October 2007 Newsletter

Program:

Featured Speaker: Dr. Frank Celenza
“Microanchorage in Orthodontics”

Dr. Celenza is unique in his qualifications in that he is a dual certified specialist, and is active in both the practice and teaching of Periodontics and Orthodontics. Dr. Celenza maintains a practice in Manhattan, and is an Associate Clinical Professor at NYU College of Dentistry. He enjoys a dual appointment at that school, in Post-Graduate Orthodontics as well as in the Arthur Ashman Implant Fellowship. Dr. Celenza is recognized internationally for his work in the use of implants in conjunction with Orthodontics. He has published extensively and has appeared in many dental congresses both domestically and internationally. He is a past president of the Northeastern Society of Periodontists, and a member of the ITI (International Team of Implantologists). He has lectured extensively and is a recognized speaker both nationally and internationally, appearing at over 250 venues in the past 10 years.
The impact and success of Implantology has and continues to change the practice of dentistry, often in dramatic fashion. The specialty of Orthodontics stands poised to undergo similar transformation. Implants are proving to be reliable and useful sources of anchorage, both as direct and indirect sources. Treatment goals that were previously considered unattainable are now within easy reach. Further, appliance design and management can be greatly simplified, and treatment timetables are often significantly shortened.
This presentation will delineate the uses of implants in orthodontics and illustrate these concepts.

President's Message - Dr. James Courey

I want to thank everyone for making our September meeting such a grand success. Cathy Jameson, Ph.D. shared with the members her tried and true skills of practice building through basic techniques and cutting edge strategies of patient service. We expected her lecture to be a hit with doctors and staff members and she lived up to expectations.
With the fall upon us, it’s time to prepare our homes and families for the trick or treat season, unfortunately tricks are not just for kids. Recently, an article that appeared in the Home News Tribune was brought to my attention: “Drink up: The thirst-quenching facts and myths about your favorite beverages.” A so-called “myth” listed in the article was: “Carbonated soft drinks cause tooth decay,” left me in disbelief. Sugar is a cause of cavities! This is no myth; it is truth. Soft drinks and soda are among the most detrimental beverages to dental health. It continued to say “teeth are exposed to beverages for only a short amount of time” and “saliva that constantly bathes the teeth prevents erosion from acidic drinks like orange juice and soft drinks.” This is incorrect and misleading, as proven by the thousands of children afflicted with bottle rot. Saliva bathing the teeth can’t save them from rotting due to nightly exposure to sugars from juice and milk.
A study published in the March by the CDC noted that dental decay in children ages 2 to 5 had risen 4% in the last seven years. The study names the increased consumption of carbonated, sugary drinks as a major culprit. These studies are science, not myth.
Finally, the article credits in part, the widespread use of fluoride in drinking water as greatly improving dental health. While this statement is true, there is a caveat. Only 15.5% of NJ has access to fluoridated water (the lowest percentage of its population among the 48 contiguous states) and only one large city, Trenton, has fluoridated water. New Brunswick, Woodbridge and Edison residents do not have fluoride in their drinking water.
I wrote a lengthy letter to the editor expressing my disappointment on the publishing of ridiculously false statements about the effects of sugar on dental health. The punch line however was recently delivered by the editor of the Home Tribune. She told me that the “article” we read was not an article at all. In fact, it was an advertisement disguised as an article; she also revealed that it was paid for by a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company.
Let’s work together to educate our staff and those we treat so we can prevent them from being tricked by those who wish to sell products that can be harmful to them.

