October 2010 Newsletter

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-09/14/2010-

Attendance: Ashmen, Bernstein, Brunsden, Chustckie, Desai, Galkin, Goldstein, Kaga, Kahn, Krantz, Mir Madjlessi, Prabhu, Rizzi, Rosen, Savage, Schambra, Silverstein, Stein, Villa, Vitale, Vora, Weiner
Acceptance of Minutes-vote unanimous.
President's Report-Maya Prabhu
Under the President's report NJDA Executive Director Arthur Meisel discussed issues regarding mid-level providers and access to care. In a handful of states across the country, mid-level providers who are not dentists are performing irreversible dental procedures, and they are being allowed to do so because of a lack of licensed dentists in these areas. Many issues were discussed including the scope and future of this type of practice being allowed in the State of New Jersey. Issues related to Malpractice liability and hygienists performing under general supervision were also brought up. [Editor's note: Now, more than ever, we need your PAC support to have a voice on these issues. Despite the Board's repeated efforts to impress upon the membership the urgency of this, only 22% of MCDS members currently contribute to PAC. Without everyone's support, we don't get "face time" with our legislators. Like it or not, either you pay towards PAC now, or have legislation passed without us having our say and you will pay 10 fold later. The time to act is NOW! Either download a PAC contribution form from our web site or call NJDA at 732-821-9400 and ask for one].
Treasurer's Report-David Stein
See full report on page 3.
PayPal charges charges us for disputes (when our members don't recognize the charge on their credit card statement and we have to fight the chargeback) and takes their percentage of the registration fee even if the member asks for a refund. We ask our members to be mindful of this and remember that when they register online they will see a charge from PayPal on their credit card statement.
Editor's Report-Bob Silverstein
We have been hovering around 290 mailed newsletters per month for the past few months, with few members registering recently to receive the newsletter online in lieu of receiving it in the mail. I encourge those who have not signed up for this to do so and help us save money.
The September newsletter was sent out to the 149 Middlesex non-member dentists, with a customized President's message designed to encourage membership.
On occasions where there is a question as to whether a MCDS meeting or course is cancelled, such as when there is inclement weather, members should check our web site as the primary method of finding this out.
We made an error on the date for the March General Meeting (it should be the 15th). This has been corrected on our web site and for future newsletters. Also, since the meeting date in April has been moved up 1 week because of Passover. The new date for the General Meeting is 4/12. I will announce the new speaker as soon as this information becomes available.
NJDA Trustee's Report-Mark Vitale
See full report on page 5.
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session-Nainesh Desai
The Garden State Dental Conference and Expo 2010 was a weekend event at The Trump Taj Mahal (Atlantic City, NJ) on June11-13, 2010. Both vendors and attendees agreed that there were significant improvements in the quality of the event as compared to previous years. Friday was well attended by doctors and staff, but attendance was on Saturday was not good. Glass Classroom, Product-Demo Classroom, the High-Tech Vendor Fair on the Exhibit Floor, onsite Café and the Cyber Pavilion that allowed the attending dentists to print their CE credits were well appreciated.
As part of ongoing changes, next year's meeting will be held on June 24-25 (Fri-Sat) at the Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch, NJ. The Council decided that there will be no full-day course on Saturday, few more short 2-hour CE courses and increased number of "Breakfast and learn", "Lunch and learn" and Hands-on courses in 2011. Featured speaker, Dr Carl Misch will be presenting a full-day course on June 24th, 2011, with sponsorship from BioHorizons. The speaker subcommittee met while in Atlantic City. The submission policy was put in effect. 2010 exhibitors have received a letter asking for fully funded speakers. The committee is meeting again on September 16th to finalize the list of speakers
President's event may be a "resort casual" event with butler passed food and live music. Options are being evaluated for the same. Possibility of a beach bonfire with some sponsorship is being evaluated. Dr. Thomas Emmer was nominated and voted Vice Chairman from July 2010 through June 2011. The Association will be hiring a P/T staff person to handle some aspects of the show and will not use last year's company, PSI, for financial reasons.
Children's Dental health Month-Cavan Brunsden
A meeting for GKAS day, 2011 is scheduled for next month.
Governmental and Public Affairs-Mitch Weiner
See full report on page 6.
Peer Review-Sandy Goldstein
There were no new cases assigned in August, there have been 2 new ones already in September.
