Dr. Resnick is a noted lecturer throughout the United States. He served as Chief of Endodontics at Mt. Sinai Hospital for more than 20 years. Dr. Resinick is a member of the American Association of Endodontists, the New York Academy of Dentistry and the ADA. Dr. Resnick then earned his dental degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and his Certificate in Endodontics from NYU in 1988. While attending Tufts he also went to Harvard University Extension School, where he received a Graduate Certificate in Business. Dr. Resnick operates out of the office of New York City Endodontics where he applies qualities of energy, passion and excellence to patient care.
This comprehensive course will take you through all the aspects needed to take your practice to the next level by utilizing the latest and most efficient endodontic techniques. You will gain practical skills that can be immediately incorporated into your day to day work flow. With these fresh techniques, you will build confidence in your endodontic outcomes and trust that they will be consistently successful.
Objectives: • Learn key indicators for endodontic diagnosis and case selection • Gain a greater appreciation for access and canal preparation • Work with the latest tools for efficient endodontic shaping • Explore the available options for effective irrigation • Experience state of the art methods for delivering warm, flowable gutta-percha

• Identify the most frequently prescribed FDA-approved medications.

• Review the basic mechanism of action, principle therapeutic indications, and potential adverse reactions and drug interactions of these medications. • Discuss the clinical dental considerations of these medications and their potential impact on dental therapy.

em·pa·thy (em-puh-thee) noun — The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
As a whole, I believe that we as dentists can agree that we try to be empathetic towards our patients. At least I have always tried to show empathy towards my patients while knowingly causing some discomfort.
We have all used the quotes, “You’re just going to feel some pressure, no pain, just slight pressure”; or maybe, “it’s just going to be a small pinch”; maybe “raise your left hand and I’ll stop” (and we just go one second longer before stopping). Our assistants will rub the shoulder of our patient’s while we are injecting them and they will use kind reassuring words, “it’s ok, one more second, you’re doing great, it’s almost over”. But in actuality how empathetic are we? I’m not suggesting we are sadistic and enjoy causing pain, but having never experienced a root canal or an extraction how empathetic can I be?
I felt that I was genuinely empathetic towards my patients until recently. This fall I experienced an acute case of plantar fasciitis and had to seek treatment from a podiatrist. I was confident in Dr. Tar’s diagnosis and agreed that cortisone injections in my foot was the correct course of treatment. His nurse set up the syringe and prepped my foot and proceeded to walk away. Dr. Tar began the injection, “this shouldn’t hurt much, the cortisone is mixed with lidocaine. A small pinch, you’re doing great, almost done.” Well, let me tell you, the pain was excruciating. I have received other cortisone injections and have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but this was intense. I asked the doctor if he ever had one of these injections and he said, “no, was it that bad?” At that moment I realized I can sweet talk my patient’s all I want, but never having experienced some of the procedures I perform I cannot truly empathize with their discomfort and pain. I can understand their feelings, but cannot share their feelings. I believe from this experience I now have a new perspective when causing discomfort towards my patients. I’m not suggesting that I experience a root canal or extraction so that I can share their pain but I will try to be more understanding. As for Dr. Tar, the nurse stayed and allowed me to squeeze her hand for the second round of injections. That definitely helped ease the pain.