-September 11, 2007-

Attendance: Ashmen, Cicalese, Clemente, Courey, Fahsbender, Galkin, Glickman, Kahn, Leizer, Prabhu, Rosen, Savage,Silverstein, Simos, Stein, Weiner, Marlene Glickman.
Acceptance of Minutes-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-James Courey
The NJDA annual session was well attended by the MCDS delegates and Alternate delegates. Essex county was well represented (the outgoing President of NJDA, Bob Shekitka is from Essex County).
MCDS has the best membership county in the state, but we lost 14 members in 2007, whom the BOT are personally calling to attempt to get them to rejoin. Regretfully, MCDS did not win the ADA 19th annual Golden Apple award that was submitted in the Open Catagory.
Treasurer’s Report-Robert Ashmen
See full report on page 3.
Editor’s Report-Bob Silverstein, Constantine Simos
The September newsletter was sent to MCDS non-members (there are 94) as well as the MCDS members. As always, the deadline for submittions to the next issue is the Wednesday after the general meeting.
Website Editor’s Report-Bob Silverstein
As of 9/8/07, 25 offices have registered online for the Jameson course. This amounts to 76 individuals and $4320 in registration fees. Our PayPal fees associated with these registrations were $132.85.
Program Chairperson’s Report-Constantine Simos
Cathy Jameson, Ph D., will speak at the September monthly meeting and then present a full day CE program the following day. Both programs are sponsored by Benco Dental. The program is set for the remaining part of the ’07-’08 year.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Peter Clemente
See full report on page 5 under Recent ADA News.
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session :
This council position is now open. Dr Aracelli Ziemba has decided to step down after many years of dedicated service. We thank her for her efforts and invite a member who may have an interest, to take her place.
Dental Benefits: Mark Vitale
See full report on page 4.
Membership-Tara Savage
The MCDS membership committee will continue this year with its “New Member Welcoming Program.” This program was developed to make new members feel welcomed to the dental society and make them aware of the values of being a member. If any MCDS member is interested in “hosting” a new member at an upcoming general meeting, please contact Marlene Glickman, our MCDS secretary at 732-238-1255. Last year the membership committee sponsored a seminar targeted to new and younger members, entitled “Dental School 101: What do I do Now?” As a result of its enormous success, we plan to sponsor the seminar again this year. A date will be set for it in the near future.
Committee Reports:
Budget and Finance-Ira Rosen
The committee will meet during the upcoming month to develop next year’s budget. All financial considerations will also be discussed at that meeting. The budget will be presented at the October Board of Trustees meeting. Once it is approved by the board, it will be presented at the October General Membership meeting for discussion and the budget will be voted on at the November General Membership meeting.
Mentor-Ethan Glickman
See full report on page 4 under Mentor Committee Activities.
Dental Shadowing-Paresh Patel
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. There are currently 11 students who have completed the program and have submitted their hours and evaluation information. Over all, they are very pleased with the opportunity they had to observe in a dental office. They would recommend the program to others who are interested in exploring dentistry as their field of study. There are 10 students participating with MCDS dentists at this time. We are 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
Dr. Galkin informed the Board about PayPal’s requirements for the type of
account that we have with them, one of which is that one of our credit cards
needs to be on file with them. Dr. Silverstein offered to do this, but had
reservations about other people having access to his card. Dr. Weiner made
a motion (properly seconded) to reimburse Dr. Silverstein the $50 that he
would be responsible for if someone else used his card, and to authorize Dr.
Silverstein to administer the PayPal account. The people who would have
access to this account would be Dr. Silverstein, Marlene Glickman, the
current President and the current Treasurer. Subsequent to discussion, the
motion was tabled until Dr. Silverstein had a conversation with Art Meisel
regarding our fiduciary responsibility as a Board as it relates to this
account, and protecting Dr. Silverstein’s credit card.
New Business
A motion was made to allocate a $1000 each, to the RWJ and the JFK residency programs as well as the hygiene program, for supplies not met by the programs themselves. The motion has been tabled until the annual budget committee meeting to ensure that sufficient funds are available to accommodate this expense.
Good & Welfare
Congratulations are in order for Dr Ethan Glickman and our executive secretay Marlene Glickman on the birth of their first grandchild, Joseph Dean Glickman who was born on July 28th, 2007. We wish them many blissful years as grandparents.
Respectfully Submitted,
Maya Prabhu, Secretary

The council met on June 13, 2007 and the following items were reviewed.
- CRP Statistics were reviewed by the council with cumulative statistics from January 1, 2007 through May 31, 2007 indicating a total of 170 complaints submitted to NJDA for the year. Of that number, NJDA successfully resolved 108, 14 were for data purposes, 1 was not resolvable, and 47 are still pending. The council noted that 136 of the l70 complaints related to inappropriate refund requests, the majority of which were generated by Aetna. The council also discussed the claims resolution program itself, which is an avenue for members after the plan’s administrative appeals have been exhausted.
-ADA/NADP Report on Claim Payment Concerns: The council discussed ADA’s latest installment in its reporting on the meeting with dental plans concerning the most reported problems, this one concentrating on lost claims and/or x-rays. Carriers suggest dentists submit x-rays only when required by the carrier. New Jersey law requires plans to post their documentation requirements, and NEA has created a single web-based portal (“FastLook”) where all carrier attachment requirements can be accessed.
-Presentation By Dr. David Pettigrew (Horizon Dental): At the invitation of the council, Dr. Pettigrew updated the council on current issues at Horizon Dental Plan, including NPI readiness and collection of NPIs from dentists, a name change for Horizon in Pennsylvania and New York to Rayant, Horizon’s ongoing efforts to educate the public and medical community on the links between oral and systemic health, and other administrative issues related to claims payment.
-Response from Dept. of Education re: Access Initiative: The council reviewed a letter from the Commissioner of Education, which was in response to NJDA’s ongoing efforts to enlist appropriate state government departments in collaboration with NJDA to increase children’s access to dental care, specifically by using the schools as a focal point. The Commissioner’s letter, in effect, stated it was not the Department’s responsibility to initiate this type of program
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): At the request of a council member, a brief discussion was held concerning the limitations of a pre-authorization given by auto insurance, since it relates only to medical necessity and does not preclude the carrier from later deciding that the “injury” was not accident related. Preauthorizations are not a guarantee of payment, but if treatment is found to be not accident related, the dentist may collect his full fee rather than the reduced PIP fee schedule amount.
- Workers’ Compensation Claims: At the request of Dr. Chinoy, staff explained the unique nature of workers’ compensation medical claims. Unlike PIP, there is no set fee schedule but carriers do try to “negotiate” dentists’ fees after the fact, promising expedited payment, etc. Staff advised that all workers’ comp claims should be preauthorized and a written fee agreement obtained prior to treatment.

