Sports dentistry meeting
St. Louis鈥擬arking its 25th anniversary, the Academy of Sports Dentistry will hold its annual symposium here June 19-21.
The meeting will run concurrently with the National Athletic Trainer’s Association Annual Meeting, and those who register for one meeting will have admission to both, said Dr. Regan Moore, ASD president.
“This is the first time we have attempted a joint meeting with NATA, which is a much larger organization than ours,” said Dr. Moore. “Many of our members who serve as team dentists for professional and university athletic teams have found that the athletic trainers are our main contact with the individual teams. The intent of this format is to develop communication mechanisms for ASD members to find athletic teams in their areas, and for certified athletic trainers to locate dentists in their communities who are trained in sports dentistry.”
The meeting is a great opportunity for dentists interested in sports dentistry as well as those already actively involved, added Dr. Moore. Dental students can register for the meeting at no charge. Dental school faculty interested in developing curriculum in sports dentistry will find information on both the prevention and the treatment of sports-related trauma.
As a 25th anniversary special, ASD members are encouraged to join the “Bring a Colleague Program,” which will provide 10 percent off the registration fee for both the ASD sponsor and the new registrant.
The 2008 symposium, “Twenty Five Years of Serving the Needs of Athletes,” will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, Mo., a St. Louis suburb. The NATA meeting will be held at the St. Louis Convention Center in downtown St. Louis鈥攁bout 15 minutes away from the Ritz-Carlton. Dentists can earn up to 20 hours of continuing education credit.
ASD keynote speakers include Dr. David J. Kenny, a staff pediatric dentist at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, and member of the Toronto Dental Trauma Research Group. He will present “Acute Dental Injuries: A Field-Side Guide for Parents, Trainers and Dentists.”
Dennis L. Molfese, Ph.D., professor and director of the Developmental Neuropsychology Laboratory and a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville, will present “The Developing Brain鈥擝irth to Senility; Lessons from Astronauts鈥擜pplications for Athletes.”
Jim Welch, author of “Grow Now: 8 Essential Steps to Flex Your Leadership Muscle,” will present a box lunch CE course on leadership.
Other courses and breakout sessions will cover a wide range of topics, including mouthguard construction, drug testing in athletes, sports- related injury treatments, legal issues, communication between team dentists and athletic trainers, and much more.
Oral and poster presentations, a silent auction with sports memorabilia and evening social events鈥攊ncluding a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game鈥攁re also scheduled for the meeting.
For more information or to view the 8-page symposium brochure, log on to www.sportsdentistry-asd.org or contact the academy’s office in Farmersville, Ill., at 1-217-227-3431. For more information about the NATA meeting visit www.nata.org.