WINTER 2017
THE DENTAL COLLEGE of GEORGIA
SNEAK PEEK Families Sample Dental College with Students
WORD OF
MOUTH
THE DENTAL COLLEGE of GEORGIA Word of Mouth is produced biannually by The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University in collaboration with the Division of Communications and Marketing.
WINTER 2017
OPENED WIDE News at a Glance............................................................................. 2 Faculty Bites...................................................................................... 4 Student Bites..................................................................................... 5 Sneak Peek for Families............................................................... 6
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Donning the Mantle of Professionalism................................. 8 White Coat Ceremony Stresses Lifelong Commitment to Ethics and Integrity Five Years Home............................................................................ 10 Welcome — and Welcome Back!.............................................12
Dean Carol A. Lefebvre, DDS, MS Provost Gretchen B. Caughman, PhD Vice President Communications and Marketing Jack Evans Dental College of Georgia Communications Coordinator Millie Huff Editor/Writer Christine Hurley Deriso Assistant Editor John Jenkins Art Director Tricia Perea
PHOTOGRAPHY Phil Jones Kim Ratliff Anthony Carlie/Stories2Tell Matt Lindler David Russell Tamma Smith
Š2017 Augusta University
augusta.edu/dcg
Celebrating the Team...................................................................14 Living Like a Local.........................................................................16 London CE Trip Packed with Authentic Experiences A Life of Zeal.................................................................................. 20 Retired Biochemist Has Song in His Heart Learning Curve...............................................................................26 Alumna Helps DCG Students Contribute to Rising Dental IQ Lifeblood of Dentistry................................................................ 30 Program Cultivates Interests of Aspiring Academicians Secret Lives: Joseph Vitolo..................................................... 34 Student Voice.................................................................................36 Advancement..................................................................................37 Class Notes......................................................................................37
FROM THE
DEAN
DR. CAROL A. LEFEBVRE
Dear Readers, I STILL VIVIDLY remember the excitement I felt as I prepared to enter dental school. I was both thrilled and apprehensive. I knew it would take determination, focus and perseverance to meet my professional goals. How true that turned out to be ... yet dental school turned out to be one of the most fulfilling challenges of my life. The memories of my dental school days were fresh on my mind as we welcomed a new crop of first-year students in the fall. What a privilege it was to help guide them through such a momentous threshold. I assured them at our Welcome Back Assembly in August that for all their jitters and apprehensions, they’re more than up to the task. Just consider what they’ve already accomplished: Our incoming class of 90, a record high, logged a collective undergraduate grade point average of 3.63. Factor in the countless hours they’ve spent volunteering, shadowing, working part-time jobs and otherwise serving their communities, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the Class of 2020 will be one of our finest yet. I can’t wait to see what the world has in store for them — and what they have in store for the world. You’ll see a photomontage of that ceremony in this edition of the magazine, as well as a plethora of accomplishments unfolding on campus. Even the most cursory glance at the talents, skills and innovations of our faculty, alumni and students will surely inspire those just starting out. We appreciate all of the efforts of those who paved the way for the Class of 2020 to be successful. We hope these stories will inspire you as well. Here’s to a renewed commitment for all of us to set our deepest dreams in motion. n
NEWS AT A GLANCE
SEAL OF APPROVAL
FIVE OF OUR FACULTY MEMBERS have been chosen to participate in the 2016 Authentic Women Leaders Pilot Program. The program, held October through December, promotes the growth and development of leaders, inspires women to advance their careers and helps cultivate an Augusta University community of academic female leaders. The participants are Drs. Regina Messer, associate professor in the Department of Oral Biology; Rhoda Sword, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation; and Nancy Young, assistant professor in the Department of General Dentistry. Also participating are Dr. Allison Buchannan, associate professor in the Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, and Dr. Tara Schafer, interim chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. DRS. JAN MITCHELL, associate professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, and Scott De Rossi, professor in the Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, were honored for Best Use of Results at the 2016 Student Learning Outcomes Honors Program. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools closely monitors student learning outcomes to help gauge teaching effectiveness and program improvement. Mitchell was cited for improvements in the Treatment Planning Board process, introducing training modules to reinforce particularly challenging material. De Rossi was recognized for implementing an Interprofessional Education Program in which dental and medical students teach each other physical exam techniques.
THE DENTAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA recently introduced a new seal reflecting Augusta University’s recently updated nomenclature and branding. Components include a torch representing education and research; the Greek columns and pediment of the Old Medical College representing the heritage of the university’s Health Sciences Campus; 32 leaves representing the number of teeth in permanent dentition; eight sundial markings representing DCG’s residency programs; a serpent as a variation of the symbol of Aesculapius, the Greco-Roman god of healing; and the founding year of 1969. Says Dean Carol A. Lefebvre, “The symbolism reflects our history and our future as the sole dental college in Georgia. Our legacy of educating dentists will continue for generations, and the seal is a sustaining symbol of that effort.”