Mentor Committee - Dr. Ethan Glickman, Chairman
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. This seminar is available to our members for $15/pp as a member benefit of MCDS. Our previous OSHA Seminar was held on May17, 2007 at St. Peter’s Medical Center. In attendance were 154 dental team members from 45 Dental offices. We invited three corporate vendors to participate with the May17, 2007 OSHA seminar. System Office Products, Inc. East Brunswick (732-257-5333) offered a free reception room design make-over consultation and they handed out free pens to all attendees. Excel-Berger Dental Lab gave out two door prizes: a Captek patient presentation model and Captek prep diamonds by Brasseler. They are located in North Brunswick (732-422-4444). Kristen Larsen of Zila Pharmaceuticals (908-347-0226) spoke about the Oral Cancer screening tool “Vizilite.” See their website at www.Vizilite.com for further information about the “Vizilite.” 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 & Dr. Scott Galkin, 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. This is our 9th meeting of the MCDS Study Club for MCDS members. This year 2007-2008, we will be inviting non-members as a way of introducing them to the benefits of MCDS membership and to see for themselves why they should join MCDS. We will limit their attendance to three meetings, afterwards they will need to join MCDS to continue to participate in the MCDS Study Club. The format is a dinner meeting (each member attending pays for their own meal), starting at 6:30PM, in a roundtable discussion group. We have had 8 very animated and enjoyable meetings. The plan is to start a new MCDS Study Club [2] as new MCDS members join the group so that we can have viable group discussions at each meeting in this round table format. 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 Exec.Sect’y for MCDS, at 732-238-1255 for additional information and registration in advance.
CENTRAL NEW JERSEY DENTAL HYGIENE STUDY CLUB Membership Committee – Dottie Jennings RDH, BS, Lucy Achenbach RDH, MA, & Chris Barton RDH, BS; all are Faculty: Middlesex Community College-Dental Hygiene Program. Dr. Ethan Glickman, 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 DINE: All this while you dine on a great buffet style dinner - meals will be paid for in advance by CNJDH members . Here’s the best news; there is only a $100 membership fee to join in addition to the cost of the meals. This money will be only applied to the CNJDH study club’s needs. 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. Speaker: Robert A. Shekitka, DMD (Dr. Shekitka is Immediate Past President, New Jersey Dental Association and he is on faculty at UMDNJ). Topic: “Principles of Ethics and Conduct in Dental Practice”. This will be an open meeting and no membership fee is required to attend this first CNJDH study club meeting. Meeting dates: October 24, 2007, December 12, 2007, February 13, 2008, April 9, 2008 & June 11, 2008. The CNJDH study club members will choose which future topics they would like presented! Possible future topics: “Overview of Implants”, “Periodontal Surgery Overview”, “Principles of Soft Tissue Scaling & Root Planning”, “The Periodontal Examination & Periodontal Charting”, “Self-Empowerment for Professional Women”, “Nutrition in Dentistry”, “Arestin Therapy”, “Occlusion Overview”, “Night guards, Snore guards & Sleep Apnea”, Technology Update in Dentistry such as: “Vizilite-an Oral Cancer Screening Tool”, “Lasers in Dentistry”, “The Diagnodent Caries Detection Tool”, “Digital Radiography”, “Using the Intra-oral and Extra Camera in Patient- Examination for Co-Education & Discovery”, “Automated Perio-Charting: “Florida Probe”, “Voice Activation Periodontal Charting.” This CNJDH study club is available to our staff hygienists’ as a Dentist-member benefit of MCDS. MCDS will invite hygienists of non-member dentists as a way of introducing non-member dentists to the benefits of belonging to MCDS. Hopefully non-member dentists will realize the value to themselves and their staff of being a MCDS member with these new and innovative member programs being offered each year! Please contact Marlene Glickman, the Executive Secretary for MCDS, at 732-238-1255 for additional information to join and register in advance for the CENTRAL NEW JERSEY DENTAL HYGIENE study club.

