Fellowship provides unique opportunity

Dr. Quinn Dufurrena was the 2007 ADA Hillenbrand Fellow. Here he answers questions about the program.

Who should apply to be a Hillenbrand Fellow? Anyone interested in broadening his or her horizons concerning the way oral health care is delivered in America. Also, it can be geared toward those that desire to transition from private practice to nonclinical professions. The fellowship not only affords an in-depth perspective of organized dentistry, but coupled with the Kellogg’s MBA courses, allows for a deeper comprehension of successful business models.

What was the best part of your experience? The best part of my experience was getting to know, on a personal basis, those individuals that shape America’s future in regard to oral health care.

Where are you now? My wife and I live in Boise, Idaho. I accepted the position as the executive director of the Idaho State Dental Association.

How did you end up there? Karma! The position opened up, and I immediately flew out to Boise, and convinced Tim Thompson, the president of the Idaho State Dental Association, to allow me to interview for the position. They were originally reluctant because I had no experience as an executive director. Once they realized the extensive training that I received through the ADA Hillenbrand Fellowship, they decided to give me a chance to prove myself as their executive director. So here I am.

What was the best part of being in Chicago? My wife and I are from a small town in northern Nevada. We really appreciated the fact that in Chicago we could go to the theater, take in a fantastic play, then dine at a world class restaurant鈥攁ll within walking distance.

What were your favorite ADA resources (or best thing about Headquarters)? My favorite resource was/is the staff at the ADA. I have never been around so many talented professionals. By professionals, I mean from administration staff to those individuals with several doctorate degrees. Everyone is a competent master in their area. I feel confident in saying that the ADA Headquarters (including the Washington office) has the highest concentration of dental knowledge in the world. That’s probably a given, but what makes them so special is that they have an extremely efficient system to process and rapidly disseminate relevant information.

How did sitting in on ADA Board of Trustees and council meetings prepare you for your role at ISDA? What do you think about leadership? The Board meetings exemplify the procedural safeguards and the fundamental principles of the democratic process. Understanding the process of making important decisions鈥攊n a democracy鈥攖hat affect so many people’s lives is important, not only on a national level, but also on a local level.

Being a part of the process in Chicago gave me needed experience when making decisions in Idaho. The single most important factor, that determines success of an organization is the quality of its leadership. The volunteer ADA Board exemplifies the “cream of the crop” of dentistry.

To reach this pinnacle requires both intellectual and diplomatic mastery. Also, the time and energy, required to fulfill their roles, necessitates an on-going professional and personal sacrifice.

What did you take from the experience on such topics as access or dental education? I discuss issues like access to care, dental education and many others on a daily basis with Idaho state legislators and other policymakers.

It is vitally important to be informed and be able to succinctly and rapidly communicate with these busy individuals. To be able to do this requires me to constantly stay connected to the ADA and its resources.

Your fellowship project centered on teledentistry鈥攖he delivery of dental services and information through telecommunications technologies. Is that something happening in Idaho? Teledentistry is perfectly suited for Idaho. Idaho is geographically challenging due to its size and rugged, yet beautiful, terrain and largely rural populations.

We are looking at utilizing telecommunications technology to bridge the gap between the underserved populations and dentists. In other words, we are helping address the access to care issue by utilizing the appropriate technology.

Why is this so important? Several reasons: Many parts of rural America have difficulty attracting and retaining dentists. Psychologically, there is a sense of isolation from peers. Financially, there may not be the critical mass of patients necessary for an economically viable practice. Teledentistry can be utilized to help address these.

How could this help rural communities? From the patients’ (community) perspective, teledentistry provides convenient treatment, continuity of care, reduction in travel costs, reduction in lost work time and no interruption in their support network.

How could it help dentists? Teledentistry helps reduce a rural practitioner’s sense of isolation by allowing long distance consultation with specialists and peers from the metropolitan areas. Also, teledentistry may improve the economic viability of rural dental practices by increasing the dentist’s ability to deliver more specialty care instead of referring that treatment out.

What are your future plans? I love my job as executive director of the Idaho State Dental Association. It is both challenging and fulfilling. It’s my ideal job! I said “karma” earlier because I have always wanted to live in Idaho鈥擨 even went to the University of Idaho. My wife went to Boise State University for college. My parents, brother and daughter live here in Boise. It was just meant to be! My intention is to someday stand before the ADA Board of Trustees and deliver a presentation on how we in Idaho created an exemplary working model that brings quality dental care to rural Americans.聽