Attendance: Drs. Richard Kahn, Genevieve Fernandes, Antoinette Tauk, Ira Rosen, Sandy Goldstein, Sunny Satwah, Mitch Weiner, Cavan Brunsden, Nima MirMadjlessi, Peter DeSciscio, Mark Schambra, Robert Silverstein, Robert Ashmen, Deborah Brown, Mario Fiorentini, and Marlene Glickman
Acceptance of 1/12/16 Minutes- vote unanimous.
President’s Report- Dr. Alyssa Bernstein
No report.
Treasurer’s Report- Dr. Sunny Satwah
See full report on page 3.
Secretary’s Report- Dr. Genevieve Fernandes
The list of Delegates and alternate Delegates along with our MCDS officers that represent us within each NJDA Council were reviewed, and updated by the board members in attendance. This updated list will be provided to NJDA after approval of all board members.
Education Coordinator’s Report- Dr. Devang Modi
Dr. Tom Viola will be our speaker on Tuesday February 16th and the topic will be on Pharmacology.
NJDA Council Reports:
Dental Benefits- Dr. Devang Modi, Dr. Antoinette Tauk
1. There is a big push to phase out Delta Dental Premiere.
2. In December 2015, Delta announced the new Delta Dental Specialty PPO network for participating Delta Dental specialists in NJ.
3. On January 18, 2016 Delta sent (many conflicting) credentialing letters requiring participating dentists to conduct practice drills on handling medical emergencies; obtain and show proof of purchase of a medical emergency drug kit; provide documentation and proof of purchase of a portable oxygen tank and train your staff of use.
4. Horizon is requiring all participating offices and all dentist in the practice (except specialist) to become providers at every office to avoid disclosure issues. If 1 dentist participates, ALL dentists in the office have to participate. If you have multiple locations, you must ALL be listed as providers separately at every location. This “location agreement” will govern the relationship between Horizon and every participating dentist within its network.
5. Council discussed on going problems with Horizon processing claims for the same family at different fees for the same group and same date of service, FEP check going to a different location then where the dentist provided the service in multi-office or group practice setting... Horizon is upgrading their computer and claims processing software.
6. A member dentist received an expedited payment agreement from multiplan to accept a lower expedited payment on behalf of Aetna and its affiliates within 20 days of signature rather than waiting for normal payment through the insurance. It is not known how much of a difference between the actual payment and expedited payment. Be careful of these scams.
The next meeting date is May 18, 2016.
NJDA Trustee Report- Dr. Mitch Weiner
The following are highlights from the NJDA Board of Trustees Meeting on 1/20/16.
Council on Nominations meeting scheduled for the Jan. NJDA BOT meeting was canceled due to all candidates without opposition. Slate of officers for 2016-17 will be Dr. Mark Vitale (President-Elect), Dr. Alan Rothstein (Vice President), Dr. Thomas Rossi (Treasurer) and Dr. Mitchell Weiner (Secretary). Dr. Giorgio DiVincenzo becomes NJDA President automatically. All officers stated above are running unopposed but nominations can still be received by petition up until 90 days prior to the next HOD meeting in June.
Building Renovations-architect to be hired to develop plans for phased renovation project of NJDA building.
Horizon Advisory committee-
Free educational materials for drs and their pts-’dear doctor’ site. Horizon is raising fees 2.5 % on all plans. They will be amending EOBs to distinguish between ERISA and traditional indemnity plans (Editors note: for purposes of trying to figure out what fee you should charge for services that are not covered by their plan, ERISA and Self-Funded are referring to the same thing, and Indemnity and NON-Self Funded are referring to the same thing. Under ERISA plans, you are obliged to charge the patient your contracted fee, even if the patient is not covered for that procedure. Under Indemnity plans, you can opt to charge your UCR fee if the patient is not covered for that procedure).
Dental Director Bill was pocket vetoed by Gov. Christie-Oral health initiatives good public health policy (he let the time it could be signed by expire by neither signing it or vetoing it so it is technically vetoed by default). Politics behind pocket veto of bill as while running for Republican nomination, Christie does not want to be seen as ‘growing government’, even with a potentially unpaid position such as Dental Director.
EOB reform- dialogue with major carriers over disclosure of indemnity vs self funded/ERISA status of plan on EOB. Meetings being held by NJDA with DOBI to call for more EOB transparency as its in the consumer/publics best interest.
Out of Network Bill-bringing it back in new legislative session, significant amendments that preserve private practice dentists, some exposure for hospital based dentistry done inadvertently in hospital ER setting by OMFS. Out of Network legislation if passed will not apply to ERISA, Medicaid, Charity Care, PIP, Workman’s comp. insurance plans.
Democratically controlled state legislature pushing a very progressive agenda- paid sick leave, $15 living wage...Christie will veto all of this while still in office, but these reforms will be coming in with next likely Democratic governor.
NJDA will be putting out a newly formatted Membership Resource Guide-guide of all benefits that you get as a member. Page on advocacy, programs, EBA’s, staff contact, etc...
Active member renewals are up, active life is on par with last year despite increase in dues structure for active life.
NJDA generates 400K in EBA revenue, 35% expense so ROI is significant non dues revenue.
GKAS on February 5- many student volunteers, including pre-health students.
NJDA Annual Session/Garden State Expo- For 2017, it will be held in the Newark Airport Marriott- on the 1st weekend in May (5 and 6th).
Dental Benefits- Peer review needs recruits in Bergen, Tri County and Atlantic/Cape May components. Workshop attendance is mandatory. Licensed in practice more than 5 years.
State Board Mtg- Dr. Emil Capetta Pres., 3 members will be rotated as VP. DMD can write RX for physical therapy for TMD.
Membership- Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Dr. Nima Mir-Madjlessi
At our conference call on January 20th, Mr. Brendan Breen spoke about a new proposal: Membership Council Proposal: NJDA Faculty Ambassador Recognition. Overview: It is impossible to overstate the influence faculty members have on their students. Currently, 56% of the nearly 300 faculty employed at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine alone are members of NJDA. Many of these individuals are also employed in private practice. For these individuals, the direct and tangible benefits of active membership can more easily be realized. For the rest of the individuals that chose to not be members, we must assume that they have decided that NJDA does not provide them with significant enough value to warrant paying for membership. This proposal would grant all faculty members, regardless of their NJDA membership status Faculty Ambassador status. This recognition would cost the faculty member nothing. It would be a way for us to recognize their importance to the world of dentistry while also opening the lines of communication with them. The benefits to NJDA would be two-fold: (1) NJDA would have an opportunity to access a group of non-members and potentially recruit them to full active membership and (2) we would be empowering and aligning with the best possible influencers for dental school students to spread the word about the importance of organized dentistry.
