SEP. 20, 2016
Dr. John Nosti
Treating Worn Smiles

 

OCT. 18, 2016
Dr. Dan Pompa
The Top 10 List For Essential Drugs In The Emergency Kit

 

JAN 17, 2017
Officers Night And Life Member Presentations

 

FEB 21, 2017
Dr. Steven Singer
CBCT: Basics, Diagnosis And Treatent Planning

 

MAR 21, 2017
Dr. Jon Suzuki
Periimplantitis: Etiologies And Potential Therapies

 

Remaining Schedule To Be Announced At A Later Date

I am looking out my window watching the flowers bloom, the bees buzz and the squirrels run around the yard. Spring is my favorite time of year. The cold winter is over and the days are getting longer. Not only does the blossoming of flowers and trees signify new beginnings but the warm weather and fresh air are always welcome. Easter and Passover have come and gone and we can look forward to the warm weather activities. Spring cleaning, working in the garden and enjoying the fresh air. Our local towns are hosting street fairs and carnivals, and the shore towns are welcoming us with delicious seafood and festivals. It is a great time to sit back and relax.
I am currently sitting down to write this on a comfortable Adirondack chair on my back patio, my final President’s message, I am given the chance to reflect on the past year. I would first like to thank the Middlesex County Dental Society members for giving me the opportunity to lead our component as President. I have learned so much and have grown so much this past year. Standing up in front of the entire society at each general meeting has allowed me to develop my speaking skills and reduce my anxiety. Leading our component has been both rewarding and fulfilling. It has also given me the opportunity to lead our board meetings. I would like to thank the members of our MCDS Board of Trustees. The entire board spends countless hours each month to guarantee that we as a society run smoothly. Each board member volunteers his or her time to attend committee or council meetings and to help govern the policies and procedures that make our component society such a great success. Thank you all for the hard work and time you devote to the MCDS.
I would also like to thank Marlene Glickman. She has served as our executive secretary for countless years and has helped our society run seamlessly. This was her final year serving on our Executive Board and I feel honored to have worked so closely with her. Marlene, we wish you the best and thank you for all you have done for MCDS.
I would like to welcome our incoming President, Dr. Devang Modi. Devang is one of the most qualified members of our executive board and has been an invaluable help to me through this year. Devang, along with Dr. Amit Vora and the rest of the incoming executive board have developed an amazing roster of speakers for our 2016-2017 year. I look forward to an exciting year ahead.
I would like to wish everyone an enjoyable summer and look forward to seeing everyone in September.

