Dates to Remember
President’s Forum
Registration Open for Spring CE Conference December 1, 2021 – February 1, 2022
The Worth of the College
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The Mission and Values of the American College of Dentists have been clear and constant for 101 years. The Mission is best announced as the Guiding Light of Dentistry. The principles of advancing excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership have been so consistent for a century that they hardly need to be spoken as they are so clearly felt. Certainly, the College has impacted all dentists and patients for 100 years. Many do not know us, but all have felt our presence despite our apparent reticence. 2 | ACD News | Summer 2021
The Mission and Values of the American College of Dentists have been clear and constant for 101 years. The Mission is best announced as the Guiding Light of Dentistry. The principles of enhancing excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership have been so consistent for a century that they hardly need to be spoken as they are so clearly felt. Certainly, the College has impacted all dentists and patients for 100 years. The world and dentistry have seen great ebb and flow over the past century, but the College has been a guiding light throughout. The College gave birth to the profession and has continued to nurture and protect it. In the beginning, there were no standards for education, journalism, or for research. Then there was a long period of great vision and action. There came a time that professionalism was so endemic that our honorific purpose became prevalent. We are now in a period that requires vision and action. Yes, today, we see great challenge. The profession is not keeping pace with generational and societal change and seems undermined by government, corporate from without, and much from within. The paradigms of practice are changing rapidly from what they have been for so long. Sometimes it feels like we are drifting back toward where we began. Professionalism is being challenged by entrepreneurialism. Commercialism pervades every component of the oral healthcare alliance. Excellent evidenced-based science is available for the benefit of our patients but unvalidated information from social media is
The Value of Belonging Welcome Home to the 2021 ACD Fellowship Class
Fellowship Nominations Due for ACD 2022 in Houston, Texas January 31, 2022
Richard E. Jones, DDS, MSD, FACD President of the American College of Dentists
y Mother was just like most mothers until half my life was over and she became remarkable. I had become immersed in talk of mission for my practice, my Church, the American College of Prosthodontists, and my local Arby’s (theirs was not valid). When she passed of cancer at 83, we discovered her Mission, which had been kept secret for 65 years. A paper was uncovered that revealed the nine guiding principles of an 18-year-old. Values and Mission that were never spoken but were illuminated by a life lived so purposefully that everyone that knew Ava Juanita Gentry, exclaimed, “yes, that was her—I knew her.” Many adults never connect with their core values. Almost no one has such a clear picture at 18 years that they are enabled to be consistent in their effectiveness. True missions don’t need a plaque because the consistent actions are loud testimony. I’m proud of and grateful for this guidepost in my life.
Executive Director’s Corner
often utilized by practitioners. The paradigm of mentorship has changed. Diagnosis and treatment planning is supplanted by billable procedures. The envelope of ethics is being pushed. But the College stands firm in its identity and purpose. We advance excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership. We have vision that advances science, standards access to care, and equality. We are strengthened by ASDE, ADEA, AADEJ, and SPEA. Our umbrella represents the entire allied dental team. The 53 Sections of the College implement the initiatives. The Fellowship of the College will fortify dentistry with a new paradigm of professionalism, education, and practice. Competence, compassion, cultural sensitivity, and courageous advocacy are the critical tools. And you will make the difference. Our Mission has been constant because it is valid and true. Our initiatives are insightful and dynamic. Often unnoticed, the American College of Dentists is ever-present and remarkable. I’m proud of and grateful for this guidepost of dentistry.
Ethics Scholarship Applications and National Award Nominations Due March 1, 2022 Section Awards and Model Section Designation Applications Due March 1, 2022 Nominations for Board of Regents Due March 1, 2022 Spring CE Conference March 31-April 2 Registration Opens for ACD 2022 Summer, 2022 ACD 2022, Houston, Texas October 12-13, 2022 CONTACT ACD News is published by American College of Dentists 103 North Adams Street Rockville, MD 20850 301-977-3223 • 888-ACD-1920 301-977-3330 fax spitman@acd.org • www.acd.org EDITOR Theresa S. Gonzales, DMD, MS, MSS ASSISTANT EDITOR AND PUBLICATION MANAGER Suzan Pitman GRAPHIC DESIGN Matthew Sheriff Periodicals postage paid at Frederick, Maryland Send address changes to: ACD News 103 North Adams Street Rockville, MD 20850 or e-mail office@acd.org
Theresa S. Gonzales, DMD, MS, MSS, FACD
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n his opening communication with the Fellowship in this edition of the ACD News, President Dick Jones, discusses “the Worth of the College” and its relevance in our second century of service to the profession and the public that we are privileged to serve. Long recognized as the conscience of dentistry, the College has been and will continue to be a beacon of light to successive generations of professionals who serve the public as members of the oral health team. In short, your actions, your efforts, your leadership, and your community engagement have brought you home to the ACD and you belong here. The concept of “belonging” is one of the most researched human motives, with most researchers concluding that the fundamental need to belong is both innate and universal. Clearly, your belonging to the College is important for all the obvious reasons and for many reasons that are far more nuanced. In life, we understand how important the sense of belonging is to the individual and for the individual’s relationship to the group. In its simplest terms, belonging is the feeling of not only being a part of something but also mattering to others and the feeling that one’s contributions are meaningful and valued. The need to belong is phylogenetically conserved despite variations in genetic composition.
It is generally agreed that a sense of belonging can be cultivated by creating a stronger sense of community and trust within that community. Belonging is not merely a transactional organizational agreement; belonging is a much more significant goal. It is said that membership is transactional— belonging is transformational. The sense of belonging is crucial to the establishment of authentic and high functioning groups. Here, your presence matters and your opinions matter. Creating genuine feelings of belonging for all is a critical factor in improving engagement and satisfaction. At the American College of Dentists, we do this by inviting opinions and different perspectives into the discussion. We believe that belonging has the power to liberate ideas and create previously unimagined opportunities. As an organizational family, we value and venerate your service to the College and to our communities. More than most, we understand the value of belonging with regard to organizational efforts and successful mission accomplishment. In a 2013 article for the JACD, Dr. Patricia Blanton discussed the “importance of belonging” and she argued that many, if not most, benefits directly inure to the Fellow and underwrite the collective ambition of the group. This imbues not only clarity of mission but also tenacity (continued on next page) ACD News | Fall/Winter 2021 | 3
