to catch up with each other after the summer break. For those of you who wish to get involved, please feel free to approach me or any of the other Board members during this time.
I hope everyone had a great summer and I look forward to seeing you all at the September meeting!

-5/9/06-
Attendance: Ashmen, Courey, Galkin, Glickman, Kahn, Lawson, Leizer, Nandra, Patel, Rosen, Schambra, Silverstein, Simos, Stein, Weiner
Acceptance of Minutes-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-Stephen Lawson
Every September, the Foundation of UMDNJ requests the name of a representative from NJDA to serve as trustee for a one year term. Each component is given an opportunity to suggest nominees. MCDS has asked 2 executive board members if they would be interested in serving as the NJDA representative to the Foundation of UMDNJ from October 2006 to October 2007.
I want to thank all of the executive board members and the entire general membership of MCDS for an outstanding year.
Treasurer’s Report-James Courey
See full report on page 3.
Editor’s Report-Mitch Weiner, Bob Silverstein, Constantine Simos
For the September 2006 issue, we will be sending the newsletter to both members and non-members, with President’s Messages tailored to both groups. This will be an excellent way of marketing our 2006-07 continuing education schedule and various other MCDS member benefits to non-members.
Program Chairperson’s Report-Scott Galkin
David Garber’s full day lecture on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 was a huge success. We had 170 people in attendance and Dr. Garber was a big hit with those that attended. Dr. Garber had mentioned about coming in the future and doing a full day presentation in tandem with Dr. Maurice Salama. Staff Night is Tuesday May 16, 2006 and it will have a Hawaiian Luau Theme. We already have 230 doctors and staff signed up. The night will consist of music and dancing with a DJ supplying the entertainment. We will also be having prize raffles the whole night and many contests as well; including a limbo, hula dance, and a “Wrap The Mummy” contest. The prizes include gift certificates to Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, and Home Depot; family fun packs to Great Adventure and the Somerset Patriots, restaurant gift certificates, and Broadway show tickets to name a few. It should be a fun night for everyone in attendance.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Joel Leizer
This year’s annual session is to be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 16–19, 2006.
NJDA Trustee’s Report-Richard Kahn
Expects there to be some debate on the use of Relief funds - can the funds be used for dentists outside NJ. Extend limited teaching certificate to foreign trained (dental schools not accredited by Committee on Dental Accreditation of the ADA) dentists. Thanks for your support over the last 4 years as your trustee.
NJDA Council Reports:
Dental Benefits-Mark Vitale
See full report on page 4.
Membership-Scott Galkin
Our component’s membership subcommittee met with Tricia DeCotiis, Membership Director of the NJDA, and her staff a few weeks ago. We reviewed with them our member initiatives that we have undertaken in the past few months. Our “New Member Welcoming Project” is in full swing and has been received very well. We would like to thank everyone who has helped in this project and that has offered their help in the future. We are now in the process of getting our “younger” member study clubs together this summer. This will give our new and younger members a chance to interact and cover topics of dentistry that interest them, in an informal, friendly setting. We have also been asked to co-sponsor a weekend study club lecture with NJDA that will be targeted towards new and younger members. This will be marketed in concert with the NJDA as part of their weekend study club program and will take place this fall. This will be the start of the “Dental School Plus” lectures that will be marketed and targeted exclusively to the younger members of our society. Also the NJDA Council on Membership met last week. Some of the initiatives that NJDA is using to recruit new members were covered; included in this was an emphasis on continuing to establish a presence in the state’s GPRs, residencies, and all the classes of UMDNJ. The rationale for this is to give these younger dentists an early recognition of the importance of organized dentistry in their careers.
Task force on Oral Cancer Screening-Arpan Nandra and David Stein
We will be doing a presentation at Revlon on oral health as it relates to systemic health. We expect about 1,000 employees. We are coming up with a protocol and gathering information for screening programs.
Committee Reports:
Mentor-Ethan Glickman
Our annual OSHA update is coming up on June 22nd. We currently have 95 people registered and have room for more.
Continuing Education-Mark Schambra
The Kois Center contacted us. Dr. Kois had a cancellation, and we were able to move his course date up to 3/9/07 from 2008. It appears that his honorarium will be covered by corporate sponsors. Future courses also include an 11/8/06 course with Dr. Damon Adams on Excellence in Everyday Esthetics, and a 4/18/07 course with Drs. Frank Lauciello and Dr. Dean Vafiadis.
New Business
Paresh Patel has agreed to be the chair of the dental shadowing program.
Dr. Glickman brought up the idea of reinstituting the Colleague Program. It was decided to concentrate on promoting study clubs first and see how many people would be interested in this.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bob Silverstein for Mark Vitale

In Memoriam
Dr. I. Lawrence Goldberg.
Dr. Goldberg practiced dentistry in the Woodbridge area for 44 years and served as a dentist in the Air Force. He as an ADA and NJDA member for 58 consecutive years.

Dental Specialist seeks office space in previously existing office (with or without equipment) or in exisiting office in either East Brunswick or New Brunswick.
Please contact Dr. Blume at
732-995-2496 or
[email protected]

At the New Jersey Dental Association’s (NJDA) 136th Annual Convention in Atlantic City, Daniel B. Krantz, DDS, was sworn in as the organization’s vice president for the 2006-2007 year, and Richard B. Kahn, DDS, was sworn in as the organization’s treasurer for the 2006-2007 year. Previously, Dr. Krantz served as secretary in 2005-2006, and Dr. Kahn served as an NJDA trustee for the last four years.

