Although there is no formal MCDS Staff Night celebration this year, I (your Editor) wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on what our teams contribute to our practices.
Those of us who attended the lecture by Dr. Mark Setter in April were made aware of some the many things that our team members do that we don’t often think about: The team member who takes the initial phone call from a prospective new patient IS the face of your practice. You can be the most highly skilled technician in the world, but if a patient doesn’t have a positive experience during that initial phone call, they are not coming to you. Your receptionist lets them know if they are going to be treated with respect or not.
When you have team members who care about the physical appearance of your practice, inside and out, this has an enormous positive impact. The outside of your building, the reception area, the bathroom, the treatment areas, etc. ALL contribute to the story of the quality of care that the patient will receive. Patients have no idea about the quality of the actual procedures that you perform on them. They use all of these other visual clues to tell them what kind of quality they will be getting in your practice. When you see a team member cleaning your reception desk or mirrors, straightening up your magazines, emptying the garbage, etc. they are doing something just as important or more so than your dentistry; if they don’t care about doing these things, you might not even get the chance to do your dentistry.
Your team creates the relationships that make patients feel good, that re-assure them, that explain treatment to them when they are too embarrassed to tell you that they didn’t understand you, that help them with understanding their insurance benefits. When you see a team member talking to a patient, see this as strenghtening that patient’s connection to your practice, because that’s what every positive conversation is doing.
Remember that it’s not just the duties in the job description that your team contributes that matter; it’s all the things that aren’t in the job description – the way they do their jobs– that are even be more important. Be aware of the way they interact with patients and care for you and your office. A “thank you” from you when you notice this means a lot more than bringing them to an event.

My friends, May will bring the dental society to our annual hiatus. We will skip our long standing tradition of Staff Night this year as our Executive Board re-evaluates the needs of our members. Nonetheless, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge our talented and dedicated staff members without whom we could not function.
I was a patient today; I had a small restoration placed in one of my teeth. It was just a class I occlusal composite that even I knew how to do back in the day. Nothing challenging, right? Well, at all times I could see four hands above my face, passing back instruments, materials, curing light etc. I am sure even this little filling would be a pain to do unassisted and more complicated treatment would be impossible. Of course, I know that in my own practice, surgery would be impossible without our assistants and our group could not function without our dedicated and caring staff. Even though I will not get a chance to say so in person, on behalf of all of the members, I thank all of our staff for their hard work, perseverance and dedication to our practices. We cannot do it without you!
It was a great year for the society. Clearly the highlight for me was the Centennial Celebration in October. It truly was a great night to mark such a special occasion. Dr. Amit Vora, our Educational Coordinator, did an outstanding job organizing our monthly meetings at The Pines and bringing us interesting and relevant CE. I am grateful to him for his time and energy that he devoted to the program. Dr. David Stein will take over as president this month and I know that with his great leadership we will continue to thrive.
I wish to thank the Executive Board for their unwavering support this year and the tireless work ethic that they instill in all of us. Most importantly, I thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to serve as president this year; it has been a privilege and my honor to do so.