DRS. AHMED MORSY ELSAYED ZAHER, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, and Kate Ciarrocca, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, received 2016 Faculty Research Grants from the DCG Office of Research and Research Advisory Committee. The $5,000 grants will advance the faculty members’ research. Hali Hall, a second-year dental student, and first-year students Scott Lowry and Zachary Patterson received Predoctoral Summer Research Awards. The students conducted research with faculty mentors over the summer. THE DENTAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA hosted the Marvin J. Reynolds Prosthodontic Resident Alumni Continuing Education Course June 15. Reynolds, the inaugural director of the Prosthodontics Program, and Dr. Marc Moskowitz, an alumnus of the program, presented lectures. Attendees included Dr. Dennis Piontek, DCG’s first prosthodontic resident.
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DAY OF SERVICE THE ANNUAL Augusta University Day of Service on Saturday, Sept. 24, gave hundreds of Augusta University “family” and friends the chance to make a difference in the local community at more than 30 sites around the CSRA. Several dozen DCG staff, students and faculty were among those who rolled up their sleeves for a good cause. Our volunteers did everything from make “fidget blankets” for dementia patients to pick up trash in a county park. No task is too small when your heart is committed to making a difference!
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FACULTY BITES DR. ELADIO DELEON, chairman and program director of the Department of Orthodontics, completed his term as president of the American Board of Orthodontics. As immediate past president, he continues to serve on the board’s Written Examination and Policy committees. Dr. Mahmood Mozaffari
Dr. Eladio Deleon
DR. ALAN FURNESS, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, has received the International College of Dentists’ Faculty Leadership Award. Michael Hall and Abby Halpern, thirdyear DCG students, received ICD Student Leadership Awards. The awards were presented during the ICD Georgia Section luncheon in July.
DRS. MAHMOOD MOZAFFARI, professor in the Department of Oral Biology, and FREDERICK RUEGGEBERG, professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, were inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest, most selective and most prestigious all-discipline academic honor society. DR. AMANY TAWFIK, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Biology, has received a Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association Research Committee. The three-year, $231,000 grant will fund Tawfik’s diabetic retinopathy research.
Dr. Alan Furness
Dr. Mira Ghaly
DR. MIRA GHALY has joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Periodontics. She earned her dental degree from the Université de Montréal and completed a general practice residency at Montreal General Hospital before practicing general dentistry in Montreal. She is boardcertified in periodontics in both the United States and Canada and completed a Master of Science and Specialty Education in Periodontics at Baylor College of Dentistry.
Dr. Amany Tawfik
DR. FRANK TAY, chair of the Department of Endodontics at the DCG, had his paper “Collagen intrafibrillar mineralization as a result of the balance between osmotic equilibrium and electroneutrality” selected for advanced online publication on the prestigious Nature Material’s website.
DR. REGINA MESSER, associate professor in the Department of Oral Biology, is serving as vice chairman of the DCG Admissions Committee this year and will assume the chair position in 2017.
Dr. Frank Tay
Dr. Regina Messer
Dr. Jan Mitchell
Dr. Frederick Rueggeberg
DR. JAN MITCHELL, associate professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, presented research on the importance of preparing students for setbacks and constructive criticism during the Dental Education Liaisons summer meeting in New Orleans. Her presentation was one of 32 poster presentations representing the American Dental Education Association Commission on Change and Innovation.
Dr. Yong Teng
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DR. YONG TENG joined our faculty as assistant professor in the Department of Oral Biology. He earned a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Sun Yat-sen University in China and continued postdoctoral training in the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University, where he holds a faculty position. He researches mechanisms of cancer metastasis.
STUDENT BITES THE CLASS OF 2016 logged a 100 percent pass rate on the Central Regional Dental Testing exam. THE DCG CHAPTER of the American Student Dental Association held its first Wellness Week Sept. 19-23. Dental student Nadia Heidari, event chair, and her committee organized events for each day of the week to educate our dental college staff, faculty and students on ways to focus on their overall health and well-being. Wellness Week activities included free lunchtime presentations on healthy eating, exercise and mental health, and a yoga class on the patio of the Harrison Education Commons. The group plans to make the week an annual event. DOZENS OF OUR STUDENTS participated in the annual Costa Layman Health Fair in Trenton, South Carolina, July 22. The health fair is sponsored by Augusta University and coordinated by the College of Nursing to offer free health screenings and blood work to seasonal workers at Costa Layman Farms. Dr. Nancy Young, assistant professor in the Department of General Dentistry, oversaw the dental screenings and oral health instruction provided by participating DCG students and other volunteers.