Committee Reports:
Continuing Education-Mark Schambra
The speaker for next autumn is Dr Jon Ruel, a Prosthodontist from New Bedford, Mass. He will present on Tues night Oct 18, 2011, and all day Wed Oct 19, 2011. His topic will be " New Technologies in Implant Dentistry". The course sponsor is to be determined.
Corporate Sponsorship-David Stein
We have secured significant corporate sponsorships for the 2010-2011 CE-year. Dr. Ira Rosen said that Biomet-3i is also on board and will be one of our corporate sponsors on regular basis.
Mentor-Amit Vora/Nima MirMadjlessi
Our bi-annual OSHA program that satisfies the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, which is required annually for dentists and staff, was given on June 3, 2010 at St. Peter's Medical Center, New Brunswick. A total of 102 dentist and staff attended.
Our next bi-annual OSHA program that satisfies the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, which is required annually for dentists and staff, will be given on November 4, 2010 at St. Peter's Medical Center, New Brunswick.
Two CEU credits are awarded to the Dentists & staff members attending these 2-hour seminars. These seminars are available to our members & staff for $25/pp as a member benefit of MCDS.
A very big "Thank You" to Dr. Joe Fertig, Director of Dental Services - St. Peter's Medical Center, for arranging all our room accommodations for the MCDS OSHA-Mentor programs at St. Peter's Medical Center in New Brunswick.
Dr. Larry Brent will present the next mentor program on December 9, 2010. He will speak about: "Everything I did not Learn in Dental School" at the NJDA Headquarters, North Brunswick.
Please see the insert in this newsletter for additional information and registration for the Mentor/OSHA program.
Dental Hygiene Study Club-Alyssa Bernstein
The Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene [CNJDH] Study Club will be having its first lecture of the 2010-2011 year on Wednesday September 29, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison. The speaker will be Dr. Jim Albani and he will be speaking on cone beam imaging for implants. Two CEU credits will be awarded for this seminar.
This CNJDH study club is available to our hygienists as a Dentist-member benefit of MCDS. Please contact Marlene Glickman, our Exec.Sect'y for MCDS, at # 732-238-1255 for additional information and registration in advance for the program. In addition, one of the lectures this spring is open to doctors and hygienists, Hahn Diagnostics is presenting on marker pathogen analysis for perio. They will only present to the hygiene study club if there is at least 10 doctors present. Please consider attending this lecture on Wednesday March 9, 2011.
Good & Welfare
On June 16th, Dr. Robert Ashmen and his wife, Robyn, were blessed with a baby girl, Olivia Therese.
Respectfully Submitted, Nainesh Desai, Secretary

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NJDA Noteworthy News

-Healthcard sponsorship- Mr. Chris Bornstad, Regional Manager for HealthCard, introduced himself. HealthCard is our endorsed credit and debit card processor and a silver partner in NJDA's Partners Program. He reported that many members are HealthCard clients and many are very loyal to HealthCard. Many credit card companies have made recent changes; PCI compliance and both Visa and MasterCard have revised its rates
-2011 Budget- The 2011 Budget was approved by the BOT as submitted by the Budget Hearing Committee. It must now be approved by the House of Delegates at the November 10, 2010 House meeting. In the 2011 Budget, the Director of Communications reported that The Advocate is being phased out to only 3 hard copies for the year 2011. In 2012 the
Advocate will not exist as you know it; it will only be distributed via email and on the web.
-UMDNJ Foundation- In May a letter was sent to the Component Presidents and Secretaries explaining that the Foundation of UMDNJ sends a letter in the Fall asking us to furnish the name of an NJDA representative to its Foundation at UMDNJ. The letter asks if anyone from any of the components would be interested in placing his/her name in nomination. No name was submitted and Dr. Carmine LoMonaco had indicated his interest in continuing in this position. The Board approved his nomination for a one year term to the Board of the UMDNJ Foundation.
-VDA- On July 29th, the building housing the Virginia Dental Association burned to the ground. Two employees were inside, however, no one was injured and no information was lost due to back-up. Unfortunately, Virginia has a very active Mission of Mercy and they lost all the equipment. Aside from the loss, the Virginia Medical Association has lent them space to continue operation without loss of jobs. Sadly, the building will have to be demolished and rebuilt.