Attendance: Drs. Simos, Rosen, Satwah, Krantz, Fernandes, Mir-Madjlessi, Weiner, Schambra, Prabhu, Vora, Goldstein, Bernstein, Kahn, Glickman, Silverstein, Modi and Marlene Glickman.
Acceptance of 3/12/13 Minutes- Unanimous
President’s Report-Constantine Simos
No report.
Treasurer’s Report-Alyssa Bernstein
See report on page 3.
Educational Coordinator’s Report-Amit Vora
Dr. Ron Kaminer will be speaking on the “Current Topics in Minimally Invasive Dentistry” at our Tuesday meeting on April 16th. Dr. Mark Setter will be presenting a full day course titled “Happier Patients and a Healthier Practice” on April 17th.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Daniel Krantz
The ADA meeting will be held in New Orleans. You can register on line for CE courses and room reservations.
NJDA Trustee’s Report-Mark Vitale
See full report on page 5 under “NJDA Noteworthy News.”
Executive Secretary Report-Marlene Glickman
143 attendees have registered for the full day Mark Setter course on April 17.
NJDA Council Reports:
Dental Benefits-Jeff Chustckie, Devang Modi
NJDA has received a number of questions from members regarding Horizon Dental Plan claims since the transition of its claims processing to DeCare in Minnesota. NJDA has been working directly with Horizon’s new Dental Director, Dr. Brian Bastecki, to expeditiously address these issues. Dr. Bastecki has asked NJDA to alert its members that a letter will be mailed to New Jersey dentists on April 10th to inform them on changes that will take effect on August 1, 2013, of how claims are processed and reimbursed. Please be on lookout for this important message.
Membership-Tara Savage, Genevieve Fernandes
The Council will meet on April 15, 2013. We intend to go over strategies to implement active participation in our “NJ Dental Office” at the Garden State Conference in Long Branch, NJ. Member recruitment and retention will be further discussed. 2 new member Dentist will be presented with their membership certificates.
Peer Review-Sandy Goldstein
There were no cases assigned or mediated last month.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-Ira Rosen
All members in attendance are encouraged to visit every vendor’s table and get their card stamped by each vendor. The completely stamped card can then be submitted to Marlene to be entered into a raffle drawing. 2 winners will be selected receiving $50/ each in gift card.
The full day course by Dr. Mark Setter on April 17, 2013 is being sponsored by TD Bank as our lead sponsor and Phillips Oral Health Care as our secondary sponsor. Thank you to both our sponsors.
Mentor-Nima Mir-Madjlessi
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 Thursday June 20, 2013. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE WILL BE GIVEN AT JFK MEDICAL CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM, 70 JAMES STREET.
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/person as a member benefit of MCDS. Please see the insert in this newsletter and/or website for additional information and registration for the OSHA program.
New Dentist Committee-Sanjeev Satwah
May 1st is our Implant CE/Golf Clinic. Open to New Dentists (graduated 2003 and later). $125 includes 3 CE credits, Lecture by Dr. Edenbaum, Breakfast, Lunch, and a Golf Clinic. All members are urged to spread the word to make this event a success.
Dental Shadowing-Maha Kaga
Dr. Glickman is giving a lecture to the Rutgers Pre-Dental Society on “Basic Office Dental Skills and OSHA” on 4/9/13.
Hygiene Study Club-Alyssa Bernstein
The Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene [CNJDH] Study Club met on Wednesday March 6, 2013 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison. The lecture was presented by Dr. Blumenstock on sleep apnea and methods of diagnosis and treatment. Two CEU credits were awarded to the 27 Hygienists that attend this meeting. The next CNJDH meeting will be on Wednesday May 1, 2013 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Edison. The speaker will be Gail Malone, RHD and the lecture will be on the proper use of the cavitron. 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 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.
New Business
The MCDS Think Tank Meeting to Address New Dentist Concerns was held April 4 at JFK Hospital.
Top 3 concerns expressed:
1. JOBS!!!!!! General Meetings are NOT providing networking opportunities for jobs that they had hoped for.
2. DEBT level that impedes ability to finance a one time practice purchase. Not enough opportunities for long term buy in/out arrangements.
3. Lack of perceived value of membership for many. Many associates are working during times when MCDS/NJDA’s low cost CE opportunities are held and cannot take advantage of many membership opportunities.
Ideas to implement that will address these concerns:
1. A Transitioning Networking Group that brings together New Dentists looking for employment or a practice to buy and established dentists looking for associates or to transition towards retirement and sale of their practices. For established dentists that wish to stay ‘under the radar’ and not be present for these gatherings, MCDS will have a ‘surrogate’ to represent them to act as a conduit. (Sunday’s preferable-see #5 below)
2. Establishment of a Practice Management Study Club or Symposium where new practice owners and new dentists contemplating a practice purchase can gain mentorship from established practitioners that share their knowledge/experience.
3. Bringing the Colleague Program back to life to provide New Dentists access in real time to an established colleague that can address various concerns (clinical, practice management, ethics, financial, personnel, etc.).
4. Establishment of an MCDS anonymous (for HIPPA protection of patient and doctor) online discussion board in the same genre as ‘Dentaltown’ where there would be a link into a members only job bank that would include categories for dentists looking for associateship, practices for sale, members looking for practices, and members looking for associates that would have to be renewed every 2 months to keep data accurate. Extra effort will be made to CONSISTENTLY solicit jobs for new dentists at EVERY MCDS General Meeting at the Pines.
5. As most new dentist associates are working while their owner dentist employers are at CE courses, they need courses to be held on SUNDAYS to guarantee their attendance.
Think Tank Participants: Drs Gautam Govitrikar, Elisa Marantz, Sunny Satwah, Ethan Glickman, Jason Aptaker, M. Dinani, Afreen Hoque, Christopher Fears, Greg Czachor, Mariam Gawargi, Devang Modi, Nima Mir Madjlessi, Danny Krantz, Richie Kahn, Mitch Weiner and Marlene Glickman.
Good and Welfare
Dr. Michael Stern and his wife Jessica welcomed the birth of their son Drew Stern on 4/5/13.
Respectfully submitted, Devang Modi, Secretary

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.

Dentist for nursing home practice. 1-3 Days.
Very flexible schedule.
Must have own instruments and sterilization capability.
We supply disposables.
973-575-6570