A general dentist practicing in Somerset, Dr. Krantz received his bachelor’s degree from Hunter College, his master’s degree from Lehman College and his dental degree from New York University College of Dentistry. He completed both a general practice and oral surgery residency after graduation from dental school.
Dr. Krantz has been a delegate and chairman of the NJDA Council on Dental Benefits. He is also a delegate to the NJDA House of Delegates from Middlesex County.
Dr. Krantz also served as a member of the dental ID team after September 11, 2001.
Dr. Krantz is a past president of the Middlesex County Dental Society and Brunswick Dental Study Club, a master of the Academy of General Dentistry, a fellow of the American College of Dentists and an oral cancer consultant to the Franklin Township Health Department.
Dr. Krantz and his wife, Lois, live in Somerset. They have two grown children, Joshua and Laurie.

Dr. Kahn earned his dental degree at the Georgetown University School of Dentistry, and his certificate in periodontology from the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Dental Medicine. His is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, an attending at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and a clinical instructor at the UMDNJ School of Health Related Professions – Allied Dental Education.
Dr. Kahn is a third-generation dentist, who has maintained a private practice of periodontics and implant dentistry in New Brunswick since 1984. He is a member of the American Academy of Periodontology, the Academy of Osseointegration, and a past president of the New Jersey Society of Periodontists.
Dr. Kahn resides in East Brunswick with his wife, Toni. They have two grown children, Barry and Brooke.

New Jersey Dental PAC
2006 Club-Level Contributors from MCDS
EXECUTIVE CLUB ($1,000)
Joel Leizer
PLATINUM CLUB ($500)
Cavan Brunsden Peter DeSciscio Hugh Habas
Mario Fiorentini Richard Kahn Bruce Roland
Mark Vitale Nancy Villa
DIAMOND CLUB ($350)
Donald Bershtein Charles Bloom James Courey
Kevin Dembinski Joseph Fertig Marshall Fleer
Scott Galkin Mark Heiberger Harmon Katz
Daniel Krantz Stephen Lawson Jamie Leizer
Ira Rosen Arnold Rosenheck Mark Schambra
Robert Silverstein Howard Sorkin Paul Tedeschi
Jason Wasserman Mitchell Weiner Leonard Yee
For information about joining NJDPAC, please contact Jim Schulz at (732) 422-2705

-CRP Statistics were reviewed from January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2006. There were 30 complaints submitted to NJDA; 7 were resolved, 5 were for data purposes, 18 are pending. For the year 2005 Middlesex members had the largest number of complaints (29).
-Delta Dental CA: X-ray processing: The council reviewed the latest NJDA letter to DDPCA, which included the letter from ADA in support of NJDA’s position. Briefly, the issue relates to Delta inappropriately changing the procedure code from D0220 (periapical first film) to D0230 (periapical each additional) if bitewings are also taken at the same visit. NOTE: Subsequent to the meeting, NJDA received Delta’s response, stating that the terms of its license agreement with ADA allow it to change procedure codes if there is a more appropriate code. NJDA forwarded this letter to ADA for its review and further action.
-Cigna launches Oral Health Maternity Program: The council reviewed a press release from CIGNA Dental, announcing enhanced benefits for pregnant women with both CIGNA dental and medical coverage, citing recent studies indicating the contribution of periodontal disease and gingivitis to pre-term and low birth weight babies. Effective January 1, 2006, CIGNA covers periodontal root planing and scaling at 100% for pregnant women. For pregnant women not requiring root planing and scaling, CIGNA will cover an additional cleaning.
-Periodontal e-claims attachments: The council discussed the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics (SCDI) and its recent release of a proposal to clarify the clinical information dental offices should send to a third party payer when submitting periodontal codes. The committee includes practitioner as well as third party representation. This is the first electronic claims attachment standard (ANSI/ADA Specification 1047) that has been published for public comment, and is subject to change. Comments on the proposal are being solicited by ADA’s Council on Dental Practice, on which Dr. Frank Graham serves as a member and who assisted in its initial review.
-ADA/Emdeon Benefits Project: The council reviewed the announcement that ADA is teaming up with Emdeon (formerly WebMD) in a pilot project aimed at determining the value in providing real-time claims information to the dental practice. Emdeon has also introduced a nationwide service that allows dentists to access patient benefit information and claim tracking for many different payers from a single source. Emdeon is endorsed by ADA Member Advantage. www.emdeondental.com
-Survey of Employer-Sponsored Dental Plans: The council reviewed the results of the “2005 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Plans” from Mercer (a benefits consulting firm). Surprisingly, almost half of the employers now cover implants and about 40% cover adult orthodontics; however, more surprisingly, about 30% of the groups do not cover sealants. What hasn’t changed much is the deductible amount (average of $50) or the annual maximum benefit ($1,200 median). Many benefit consultants do not recommend increasing the annual maximum because statistically very few individuals reach it, and the many would be subsidizing the few. Finally, about 60% of the companies surveyed offer a PPO, while only 20% offer a dental HMO.
-Educating Members on Dental Benefit Plans: The council discussed at length the issue of how best to educate members concerning dental benefit plan issues, since the current member resources (the Capsule, website, and seminars held at the Convention) do not seem to be adequately utilized. Staff e-mailed information to each council member to have published in the component newsletters (since those seem to be more widely read) and some components have done this. Further, a draft survey was prepared to get more member input. After discussing the merits of the survey questions and how best to survey (e-mail, Capsule, website), the council appointed a subcommittee to work on the survey questions. The subcommittee formed to review a proposed survey of the membership determined that it would probably not yield useful information. The discussion focused again on the council sponsoring a CE program on the economic impact of managed dental benefit plans, similar to the presentation ADA did several years ago.

September 2006 Newsletter

Featured Speaker:

President's Message - Dr. Robert Silverstein

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Treasurer's Report

Announcements/Articles