Apparently the insurance coverage was not adequate. The Board will look at NJDA's policy to make sure its coverage is adequate in case of such an event here.
- Membership- Ms Tricia DeCotiis reported that as of August 17 those members paid to date are 4,583 which are ten less members than last year, this time. She will begin her residency visits in two weeks and will continue recruiting members. We need 160 more by year end to get to last year's number. She distributed a list to the trustees broken down by component and asked them to call those 2009 members who have not yet paid their 2010 dues. Also waivers are up; 111 to last year's 87. Lunch and Learns have been scheduled at all the General Practice Residency Programs. The Lunch & Learns at UMDNJ are set for the fall as well. Regarding dues collection for next year, we are working on an on-line dues payment system. She is planning to go back to Temple this year to recruit new members and would like to expand to other states.
-Annual Session- Ms. DeCotiis attended a sales rep meeting of Benco, a Bronze Partner. She reported that the Annual Session Council will begin selecting speakers and entertainment. Staff has been selling booth space. They are in the process of wrapping up 2010. Annual Session is considering opening registration for Dr. Carl Misch early.
The Annual Session will be held in Long Branch on June 24-25-26, 2010.
-NJDA Website- Mr. Eric Elmore reported that the 2nd and 3rd tier of the website needs to be made current. Also, with the growing number of MAC users, NJDA needs to make sure they can access the web as well as accessibility for mobile users. We are also working on a Facebook page. None of this will cost NJDA anything.
-Continuing Education- Members should check out the Business Partners offering of free continuing education courses through the fall and winter. Registration via email has been very heavy. Seven free courses will be offered from September 2010 to January 2011; two in September, three in October, one in November and one in January. On September 24th, Benco will sponsor a course, Peer 2 Peer Education Morning: Digital Impressions & 3D Technology. On September 28th, Kuwata will sponsor a course, Single Tooth Implants in the Esthetic Zone: Diagnosis and Execution. The October 1st course, Plaque Control and Clinical Outcomes – "The Orthodontia Conundrum" is sponsored by P& G. There is a maximum of 50 seats per course and registration is on a first-come first-served basis. The Weekend Study Club courses and dates are posted on the web and in the recent Advocate issue along with a registration form. The course fee is $20.00 with all proceeds going to Special Olympics and each course offers two credits. The dates are Saturday, September 25th; Saturday October 17th, Saturday November 13th and Saturday, December 12th.
-NJDA Golf Classic- The NJDA Annual Golf Classic was held Monday, August 23, 2010 at the TPC Jasna Polana golf course in Princeton, New Jersey. We had 121 golfers, a new record.
-GKAS- NJDA will start planning next month for Give Kids A Smile to be held February 4, 2011. Last year we had 90 locations and expect the same or more this year and we should surpass the 5,000 children seen last year. Presently we are meeting with the school nurses in the counties and working on getting the GKAS doctors to meet with the school nurses at the county level. The school nurses are the definite factor in selecting the children for GKAS. We are trying to link the doctors and the nurses for better follow-up.
-Oral Health Coalition- On January 19, 2011 we have scheduled a course in conjunction with the Oral Health Coalition to be held at the Robert Wood Johnson Institute in Hamilton. It will be an all day course from 9:00 am to 4:00pm and will be covering Access to Care –A Decade Later. You can earn 6 to 7 credits for the all day program.
-NJDA Homebound Program- The NJDA Homebound Program is beginning to grow. We are receiving more calls from members of the Association as well as patients. We have every county covered except Salem and Cumberland. The patient calls NJDA to speak to Eric Elmore and Eric calls the doctor to set up the particulars. We have an article in the
Advocate listing the participating dentists, his/her phone number and the county(s) they cover. This is not a free program for the patient. Dentists bill for their services and treatments and the patients are made aware of this upfront.
- Peer Review- The Peer Review Workshop has been scheduled for November 3, 2010. All component peer review committee members must attend this course at least once every three years, a policy that was instituted several years ago on the recommendation of a Peer Review Task Force appointed by NJDA's Board of Trustees.