Attendance: Drs. Alyssa Bernstein, Robert Silverstein, Robert Ashmen, Deborah Brown, Genevieve Fernandes, Devang Modi, Ira Rosen, Sunny Satwah, Mitch Weiner, Nima MirMadjlessi, Peter DeSciscio, Richard Kahn, Constantine Simos, Nainesh Desai, Sandy Goldstein, Mario Fiorentini and Mark Schambra
Acceptance of 3/8/16 Minutes- vote unanimous.
Treasurer’s Report- Dr. Sunny Satwah
See full report on page 3.
Secretary’s Report- Dr. Genevieve Fernandes
It has been a pleasure being your Secretary for the past two years. As I am being inducted to the President-Elect position, I will be guiding your new Secretary Dr. Antoinette Tauk to continue the tasks of this position after my term as Secretary ends.
Executive Secretary Report-Marlene Glickman
The current count for the Dr. Boghosian course is 57.
11 - NJDA
5 - Non members
41 - MCDS
NJDA Council Reports:
Governmental Affairs-Dr. Mitch Weiner
The Council met on March 23, 2016.
- NJDA Tracked Bill List – Mr. Schulz presented a current list of legislation being tracked by the NJDA. The more than 60 bills represent what the NJDA is actively monitoring in the NJ Legislature. These pieces of legislation are newly introduced since January.
- Dental Director Update – Dr. Weiner reviewed the history of the Dental Director legislative action last session for the Council. Mr. Schulz outlined a new strategy to approach gaining a dental director who is a dentist for the state. Mr. Schulz indicated that he is actively working with the Legislature on a budgetary matter in this regard, and that he, Mr. Meisel and Dr. Monaco will be meeting with the Health Commissioner later in April/early May.
- OMNIA – Dr. Weiner outlined the new tiered insurance plan developed by Horizon for physicians and hospitals. He explained that there has been wide outrage by a number of doctors and hospitals about the development and transparency of OMNIA. He wanted to brief the Council because even though it does not presently impact dentistry it could in the future. Moreover, Mr. Schulz has heard some rumors that Horizon may be interested in future evolution of OMNIA to dentistry. There is some impact on OMS’s who affiliate with hospitals.
-NJ Student Loan Legislation – The Council reviewed A.1743 and A.3086 which would attempt to positively address, in part, the student debt crisis in NJ. The Council approved supporting the legislation and working on amendments to ensure that dentistry and dental students could be accommodated.
-NJ Estate Tax Reform – The Council discussed recent legislative advancements in trying to eliminate the NJ Estate Tax. The Council took an affirmative position on the legislation and sees it as critically important for our members. The ADA supports current federal legislation on reducing or eliminating the federal estate tax liability.
- ER Diversion Subcommittee – This topic was tabled until the next meeting. The Subcommittee is charged with exploring various oral health ER diversion programs to see if they could be implemented in NJ.
- Federal Initiatives – Mr. Schulz outlined some of the ADA’s federal initiatives. He explained that the ADA is advancing a bill, H.R.3323, which would, among other things, prohibit ERISA plans from setting prices on non-covered services. Additionally, H.R. 649 would allow new dentists to refinance their federal Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Direct Consolidation Loans at any time during the life of the loans, enabling them to take advantage of lower interest rates during more favorable economic conditions.
-Expungement of Records Legislation – Mr. Schulz explained that he has been in communication with Assemblyman Schaer’s Office regarding the introduction of legislation that would allow licensed healthcare professionals to apply for expungement of records in certain circumstanaces. The Assemblyman’s office and the Association are working on language details.
-EOB Reform Legislation – The Council had continued dialogue on efforts to reform EOBs. Mr. Schulz outlined how he, Mr. Meisel and Dr. Monaco are working to develop a draft piece of legislation.
- New Business – There was a discussion regarding the federal district court decision regarding a Texas administrative regulation that restricted specialties in Texas to only those recognized by the American Dental Association was unconstitutional. The Council further discussed its potential impact on dentistry in NJ. The topic was tabled for the next meeting.
Membership- Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Dr. Nima Mir-Madjlessi
A meeting of the Council on Membership was held on March 21, 2016 at 7pm at the Association Headquarters.
Membership Number overview-Brendan Breen reviewed the membership numbers to date.
Faculty Recognition- The BOT approved the modified proposal of this program. The benefit portion was approved. The decision was made to not include an application with the certificate to non-members. The Monday morning email will include a link to an online application. This program will be re-evaluated in 1 year.
Implementation ideas-The Council discussed delivering the Recognition to the faculty at Convocation. Mr. Meisel will talk to the Dean of students. The decision will be made through an on-line vote.
Student Involvement-NJDA staff will send the list of non-member faculty to the 2 student representatives to gather their impressions of NJDA and whether they would be willing to join or even recommend membership for students.
Video Update- Mr. Breen re-sent the video from Florida to the Council. He received a quote for $2000. NJDA staff will talk with the Communications Committee and send the Council their feedback. The Council will vote on this next month. Dr. Feinberg suggested posting the video from the Arizona Dental Association on our website.
