Dr. Alan M. Meltzer received his D.M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He later received his certificate in Periodontics and his M.Sc.D. degree from Boston University. Dr. Meltzer received his implant training at the Brånemark Clinic in Gothenberg, Sweden, in 1984. Dr. Meltzer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a Fellow of the Academy of Osseointegration. He also served as the Director of Graduate Periodontology at the Temple University Dental School. Dr. Meltzer lectures both nationally and internationally on the subjects of implant design, periodontal regeneration, guided bone regeneration, and surgical site preparation for complex implant placement. He has published numerous papers and has others in press on the subjects of site preparation for osseointegrated implants, aesthetic placement of dental implants, and early and immediate loading. He is also the author of a book chapter on implants and bone repair as well as the co-author of a text with Dr. Kevin Murphy on periodontal regeneration. Dr. Meltzer is a member of the Academy of Osseointegration and serves on its Research and Education Committees. He is a past president of the Delaware Valley Academy of Osseointegration.
At the end of the course, the participant should be able to be familiar with the diagnostic, pre-operative, surgical, prosthetic and post operative phases of delivering an immediate restoration of the edentulous maxilla or mandible.

I would like to welcome everyone back from a nice long summer vacation. I hope everyone enjoyed time away from their practices to spend time with friends and family and also to help support the communities recovering from the super-storm.
I would like to acknowledge Dr. Constantine Simos, our immediate past president, for his outstanding leadership. Dr. Simos, along with others, helped to organize and celebrate Middlesex County Dental Society’s Centennial season. Dr. Simos’ role with oral cancer screening and education along with the Middlesex County College Dental Hygiene program, had a successful screening event on April 17th 2012. This event was a great public service and events like these are great examples of the society’s mission and goals. Thank you Dr. Simos for a great year!
Our educational coordinator Genevieve Fernandes with her committee has done a fine job to arrange great educational lectures for the upcoming year. Our full day course in April (arranged by Dr. Ira Rosen) will feature Dr. Cliff Ruddle, speaking on Endodontics. Please take time to attend these wonderful meetings to learn and to enjoy time catching up with your colleagues.
On May 29th, I had the privilege to attend as an advisory committee member, a meeting held by The Middlesex County College Dental Hygiene Program. At this meeting, they discussed that the program has a high number of applicants and a very high graduation rate. They also mentioned that the program has numerous outreach projects at schools, nursing homes, veteran’s administration sites and also is involved with Give Kids a Smile, oral cancer screenings and The New Jersey Diabetic Association health event. I have participated in a few of these events and I encourage members, when invited, to consider making the time to help out in some capacity. Taking the small amount of time, makes a big difference in the lives of the general public who are in need and do not have the ability to help themselves. The NJDA annual convention in Long Branch was a wonderful event and I would like to thank all of those involved for organizing the events for that weekend. The last 3 years in Long Branch were great and I am sure that the NJDA will put on a great convention at the Revel next year in Atlantic City.
I look forward to serving as the President of Middlesex County Dental Society this year and to ensure that the society continues to meet its mission and goals.

Attendance: Drs. Stein, Simos, Ashmen, Rosen, Satwah, Silverstein, Modi, Mir-Madjlessi, Bernstein, Krantz, and Marlene Glickman.
Acceptance of 4/9/13 Minutes- vote unanimous
Treasurer’s Report-Alyssa Bernstein
See detailed report on page 3
Educational Coordinator’s Report-Amit Vora/ Genevieve Fernandes
The Education Program for 2012-2013 was a great success and very well received. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the board members and Marlene who helped me this past year and made my life very easy. Thanks also to our members for coming to the meetings and making them successful. Special thanks to Constantine for his advise and support. Looking forward to another successful year and wishing everyone a happy summer!
Speakers are confirmed for 2013-2014. Important change: the MCDS Board meeting in April, 2014 will take place on April 1st and the Tuesday night scientific lecture on April 8th due to the Passover Holiday.
ADA Delegate’s Report-Daniel Krantz
Former President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at the next ADA Annual meeting in New Orleans. You can go to ADA.org to register.
Executive Secretary Report-Marlene Glickman
The Mark Setter full day course was a huge success. 143 people attended of which 50 were MCDS members and 70 staff. To date, there are 41 people registered for the OSHA course.
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session-Nainesh Desai
Great things are happening at the 2013 Garden State Dental Conference and Expo. The exhibit floor is now completely sold out and we still have vendors calling and asking for a way to get in. For these vendors, special sponsorship options are being worked upon by the staff of NJDA. The hotel is sold out on Friday evening and they have about 25 rooms left for Saturday night. We have approximately 650 attendees registered to date. 50 people are registered for the Chiche course and 40 for the NJ showcase. Please register and ask your friends and colleagues to do so as well. This will be the last meeting at this location. The 2014 conference will be at the Revel in Atlantic city.