-Meeting with Commissioner of Banking and Insurance- Mary Moskal, Dr. Kahn, Jim Schulz and Art Meisel met recently with the new Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, Tom Considine, and his staff. One of the issues discussed was the Department's strong support of proposed legislation that would categorize as a criminal offense the waiver of insurance copayments and deductibles. NJDA reiterated that the State Board of Dentistry regulations require that such waivers be disclosed by dentists to dental plans, which then reduce its reimbursement based on the fee intended to be collected. While NJDA is not philosophically opposed to the legislation, it does have concerns about its lack of clarity. NJDA would like to see greater detail about the types of waivers permitted, such as financial hardship of
the patient and what documentation must be obtained. NJDA also emphasized again the vast differences between medical insurance and dental plans, which typically limit benefits to $1,200 on average and submitted fees are not inflated as is the situation with facilities such as ambulatory care.
-Dental Benefits- The Council on Dental Benefits sent a strong letter to Dr. McMurray at Horizon Dental outlining the ongoing problems being experienced by members and, in fact, not addressed by Horizon since its last meeting with the council. Mary Moskal and Dr. Vitale earlier this day had a conference call with Dr. McMurray who promised a resolution to the "bundling issues" by early September. Currently, claims for procedures such as relining an immediate denture, diagnostic study models, and interim (long-term) prostheses are being adjudicated with the EOB message that these are "an inherent part of another procedure" and not reimbursable, despite the nomenclature contained in the CDT code. Dr. David Pettigrew, former Horizon Dental Director, has agreed to act as alternate representative to the Council on Dental Benefits from Bergen County.
-State Board of Dentistry- At the last State Board meeting it discussed CE credits for dentists that do charity care. The Board is also considering restricting use of Sargenti Paste. He also advised that all dentists should make sure that their emergency equipment is in good working condition. Arthur Meisel announced with pleasure that Dr. Jack Ricciani is the
new President of the State Board of Dentistry. The Governor's office has signed off on the proposed sun setting regulations and they will be published as a new proposed regulation in the New Jersey Register.
-Legal Issues- Mr. Arthur Meisel reported that he had sent out a note to all of the Board members regarding a decision in the case pending before the Appellate Division involving alleged insurance fraud. We had made a motion as a friend of the court. The Appellate Division reversed the trial court's decision and it will go back to court for a trial. On the Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield suit to prevent it from enforcing its anti-assignment clause, Horizon wants to settle the case. They are working on a settlement agreement. It looks positive. The 3rd suit is against Met Life and Aetna for establishing maximum fees that network dentists can charge for services for which the insurers make no payments. Two weeks ago, NJDA filed suit against a tanning salon engaged in teeth whitening services for unfair and dishonest competition. The Access to Care Workforce/ Mid-Level Providers was discussed at a conference immediately preceding the ADA management conference at the ADA. A meeting will be being held in Atlanta, Georgia to try to influence the ADA HOD before going to Orlando. New Jersey was asked to attend and contact other groups for support. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously adopted by the Board to authorize Mr. Meisel and one dentist to attend the meeting in Atlanta. Mr. Meisel reported that at the April Board meeting, the New Jersey Hygienist Association was seeking our support of a Bill that it would like to introduce on general supervision. A meeting was held during Annual Session with officers and hygienists. The hygienists claim it will provide greater flexibility by keeping offices open, therefore, deriving more dollars and they stressed no interest in attaining independent practice. Widespread input from members will be solicited on this issue.
-Bergen Walk a Thon- Bergen County Dental Society is holding its walk-a-thon, benefiting the 'Footprints in the Sand Foundation' on September 19, 2010.
-Report from UMDNJ Dental School- Dr. Arnold Rosenheck, Assistant Dean at UMDNJ Dental School, was asked by Dr. Cecile Feldman to report on the status of the school. As we all experience this stormy fiscal time, it is the same in academia. However, we should remind ourselves that our profession is thought of with admiration, respect and envy.
He believes there are three pillars that support our profession: 1) The NJDA to make things work and happen; 2) UMDNJ- Dental School which sets the standard for education and produces the finest and best dentists in the entire country, and 3) The State Board of Dentistry that regulates the dental profession. All three work together so that
dentistry remains as strong as ever. Dr. Rosenheck reported that UMDNJ's Budget has been cut 15% with an
additional supplemental cut for the University Hospital of 15%, translating to 1.5 million in arrears for the dental school. Tuition had to be raised 21% for students out of state, 18% for those in state and 14% for post-graduates. Dr. Feldman is working diligently to keep everything going forward and keep the ratio between faculty and students equal as well as create a system where they can get medical records electronically. This should improve access to care and allow for better treatment of patients. Dr. Rosenheck also suggested that the Governmental Affairs Department in the school and NJDA'S Governmental Affairs Council meet to work together as a team. He also emphasized the importance of joining PAC and remaining involved with other organizations; i.e. UMDNJ. He did mention that Dr. Richard Kahn, Art Meisel, Jim Schulz will meet next week with Dr. Bill Owen, UMDNJ President. The next NJDA BOT meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2010.