Member-get-a-Member Program-The ADA is still working on the materials for this program. NJDA staff will keep the Council updated.
Faculty outreach programs-Dr. Mirmadjlessi suggested talking to NJDA faculty members and find out what they are interested in. This will be further discussed at the next meeting. All were in favor of NJDA staff asking the school to recommend a full-time faculty member to join the Council.
Employment Exchange-Mr. Breen updated the Council on the program. Staff will keep the Council updated.
Human Resources assistance for NJDA Members-Mr. Breen is gathering more information on this and will bring the suggestion to the EBA committee.
Retention Data for New Members-Mr. Breen reported on this which is an on-going issue.
New Business-
Student Faculty Relations Committee-Mary Thompson reported on this committee. NJDA staff will talk to the school for more information.
ADA Center for Professional Success- Mr. Breen asked the Council to review this on the ADA website called “Center for Professional Success” and bring feedback to the next meeting. The Council suggested adding this to the Monday morning email.
ADA Predictive Model – NJDA Strategy
The ADA has distributed information it is calling the “the Membership Predictive Model.” It claims that the ADA has developed an algorithm that predicts the likelihood that specific members will renew their membership. They have also provided a list of NDJA’s most vulnerable members according to the algorithm. Our strategy is twofold: 1) to target these individuals with specific messaging and 2) to isolate one of the key predictors of renewals, in this case – the inclusion of an email address on their member profile, and develop plan to gain more members email addresses. These two tactics are already in place and being carried out by staff but we welcome further discussion.
Milestone Recognition- Mr. Breen reported that the Board suggested at their March 16, 2016 meeting that the Membership Council develop a milestone recognition program to recognize members that have reached significant milestones in their membership. Council discussed creating a Power Point for each component to use at their meeting and print certificates with years of membership. Mr. Breen will draft a proposal and send to the council.
Next Meeting –Conference Call, Monday, May 9, 2016, 7pm
Peer Review- Dr. Sandy Goldstein
We had one new case assigned last month. It is currently under mediation.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-Dr. Ira Rosen
I am pleased to announce that at the April meeting, we will have 6 sponsors: ZimmerBiomet, Dentsply, Provident Bank, TechSpedient Networks, Kuwata Pan Dent and Solutionreach. 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 as they cover many aspects of our dental practices.
An extra special thank you to Dentsply International for sponsoring our all day continuing education program on April 20 featuring Dr. Alan Bogoshian.
Mentor-Dr. NimaMirMadjlessi
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 July 21st, 2016 at JFK Hospital in Edison NJ. Two CEU credits will be awarded to the dentists & staff members attending these 2-hour seminars. These seminars are available as a member benefit of MCDS. A very big “Thank You” to Dr. Devang Modi for arranging all our room accommodations for the MCDS-OSHA-Mentor programs at JFK Hospital in Edison, NJ. Please see the insert in this newsletter for additional information and registration for the Mentor program.
New Dentist Committee-Dr. Sanjeev Satwah
Each member of the Committee will be assigned to be a liaison to another council or committee. It will be a requirement that they attend their assigned committee/council to both represent the viewpoint of new dentists/younger dentists and to report back to the NDC to coordinate efforts. This will also serve as leadership development for the younger member volunteers. Lastly, the Chair of the NDC will be required to attend the BOT meetings to give a report of the NDC. Assignment of the committee members is to be executed.
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 March 9, 2016 the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison. The speaker was Dr. James Albani. Two CEU credits were awarded to the 24 hygienists that attended this meeting.
The following CNJDH meeting will be on Wednesday May 5, 2016 the Crowne 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 732-764-MCDS(6237) for additional information and registration in advance for the program.
MCDS Study Club-Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Dr. Nima Mir-Madjlessi
On April 13th we will have Dr. Constantine Simos as our speaker. The topic will be “Oral Surgery in the General Dental Practice”. This will be held at the NJDA headquarters in North Brunswick, NJ. Please look at the next year’s schedule and registration form on the MCDS website. This is another reminder to all of our members to take advantage of this opportunity which is one of the many membership benefits.
Old Business
The details of the Executive Secretary Position were discussed, and interviews will be conducted with Dr. Devang Modi and any of the MCDS board officers that are interested. Updates will be provided after our next board meeting.
New Business
Dr. Mitch Weiner made a motion to have a well noted speaker for 2017 as a Member Appreciation event. Dr. Nainesh Desai seconded it and all were in favor of it. It was also agreed that we would do this Middlesex County Dental Society’s full day event in October 2017.
Respectfully Submitted, Dr. Genevieve Fernandes, Secretary

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Highlights from the April Meeting