November 2012 Newsletter

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10/9/12

Attendance: Dr.’s Simos, Savage, Krantz, Kahn, Vitale, Fernandes, Prabhu, Leung, Modi, Glickman, Ashmen, Schambra, Weiner, Bernstein, Rosen, Stein, Mir-Madjlessi, Silverstein, and Marlene Glickman.
Acceptance of 9/11/12 Minutes-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-Constantine Simos
There have been a few changes on our Executive Board. Dr. Amit Vora will step down from the Mentor Committee Co-Chair. Dr. Ira Rosen will be the new chair of Corporate Sponsorship. Our Centennial Celebration is set for Saturday 10/13, a few details need to be worked out regarding the order of speakers.
Treasurer’s Report-Alyssa Bernstein
See full report below.
Secretary’s Report-Devang Modi
Please submit your reports to the “Google Group” on time.
Website Editors Report-Robert Silverstein
Drs. Rosen, Satwah and Silverstein will meet to discuss redeveloping our website to make it more user-friendly.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Daniel Krantz
There were several issues that were discussed at the pre-convention caucus:
Whether Dental Anesthesiology should be accepted as a specialty.
Possible dues increase and assessment (for repairs to the Chicago Headquarters).
Possible closure of the ADA Library.
Changing the number of delegates.
Eliminating some ADA councils.
Eliminating some officer positions (First and Second VP)
I will give a final report at the November meeting
NJDA Trustee’s Report-Mark Vitale
See full report below.
Dr. Vitale has been nominated and will be running for the NJDA Executive Board. Congratulations and good luck..
Executive Secretary Report-Marlene Glickman
115 guests are confirmed to attend the Centennial Celebration.
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session-Nainesh Desai
Gerald Chiche will be our featured speaker for the 2013 Garden State Conference and Expo. Speaker list and Schedules are being finalized. Revel, the latest sensation in Atlantic City will be the conference site for the 2014 Garden State Conference and Expo.
The next council meeting is on October 11th.
Dental Benefits-Jeff Chustckie, Devang Modi
The Council of Dental Benefits met on 9/12/12. Members are reminded to contact Mary Moskal at NJDA to seek assistance with any dental claim, preauthorization, EOB language issues. On 10/10/12, a fund raiser is organized for Assemblyman Gary Schaer, 20-30 people are expected.
As a special order of business the Council met with Dr. Scott Navarro and Bruce Silverman from Delta Dental plan of NJ. They answered many of the questions presented by the Council. Most notably, Delta is selling individual dental plans in NJ (traditional, clear plan and enhanced plan) and has lowered the MAC fees. More details to follow in next month’s newsletter.
Governmental Affairs-Mitch Weiner
The “assignment of benefits” bill has been presented and a “non-covered services” bill is being considered. Tom Kean is to be our sponsor in the Senate. The Council is working on a method by which we can pay all of our annual dues (license renewal, x-ray registration, medical waste…) all with one check instead of several every year.
Membership-Tara Savage, Genevieve Fernandes
Patricia DeCotiis reported that NJDA membership is down 53 members from this time last year. In order to grow the membership she is asking all of the leaders of the NJDA (trustees, council representatives, etc.) to make a commitment to bring in one new member by the end of the year. Each component’s trustee should have received a non-renewal member list.
NJDA has begun an incentive program to recruit new members. Any NJDA member who recruits a nonmember will receive a $100 cash reward at the time the new member’s dues are received by NJDA. An email will be sent out to the membership soon with more details.
A newly approved “Reimbursement Protocol for Component Recruitment Activity” was adopted by the Board of Trustees on August 15, 2012 and will go into effect for all components on January 1, 2013. Each component shall be eligible for reimbursement up to $500 one time per calendar year. In order to receive reimbursement, the component must host or offer an event or meeting targeted at recruiting nonmembers. Reimbursement will be made only if the event is specifically promoted to non-members. The event may be a regularly scheduled general component meeting. The proposed event must be submitted in writing utilizing a specific form provided by NJDA outlining the details of the event. This form must be submitted no later than thirty days in advance of the event. The NJDA membership Chair and Director shall review the submitted proposal and notify the component within one week of its decision to accept or reject the event. Within one week of the event’s conclusion, the component must submit the names and contact information for every non-member in attendance at the event to NJDA.