NOTE: This would not take away from current dues paying member numbers. The full benefits of active membership should be enough to retain the current members who are faculty ambassadors.
Description: This status would be offered to anyone employed by a dental school in a faculty position. This status would not afford ambassador members full benefits as active NJDA members. This status would be available to all faculty members and can be combined with current membership categories. Here are the details:
NJDA Faculty Ambassadors would be similar to Active Members in that they would receive:
• NJDA Today email (Monday morning email)
• NJDA Journal
• NJDA Advocate Newsletter
• NJDA member discounts on Events and Continuing Education
NJDA Faculty Ambassadors would differ from Active Members in that they would not receive
• ADA Membership and all the benefits afforded to ADA Members
• Local Component Membership and all the benefits afforded to ADA Members
• Discounts on products and services afforded to ADA and NJDA members
• Legal assistance provided by Arthur Meisel
• Dental benefits assistance provided by Joan Monaco
In addition, NJDA Faculty Ambassadors would receive:
• An official certificate of recognition from NJDA, signed by the current President and the Executive Director to commemorate their status as a NJDA Faculty Ambassador.
The NJDA Faculty Ambassador Recognition is not a membership. It is a certificate of recognition that recognizes these faculty members’ contributions to the field of dentistry. What they receive in terms of benefits from this recognition is not comparable to the benefits a NJDA member receives. The goal of this proposal is for NJDA to engender good will towards a population of dentists that have tremendous influence dental students. The hope is that this goodwill will result in a better understanding and image of NJDA to the students in dental school.
The secondary benefit (not the ultimate goal) of this proposal is that we will engage with a significant non-member population that has potential for active recruitment.
Our next Council on Membership meeting is scheduled for February 22nd. This will be at NJDA headquarters and details will be provided in the next newsletter.
Peer Review- Dr. Sandy Goldstein
There were no new peer review cases assigned or mediated during the last month.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-Dr. Ira Rosen
I am pleased to announce that we have two new MCDS Corporate Sponsors. TechSpedient Networks is joining MCDS as a Gold Sponsor and Acquadent Dental Laboratory is joining us as a Bronze Sponsor. I have met with the new regional manager of ZimmerBiomet and he has assured me that he wants to continue the excellent relationship that we have had with Biomet 3i over the years and expects to continue as a Gold Sponsor of our society. In the past two weeks, I have been approached by three other companies interested in becoming sponsors of MCDS; stay tuned.
At the February meeting, we will have 5 sponsors: ZimmerBiomet, Dentsply, Provident Bank, TechSpedient Networks and Acquadent Dental Laboratory. The corporate sponsors allow us to provide member benefits at the highest level. Please “meet and greet” our sponsors at each meeting and see how each sponsor can help you in all aspects of your dental practice.
Mentor-Dr. Nima Mir Madjlessi
I was in the process of setting up an Insurance workshop for our members with Mrs. Joan Monaco. However, NJDA and Bank of America will be sponsoring that course for all of the components that are interested. I will keep membership apprised of the details as soon as possible. Please see the insert in this newsletter for additional information and registration for the Mentor programs.
Our bi-annual OSHA program that satisfies the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, will be held at JFK Hospital in Edison, NJ on July 21st, 2016 from 6-8:30. This renewal is required annually for dentists and staff. Two CEU credits are awarded to the Dentists & staff members attending these 2-hour seminars. These seminars are available as a member benefit of MCDS. Please see the insert in this newsletter for additional information and registration for the Mentor programs.
Membership Hospitality Committee- Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Dr. Deborah Brown
Email blasts are being sent out by Dr. Genevieve Fernandes with reference to upcoming courses and holidays. Please visit our website for updated links and further details.
Hygiene Study Club- Dr. Alyssa Bernstein
The Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene [CNJDH] Study Club met on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison. The speaker was Tom Viola. Two CEU credits were awarded to the 24 hygienists that attended this meeting.
The following CNJDH meeting will be on Wednesday March 9, 2016 the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison. The speaker will be Dr. James Albani and the topic will be, “Exploring new Horizons in Implant Dentistry; Materials and Methods.” 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 732-764-MCDS(6237) for additional information and registration in advance for the program.
MCDS Study Club- Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Dr. Nima Mir-Madjlessi
We had a presentation by Dr. Nima Mir-Madjlessi on Periodontal Diagnosis, Treatment Planning and Treatment Modalities on January 13th, 2016. This was a well-attended course and we had a nice discussion with our colleagues and friends.
Furthermore, our next presentation is going to be given on February 17th, 2016 by Dr. Scott Galkin - Invisalign Basics: What you need to know. This is another reminder to all of our members to take advantage of this free CE opportunity which is one of the many benefits of membership.
New Business
Dr. Ira Rosen made a motion that MCDS oppose the Ambassador Program that NJDA has proposed to have with Rutgers Faculty Staff (see the Membership report in the Minutes above). All were in favor of this. This will be communicated by Dr. Genevieve Fernandes at the next NJDA Council on Membership meeting.
Good and Welfare
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Vitale and Dr. Mitchell Weiner for their new positions within NJDA. All were in favor that Dr. Peter DeSciscio will now be our new state trustee.
Respectfully Submitted, Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Secretary

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Highlights from the February Meeting