Dental Benefits-Jeff Chustckie, Devang Modi
The Council on Dental Benefits met on 5/8/13. As a special order of business, Dr. Brian Bastecki, the new Dental Director of Horizon Blue Cross of Blue Shield of New Jersey, was invited. Dr. Bastecki summerized the transition from an old dental software which Horizon was using to process EOB’s to its present form. He asked for the dentist cooperation in providing and updating their credentials and office information with Horizon to ensure correct and timely processing of dental claims. This can be done online or through medservant. A letter went out to all member dentist and was distributed at the last MCDS meeting. Dr. Bastecki has assured the Council that by August 1, 2013, once the dentist have provided their accurate information, a lot of the processing errors with treating provider and billing entity will be eliminated. Mary Moskal of NJDA and Dr. Vitale confirmed that Dr. Bastecki has been very helpful and quick in resolving the issues. Dr. Bastecki answered several questions and announced that the Medicaid HMO division of Horizon is looking for a new Dental Director. He will also provide Mary with the Horizon “traditional plan” fee schedule that BXBS use to process non-participating dentist claims.
There have been 34 CRP’s opened to date. 14 against Horizon for incorrect processing of dental claims (using the wrong fee schedule, wrong provider, in/out of network) and 7 against Metlife for coordination of benefits. Please use Mary Moskal at NJDA as a resource if your office is having difficulty with claims, EOB’s, fee schedules, insurance policies...
In NJ, if a patient has 2 dental insurances, the primary dental insurance determines patient liability. The secondary insurance is responsible for paying the remaining balance not paid by the primary insurance. However the secondary insurance is only supposed to pay up to the amount it would of paid, had it been primary. As of May 1, 2013 Medicare will deny all claims for services or supplies from a non-medicare provider. Most dental services are not covered by Medicare however, if you are a dental specialist or a person that provides or refers a patient for a lab test or for a biopsy for example, you must enroll in Medicare in order to be paid. Metlife conducts on-going reviews of dental claims and sent a letter to a dentist that they were doing more crowns then most offices. They requested the dentist to provide a ‘reason to this pattern.” Metlife also conducts Office Assessment and Consultations where one of their consultants will come for an announced site visit to evaluate charts, records, policies and manuals. These are not because of complaints and helpful in most cases.
Dr. Krantz provided his report as the ADA Rep. to CDBP.
Mr. Meisel briefly updated on the suits brought against non-covered services and “beach bum teeth whitening.”
Finally, it was announced that Dr. Mark Vitale was elected as NJDA Secretary and therefore, this was his last meeting as Council Chairperson. Dr. Art Bilenker will be the new Chairperson at the September 18th meeting. We thank Dr. Vitale for his outstanding leadership over the years, congratulate him on his new position, and wish him continued, tremendous success.
Governmental Affairs-Mitch Weiner
See full report on page 5.
Membership-Tara Savage, Genevieve Fernandes
The Council on Membership met on April 15, 2013.
Tricia DeCotiis reported that NJDA membership was up 50 members from this time last year. NJDA received an award from the ADA for “most improved active retention rate.”
The ADA will be instituting an incentive program. Members who did not renew their membership during 2009 to 2011 who rejoin in 2014 will receive a 50% dues reduction. The council on membership voted in favor of matching this incentive at a state level.
NJDA will be sending out a mailing to member and nonmember new dentists (1-10 years out of school) highlighting the benefits of membership.
NJDA president, Dr. Messana, presented to the council on membership ideas for a collaborative component marketing plan. The plan is based on the idea that recruitment and retention is most effective at the local level where a personal touch can be extended. This plan would allow components to utilize NJDA staff and data to help identify market segments that are underrepresented in membership or have shown a propensity to drop out at a certain point in their careers. NJDA staff would be available to assist in developing strategies for recruitment and retention based on this data. NJDA would also assist in funding component’s marketing efforts by matching each component’s marketing budget up to a certain amount.
The next Council on Membership meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 10, 2013.
Peer Review-Sandy Goldstein
There was one case sucessfully mediated and one new case assigned last month.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-Ira Rosen
We are excited to announce that Dr. Clifford Ruddle will be our all day speaker next spring. Dr. Ruddle is a world renowned speaker in the field of endodontics. The course will be on Friday, April 11, 2014. We will be forming a subcommittee to organize/finalize all aspects of the course. We will report back in September to the executive board as the details are finalized.
Mentor-Nima Mir-Madjlessi
The next OSHA course will be held on 6/20/2013 at JFK Medical Center, social hall.
New Dentist Committee-Sanjeev Satwah, Genevieve Fernandes
We are focusing on our Hands On Endo course on 6/29. This course is geared towards new dentists. New dentists can register online.