NJDA will be sponsoring a course on Friday, December 7, 2012 using the grant money it received from the ADA for membership recruitment. This course will be offered to female dentists, both members and non-members. The title of the course is “Optimizing Health for the Woman Dental Professional: Evidence-based Strategies to Prevent Pain & Extend Your Career.” The speaker will be Bethany Valachi. This will be a half day course followed by an exercise class with a trainer.
Membership applications have been mailed to non-members promoting 15 months of membership for the price of 12 months, beginning October 1, 2012.
“Save the date” cards have been made for the Garden State Dental Conference & Expo which will be held on June 28 & 29, 2013. The theme will be “all things Jersey.”
The next Council on Membership meeting is scheduled for Monday, December
Committee Reports:
Centennial Committee-
We are excited to celebrate 100 years of our dental society 10/13/12.
Corporate Sponsorship-Ira Rosen
Thanks to the help of many members of the executive board, our corporate sponsorship has increased significantly this year. Colgate was the major sponsor of the MCDS Centennial Celebration. Thanks to Colgate, the celebration was a first class event and will likely turn out to be revenue neutral. We are also pleased to have Biomet 3i back as a Gold Sponsor this year. In addition, we have secured five other corporate sponsorship packages. New Providence Financial will be our second Gold Sponsor. We have three new silver sponsors for this year: Benco, DSG Labs and Dentsply/Tulsa. Finally, we have one Bronze Sponsor: Kuwata Pan Dent. Everyone is encouraged to visit our sponsors at the monthly general membership meetings at the Pines Manor. Each of our sponsors will be given the opportunity to make short 2 minute presentations during the course of the year.
Mentor-Nima Mir-Madjlessi, Amit Vora
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, will be given on Nov 15, 2012 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.
Please see the insert in this newsletter for additional information and registration for the Mentor program.
Budget and Finance Committee-Ira Rosen
The committee presented the proposed 2013 budget for the Executive Board to review. After some questions and discussion, the proposed budget was approved for presentation to the general membership. The 2013 Proposed MCDS Budget will be presented to the general membership at the meeting next week, published in the upcoming newsletter, and then presented for a vote at the November general membership meeting.
New Dentist Committee-Sanjeev Satwah, Genevieve Fernandes
New dentist committee met on 9/20/12. We brainstormed having a 1/2 day implant course with a golf clinic in order to appeal to more new dentists. 1/2 day rotary hands on clinic at Long Branch next year geared to new dentists. Other ideas were discussed including Immigration issues (employer/employee) and becoming more involved with local dental schools. Interest to have MCDS Dental MBA to eventually be marketed at the state level. Goal: 50 new members in 2 years.
Continuing Education-Mark Schambra
A full day course on Practice Management is confirmed by Dr. Mark Setter on April 17, 2013.
Dental Shadowing-Maha Kaga
I spoke with Greg Sobol (Health Professions Specialist for Rutgers Dental Shadowing) went over his role in getting the students to be part of our dental shadowing program. If any student, especially pre-dental shows any interest in shadowing he gives them a flyer. I am requesting an updated flyer so Marlene and I can review the contact information on the flyer. We will coordinate a process to make it simple for the student to get to the offices where they can shadow. I have also requested the information to meet with the head of the student dental association at the school to associate a face with the contact information and make it more personable.
Hygiene Study Club-Alyssa Bernstein
The Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene [CNJDH] Study Club met on Wednesday September 19, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison. The lecture was presented by Dr. Brunsden on “Treating the Autistic Patient”. Two CEU credits were awarded to the 29 Hygienists that attend this meeting.
The next CNJDH meeting will be in Wednesday November 7, 2012 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Edison. Two CEU credits will be awarded for this seminar. The schedule and registration form for the upcoming lecture series will be in the next newsletter.
This CNJDH study club is available to our hygienists as a Dentist-member benefit of MCDS. Please see the registration form in the newsletter to register for next year.
Please contact Marlene Glickman, our Executive Secretary for MCDS, at 732-238-1255 for additional information and registration in advance for the program.
Old Business-None
New Business-None
Good & Welfare- Dr. Brian Leung, Orthodontist in Old Bridge was welcomed by the Board.
Respectfully Submitted,
Devang Modi
Secretary

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Insurance Claims Problems?

