New dentists head to New Orleans for networking, CE

New Orleans鈥?Expect the unexpected” is oft-heard advice for new dentists beginning their careers.

But the saying took on new meaning for Dr. Eric Hovland in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, flooding the city of New Orleans and the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry.

“What a great profession you’re entering,” Dr. Hovland, dean of the LSU dental school, told the audience assembled for the 22nd ADA New Dentist Conference June 27, just blocks from the French Quarter.

Recounting the hurricane’s devastating impact on the region, the people who lived here and the dental school, Dr. Hovland said “the profession came to our aid” by donating almost $5 million to create a temporary school in Baton Rouge and rebuild the flooded New Orleans campus.

“This type of response didn’t happen in the medical school or nursing school,” he said. “I’ve never been so proud of our profession.”

Dr. Hovland was the keynote speaker for the ADA New Dentist Conference, which gathered nearly 300 dentists, graduate students and dental students June 26-28 for a mixture of networking, continuing education, leadership training and social activities designed for dentists in practice fewer than 10 years.

Conference CE programs were well-received, according to evaluations. They included clinical and practice management courses on a variety of topics of special interest to new dentists, such as financial planning, persuasive communication, restorative and esthetic dentistry, prosthodontics, case sequencing and preparing for practice ownership.

“It is a pleasure to see the attendees interested and active in their careers and organized dentistry as a whole,” said Dr. Jennifer J. Barrington, chair of the ADA Committee on the New Dentist. “It is also energizing for us to meet many of the colleagues from all over the U.S. who we may otherwise only meet by phone or e-mail correspondence when ADA New Dentist Network leader feedback is sought.”

The network she refers to includes the 46 state and 169 local committees that connect the ADA and new dentists. At the conference, network leaders shared ideas about ways to encourage participation in organized dentistry.

One way the San Antonio District Dental Society has begun engaging new dentists is through the social networking Web site Facebook, said Dr. Joshua Austin, chair of the SADDS Committee on the New Dentist.

At the conference’s New Dentist Network Idea Exchange, he said the dental society had invested time and resources into a Web site with mixed results. “People generally visit only a few Web sites on a regular basis, and trying to get another Web site on that rotation was more difficult than sticking our foot in the door through Facebook,” said Dr. Austin, a 2006 graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“If people don’t know each other from dental school, this is a great way to learn more about the people in dentistry, share stories about experiences they’ve had and what they need to watch out for.”

Those are some of the same reasons that Dr. Austin attends the ADA’s annual New Dentist Conference. “I always think that at least part of the value is networking and the people you get to meet,” said Dr. Austin. “The CE courses are fun but I can take courses here at home. I go to the conference to meet other new dentists, make connections and start forming friendships with people I share the profession with.”

This was the first New Dentist Conference for Dr. Claire Tyler of Napa, Calif., a member of the California Dental Association’s New Dentist Committee.

“I enjoyed it very much,” said Dr. Tyler. “I thought it was helpful because the courses focused on aspects of dentistry that apply to my stage of practice in particular. I also got to meet and network with many wonderful colleagues who are going through the same milestones of buying a practice and doing associateships and so on.”

Dr. Tyler also appreciated the opportunity to share the new dentist’s perspective on professional issues with ADA officers and members of the Board of Trustees during the conference’s “Ask Your ADA Leaders” Q&A session. Topics discussed with ADA leaders included new workforce models under development, dental school faculty shortages, licensure and membership categories.

“We’re here to learn; we’re not here to preach,” ADA President-Elect John S. Findley told the new dentists during the Q&A session. Dr. Findley also challenged the new dentists to have a conversation during the conference with at least one trustee in attendance, “and leave here feeling like you have a personal representative on the board.”

Conference speakers also issued a call for continued support for one of the ADA’s primary membership benefits, legislative advocacy. More than $13,000 was collected in ADA Political Action Committee Capital Club contributions during the conference.

“Inside the beltway, they see problems out in the world and they think they have to fix them,” ADPAC Chair Jeffrey Parrish told the audience. “Government is going to have a say in licensure, wastewater, fluoridation and how dental schools are funded, among other issues.” In place of dentists’ involvement in advocacy, “someone else will come along to create a system that doesn’t have your interests or your patients’ interests at heart,” said Dr. Parrish.

The 23rd ADA New Dentist Conference takes place in Miami. Conference sponsors for 2008 included the Louisiana Dental Association, Oklahoma Dental Association, ADPAC, Matsco, ADA Insurance Plans, Benco Dental and ADA Member Advantage.