NJDA Council on Governmental and Public Affairs

-NJDA General Supervision Draft Legislation: NJDA has been asked for input from the hygienists association in relation to proposed legislation that would permit general supervision of hygienists in private practice (this already exists in NJ institutions- hospitals, etc.).
-Mid-Level Provider Pilot Projects: there are many competing organizations in at least 41 states that are moving towards implementing or experimenting with mid-level providers.
Even at the ADA level, different factions are forming (Austin Group vs. Boston Group) that are either staunchly against mid-level providers or are willing to hear all sides and work out a compromise on this controversial issue for the profession going forward.
-Governor Christie's Boards and Commissions Consolidation Program: There are over 800 State Boards and Commissions in NJ. The governor has eliminated 60 State Boards and Commissions to consolidate and save money. The State Board of Dentistry has been preserved as a stand alone Board. However, the State Medical Examiner and State Crime Labs are slated to consolidate, which may have an impact on the NJDA Dental Victim Identification Team (DVIT), which had an excellent working relationship with the stand alone ME's office.
-Division of Consumer Affairs Reform: There have been 'customer service' issues with the Division for a while, mostly due to internal clashes. We have an attentive Board, but infighting between the division and the attorney general's office is creating inefficiencies. At the same time, the governor wants to re-define the role of the lieutenant governor by giving the economic development corp. oversight over to the Lieut. Governor and is considering taking some of the State Boards (including Dentistry) away from the Div. of Consumer Affairs and giving them to the Lieut. Governor's jurisdiction.
-Jewish Renaissance Medical Center FQHC Issue: A Federal Qualified Health Center opened up in Perth Amboy with state of the art dental equipment that local private practitioners feel is aggressively marketing in the attempt to erode their patient pools. The clinic mostly treats Medicaid and Charity Care/Indigent patients so the potential impact on these local practices is still being debated, with NJDA attempting to mediate the matter while protecting the interests of our member dentists.
-NJ Dental Director: NJ still has no dentist as Dental Director and therefore no one to manage and aggressively pursue the application process for millions of dollars in federal funding towards oral healthcare that NJ can benefit from and loses out from each year. NJDA is working with the NJ Dental School to propose that the Dental School Dean be given the title of NJ Dental Director and hopefully, with the dental schools advocacy, this would open the door to federal grant money for oral health programs in the state.
Legislative Matters:
-Suits against Metlife and Aetna: Metlife wanted the suit to be decided in Federal court and NJDA wanted it decided in State Court. The federal judges decided that the suit should be in state court (in NJDA's favor). A summary judgment on the matter is expected in the coming weeks.
-Assignment of Benefits Lawsuit against Horizon: Horizon is interested in settling and NJDA is in the process of working with Horizons' attorneys on the wording of the settlement. Once finalized, it should go into effect on 1/1/2011, similar to the legislation for medical insurance assignment which was passed previously.

In Memoriam
William Meszaros
Dr. William R. Meszaros died quietly on Thursday, May 27, at his home in Williamsburg, VA. Born in Perth Amboy, N.J., on April 8, 1919, he attended Perth Amboy High School and graduated from Saint Louis University School of Dentistry. He married Constance Marie Price of St. Louis, Mo., on June 16, 1945, and returned to Perth Amboy to open his dental practice.
In 1952 he served as a captain of Oral Surgery at Kessler Air Force Base until October 1954. He returned to his dental practice in Perth Amboy, which he enjoyed for close to 40 years. He was a past president of the Middlesex Dental Society and was known for his generosity and influence in sharing new and innovative dental techniques.
Dr. Bill, as he was affectionately called, will be missed by all for his generosity, wonderful sense of humor, search for spirituality, and the love and devotion that he shared with his family.