The Board would like to remind you that Claims Resolution Service is available through the NJDA to help you resolve any dental claim issue. Please contact Mary Moskal at 732-821-9400.
This service is provided free to you as a member benefit.

MCDS Newsletter Online

To receive the newsletter electronically in lieu of receiving a printed copy, please visit our web site, at
www.MCDSofNJ.org.
Click on the “Member” link, then the “Of Current Interest” Link.
By registering for this, you will be able to view the newsletter about a week before it would get to you in the mail, and this will also be saving us money.

NJDA Noteworthy News

The NJDA Board of Trustees met on September 19, 2012.
The following items were discussed.
Revision of Council on Dental Education
The Chair of the Council on Dental Education, has been charged by the CE Committee with the task of holding a meeting of the members of the Council on Dental Education to develop a proposal outlining what the Council believes its duties should be. This proposal will be considered by the CE Committee.
Review Council Chairs’ Reports to the Board
The Board decided that Council reports should be given by Council Chairs rather than staff to promote an exchange of ideas and provide for a more direct line of communication from the Board to Councils regarding Association policy.
Expanding Functions of the Dental Assistant
Dr. Messana asked the Board to consider supporting expanding dental assistants’ scope of practice under direct supervision to include packing and carving amalgam, placing composites, taking final impressions and orthodontic procedures including removing brackets, cementing appliances, and placing brackets done with indirect trays. He specifically stated that the Board was not being asked to consider expanding DA functions to include surgical or irreversible procedures or sutures.
Dr. Messana had invited members of the pediatric dental community, the director of a dental clinic, and, by phone, the President of the Pennsylvania Dental Association, a general dentist who has been using expanded function dental assistants for almost thirty years. These guests’ comments focused on the following positions: 1) many other states (examples given were Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and Indiana) successfully use expanded function dental assistants, 2) it improves access to care 3) increases efficiencies, 4) cuts down on the number of visits a patient needs to make, and 5) has the potential to increase the general dentist’s net profit (bases on a 2009 Colorado study).
Trustees and officers expressed the following concerns: 1) expanded function assistants will require increased pay and benefits, 2) PPO practices will not experience net increase in profit, 3) there is an adverse oral impact involved with “undoing” reversible procedure, 4) before NJDA outlines the duties it believes should be covered by expanded functions, it should research what duties are being performed in other states.
A motion was pasted to form a committee to evaluate the need and feasibility of having such a program in NJ.
Component Reimbursement Protocol
At the August 15, 2012 Board meeting the Board unanimously adopted the new Reimbursement Protocol for Component Recruitment Activity. The Board was now being asked to consider the date on which the policy would become effective.
Prior to that discussion, the Board was advised that the $500.00 cap on reimbursement would eliminate the Essex component’s ability to host the senior dental student class from the New Jersey Dental School at its fall component meeting. Since NJDS is located in Essex, it has been tradition for Essex to invite all senior dental students to their Fall meeting. In consideration of the importance of connecting students from NJDS to organized dentistry early in their dental careers, a motion was made and unanimously adopted by the Board that the Essex meeting to which the NJDS senior students are invited will be an exception to the new reimbursement protocol and Essex will be reimbursed in full for the cost of the students in attendance at the component meeting.
Regarding the date of implementation, the Board agreed that the new protocol would become effective January 1, 2013.
Approval of Committee to Review CE
At the Augusts 15th meeting, the consensus of the Board was to standardize the Committee to Review Continuing Education. A motion was made and unanimously adopted by the Board to amend the Rules of the Board to create the Committee to Review Continuing Education.
Review of Council Structure
Dr. Giantomas provided statistics on the attendance of component representatives at all Association council meetings. Components do not have regular representation at meetings. A discussion ensued on the issue of the organization and strength of the components as well as the utility of the Council structure if some components were regularly unrepresented at meetings. Dr. Messana shared that he is working with Maureen Barlow to plan a meeting of NJDA and component leadership to begin networking and brainstorming on ways to strengthen the components and improve council performance. The Board agreed that a meeting of this nature should be scheduled.