• Alaska Litigation: The A.D.A. and Alaska Dental Society have filed a lawsuit against the State of Alaska and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), who have taken the position that Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs) can perform irreversible dental procedures in Alaska without being licensed dentists (they can perform extractions, pulpotomies, cavity and stainless steel crown preparations) The ANTHC is a state organization which sponsored the DHAT program. This program is exempt from licensure under the Federal Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA). The argument that prevailed was that the IHCIA preempts Alaska’s licensing law and this permits the DHAT program in the form adopted by the ANTHC. The U.S. Attorney filed a “Statement of Interest” with the court on behalf of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, which is the cabinet level agency in charge of administering the IHCIA. The administration came out in favor of federal preemption which was not favorable for the ADA’s prospects in the lawsuit. Consequently, the ADA legal department decided to try and settle the lawsuit. The Alaska Dental Society decided not to participate in the settlement agreement. The ADA was able to negotiate some key commitments from ANTHC in the settlement negotiations that will prove helpful to the dental profession: 1) ANTHC will ask the Indian Health Service to add a second seat to the Community Health Aid Program (CHAPS) Certification Board and to that Board’s Dental Academic Review Committee, for a licensed dentist nominated by the ADA. This is the board that certifies, regulates, and disciplines the DHATs in Alaska. 2) ANTHC will support a pilot program for the ADA’s community dental health coordinator model. 3) ANTHC will support a longitudinal study of the delivery of health care in remote areas of Alaska that reviews the use of dental health aides, dental health aide therapists, public health dentists, private sector dentists, community dental health coordinators and any other model that provides direct care to patients. 4) ANTHC will work with the ADA to preserve the language in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA ) limiting the scope of the dental health therapist’s practice and confining such practice to Alaska. 5) ANTHC will not seek attorney’s fees (to which our legal counsel advised they would be entitled) in this litigation. As part of this settlement, ADA paid ANTHC’s foundation $537,500 (to support ANTHC’s efforts to promote preventative oral health in remote Alaska) and the State Of Alaska $75,000.
• Medicaid prescriptions: These are to be written on “tamper -resistant pads”. This could be a disincentive to participate in the program. The ADA has sent a letter to HHS asking for a one-year delay in implementation. Congress’ motivation in enacting this law was that it cost the government millions of dollars to deal with fraud caused by altered Medicaid prescriptions.
• Dental Amalgam: The Sept/Oct issue of Public Heath Reports examines the potential economic impact of a ban or restriction on amalgam. The authors feel that there would be both a short and long term impact on increasing expenditures for dental care, decreasing utilization, and increasing untreated disease.
• State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): The House and Senate have passed versions of legislation reauthorizing this, but the President rejected it.
• Crossing the border for dental care: People are going to Mexico for dental and medical treatment.
• Consumer info about receiving oral care abroad is on ADA.org.
• Water Fluoridation: In Washington D.C., an ABC-TV affiliate ran a story on the controversy over the safety of water fluoridation.
• A new Pennsylvania Law creates the position of public dental hygiene practitioner, a new category for hygienists with additional training and experience that enables them to perform services without a supervising dentist in public health and institutional settings. Patients treated by these hygienists would have to be seen by a dentist once a year.
• Dental Health Certificate: The N.Y. governor signed legislation requiring children entering public school to have a dentist approved dental health certificate indicating the condition of their teeth.
• Bisphenol A (BPA): There was media coverage of an expert panel convened by the Federal Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction to evaluate scientific literature on BPA. The panel’s focus is on BPA in baby bottles and coatings inside food cans and concluded there’s some concern that exposure to BPA causes neural and behavioral effects for pregnant women and fetuses, infants and children. The panel judged the exposure of BPA in adults to be negligible. Although dental sealants and composites are tangential to this debate, they will probably be pulled into the stories because the summary mentions sealants.

Seeking a Dentist
Dentist for Nursing Home Practice
1-3 Days, Very
Flexible Schedule
Northern New Jersey or Shore Area
973-575-6570

Guidelines issued by the National Institutes of Health re-defined the upper limits of normal blood pressure from 130/85 to 120/80.

October 2007 Newsletter

Program:

President's Message - Dr. James Courey

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Treasurer's Report

Announcements/Articles