MCDS Study Club-Tara Savage, Genevieve Fernandes
The Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene [CNJDH] Study Club met on Wednesday May 1, 2013 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Edison. The speaker was Gail Malone, RDH and the lecture was on the proper use of the cavitron. Two CEU credits were awarded for this seminar. The next CNJDH meeting will be on Wednesday September 18, 2013 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Edison. 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 Executive Secretary for MCDS, at 732-238-1255 for additional information and registration in advance for the program.
Good and Welfare- Congratulations to Dr. Satwah for becoming the new Chairman for the “New Dentist Committee” at the state level.
Respectfully submitted, Devang Modi, Secretary

 

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Legislative/Regulatory:
1. Licensing Fees- The biennial licensing fees for dental license renewals will go down from $390 to $225 this fall due to an auditing credit but new licensees will still pay the $390.
2. License Proposal Issue- Strict state licensing board regulations that mandate 5 years of uninterrupted practice in the previously practiced state are impeding mobility of young dentists from state to state due to spousal job transfers. The NJ State Board of dentistry has been vocal that changes in these regulations need to be made to smooth the path to licensure while still protecting the consumer and the profession. The Council looks at this issue as a barrier to potential membership recruitment. The Council voted unanimously to move legislation that changes the wording of the regulations to allow licenses to be granted in NJ to dentists who have been licensed and practiced for at least 5 years regardless of how many states they have practiced in and that the 5 years can include time spent practicing in residency or post-doctoral programs, provided the dentist had an active dental license (not a resident license) at the time. This legislative action will be moved in the next legislative session.
3. Assignment of Benefits-Action is pending from Governor Christie. (the Governor signed the Assignment of Benefits Bill 7/18/13, the day after the COPGA meeting)
4. Dental Life Line Budget Request- Dental Life Line Network (formally Donated Dental Services) has a $564K budget from NJ at present and is requesting the Councils’ support for more funding. Council members discussed different strategies to employ in making such a request. Improving access to care as well as helping unemployed return to the work force by improving their appearance and marketability were 2 strategies explored. Due to the fact that the Dental Life Line request did not come with any specifics on how they would spend the extra funding, a motion was made to table the request until the next Council meeting pending more information from The Dental Life Line representatives.
5. Betel Nut Brochure and Issue Globally- Betel Nut is carcinogenic and a staple of the South East Asian population, of which NJ has a large and growing representation. Betel Nut is readily available in South East Asian stores throughout NJ with no warning labels or age restrictions on purchase. Dentists throughout the state, including many dentists of South East Asian origin, are treating patients who use these products and are growing concerned about dentistry not being proactive in educating the public to its dangers.
NJDA is commencing a PR initiative in the form of a brochure to educate the public about the dangers of Betel Nut use. The Council also discussed possibly moving to have Betel Nut classified like cigarettes and chewing tobacco so it can only be sold behind the counter and with age restrictions.
6. Senator Beck Meeting with NJDA and Division of Consumer Affairs-State Board complaints are taking many years to resolve for some dentists, who are complaining to their state legislators. Sen. Beck requested the meeting to find some way to streamline and speed the process. While the Division agreed, the reasons for the backlog are multi-factorial and often due to the normally slow process of legal proceedings. NJDA offered to provide information to its membership to help curtail the number of state board complaints received.
7. Dental Assistants Banned from taking Cone Beam X-Rays- NJSOMS alerted NJDA that some dental offices were being audited by the Bureau of Radiological Exams on who is taking cone beam scans. Because the FDA classified cone beams similar to CT scans, it prohibits dental assistants from using them. Art Meisel immediately inquired to the Bureau on this issue. It turns out that not all cone beams are the same and some need to be classified similar to radiographs and some need to be classified more like CT scans.
As of this writing, ONLY dentists and hygienists can take cone beam films. The Council unanimously supported sending Art Meisel and Jim Schulz to meet with the Bureau ASAP on how to best address this issue so that assistants with X-ray licenses can resume taking cone beam films.
An e-mail alert was sent out immediately (7/17/13) to alert the membership.
8. Prescription Monitoring Program Legislation and Issue- Legislation has been proposed to make use of the PMP mandatory. The debate within the Council concerns who is responsible for monitoring patients’ use of prescription drugs: the pharmacist, the healthcare practitioner, the insurance company or some combination of these. If healthcare practitioners are made responsible for PMP use, what happens when we get called off hours when we have no access to our records or computers to check a patient’s Rx status and history? This issue is evolving and the Council will continue to monitor it. A motion was made to support S.2088 and join a coalition of healthcare related societies and interests (pharmacy alliance) who are lobbying for its support.
9. Schaer Event- A fundraiser will be held on August 4th in Princeton for Assemblyman Gary Schaer, a critical legislator who has principally supported NJDA positions. Council Chair requested support and lobbying for attendance from the component council members.