Report on the Leadership Meeting Held on July 22, 2012
Three areas of concern were discussed by the Board at the retreat held on July 22, 2012. These areas are: Membership Recruitment and Retention – specifically identifying what value the Association is delivering, the structure and level of involvement of the component societies, and the Association’s fiscal health.
The formation of two committees and plans to develop a leadership forum were the outcome of this discussion. The committees are: Committee to Develop an Association Marketing Plan. Members include Drs. Messana, Roshong, Velasquez and Giantomas, and the Component Restructuring Committee. Members are Drs. LaMorte, Rothstein, DiVincenzo and Vitale.
Bylaws Resolutions
Dr. Chinoy presented two resolutions to the Board proposing Bylaws amendments. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously adopted by the Board to amend the language of the definition of “Good Standing” in Section 30 of Article I to include a member who was current on his or her installment payments and recommended its passage by the House of Delegates. Another motion was made, seconded and unanimously adopted by the Board to amend the Bylaws by replacing Sturgis with the American Institute of Parliamentarians as the new parliamentary guide and recommended its passage by the House of Delegates. BT-12-9-25 will go to the House as Resolution 2012 SAS 3 and BT-12-9-26 will be Resolution 2012 SAS 4.
Request of Dr. Samuel Zwetchkenbaum
Dr. Zwetchkenbaum is a geriatric dentistry fellow at the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging at the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine. He is conducting research on the prescribing patterns of dentists working with older patients. One of the premises upon which he is conducting his research is that as the age of patients continues to increase, inappropriate prescribing can result in untoward, adverse outcomes.
Specifically, Dr. Zwetchkenbaum will conduct a survey both by mail and electronically. He would like to survey NJDA members. Responders may remain anonymous. The survey is being developed with survey experts, physicians and dentists and IRB approval is pending. Expected outcomes of this research include: publication of the results, needs assessment for continuing education, increased access to care for older patients, and improved comfort level of dentists treating older patients. He plans to make three mailings – one to introduce the survey and two actual surveys, and e-mail survey recipients three times as well. The New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging will cover the cost of the mailings.
In response to questions asked by the Board, Dr. Zwetchkenbaum agreed that if the NJDA assists him with this research, he will provide the survey questions for review, discuss the outcomes with the Board before he publishes them, and consider seeking publication of his article in the NJDA Journal.
The Board will sell NJDA mailing labels to assist in this study with the condition that this not be identified as an NJDA member survey. We will also assist in emailing the survey to members.
Annual Session
The 2014 Annual session will be held at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City.
Additional Information
The Middlesex component has invited officers and staff to its centennial celebration. The cost of the event is $100.00. A recommendation was made to the Board that it establish a policy regarding the funding of individuals to attend these events when the invitation is not gratis. It was adopted by the Board to established that the NJDA President, President-Elect and Executive Director and their spouses/significant others would be funded by the Association.
Mr. Meisel reported that the NJDA is moving forward with an Assignment of Benefits bill in the Legislature as it relates to Horizon and Delta Dental and is considering a Non-covered Services bill.
Mr. Meisel proposed a new membership recruitment incentive – Any NJDA member who recruits a full dues paying member will receive $100.00 once the new member pays his/her dues in full (last payment must be recorded if individual is on a payment plan). The program will pilot from now through December 31, 2012. The motion was made and adopted by the Board to propose a new membership recruitment incentive for any NJDA member in good standing who recruits a full dues paying member.
Dr. Roshong reported that the State of New Jersey is collecting data to build a comprehensive database of all licenses/permits and business reports that have to be completed for the State and paid for to the Treasurer of the State of New Jersey. Trustees should ask their component members to report what forms they are currently submitted and fees they are paying so that the NJDA can pass this information along to the State of New Jersey.