President Brooks Keel and First Lady Tammie Schalue at DCG booth at the Saturday Market
THE CLASS OF 2016 presented a significant financial contribution to the Give a Smile Foundation, a student organization providing dental care for underserved children, and Dentists for Della, an outreach effort for residents of the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home. Dr. Anisha Nathu presented the gifts as president of the Class of 2016 during commencement. Said Dean Carol A. Lefebvre, “As is tradition, the senior class presented us with a gift that will leave a lasting legacy of their time here.”
CHAS PLAISANCE, president of the dental college’s Class of 2018, has coordinated a monthly outreach project with DCG students and faculty providing oral health education and screening at the Saturday Market on the River in downtown Augusta. The students man a booth from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the market, located at Eighth and Reynolds streets.
TAMIKA BROWN, a second-year DCG student, completed a David E. Rogers Medical and Dental Student Research Fellowship over the summer. She researched the influence of loan-repayment programs on career choice in community health centers with her mentor, Dr. Kate Ciarrocca, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation. Brown presented her findings at the New York Academy of Medicine in August.
THREE DCG STUDENTS presented posters on oral medicine cases during the American Academy of Oral Medicine annual meeting in Atlanta last spring. The students are Dahlia Levine, Wesley Sherrell and Lyn Wilson.
Costa Layman Health Fair
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SNEAK PEEK FOR FAMILIES
FAMILY DAY is a fall campus tradition when the families of first-year dental students visit the dental college and get a glimpse of what their students will experience during their dental education. After enjoying lunch together, guests took a tour of the facility and were led through several fun, handson projects in the Thomas P. Hinman Simulation Laboratory and Wet Lab to experience a few skills that the students will master in the coming years. Although the class members will quickly become like family to each other locally, Family Day provides a chance for their friends and relatives to gain a greater appreciation of their new life as dental students as they cheer them on from back home!
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DONNING THE MANTLE OF PROFESSIONALISM WHITE COAT CEREMONY STRESSES LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO ETHICS AND INTEGRITY WHEN THE 84 MEMBERS of The Dental College of Georgia Class of 2019 donned their white coats for the first time July 22, Augusta University Provost Gretchen Caughman advised them to always be mindful of something: “Once you put it on,” she said, “whether you take it off or not, it’s still on.”
into the clinical portion of their education. The ceremony was preceded by several ethics discussions led by alumni. Participating alumni included Drs. Janine Bethea, James Cassidy, Wayne Maris, Terry O’Shea, Karyn Stockwell, Becky Weinman and Richard Weinman. The White Coat Ceremony, held this year at Augusta University’s Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre, was attended by hundreds of faculty, representatives of professional dental organizations, family members and friends. Vice Dean Kevin Frazier spearheaded the annual event as part of a nationwide trend of dental schools formally acknowledging the significance of the garment that enables at-a-glance recognition of the discipline’s professionalism.
24/7 COMMITMENT That white coat, Caughman said, is a symbol of professionalism that “requires you to honor a code you must uphold 24/7, 365 days a year.” “For the past year,” Dean Carol A. Lefebvre told the students at the ceremony, “you’ve been practicing the technical aspects of dentistry. Now, you’ll have the privilege of treating patients.” This is the 14th year that DCG has hosted a ceremony for its second-year students recognizing their official transition
‘THE BEST YOU CAN BE’ “Today is really not about what you have done, but about
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‘YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY’ “Always remember,” Cassidy said, “that there is a person on the other end of that tooth. Professionalism can be defined in one word: integrity. It all comes down to the Golden Rule, doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. It’s up to us to ensure quality of care. Today’s environment is an opportunity to set about practicing at the highest level.” He also advised each student to “take good care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s greatest source of wealth, and you can’t help others unless you’re taking care of yourself.” His parting note was to counsel the students to keep their priorities in order. “Do not equate money with success,” Cassidy said. “What counts about success is how an individual achieves it. Make love your highest priority. Love is the most enriching ingredient of life.” n
what you will do during the rest of your dental education and, most importantly, throughout your career,” Frazier told the students. “Be the best you can be for the profession and for your patients.” Dr. James Cassidy (’83), chairman of the Georgia Section of the American College of Dentists, encouraged the students to reflect on the symbolism of their white coats as they complete a dental education that inevitably will include “successes, challenges and, yes, some failures. But despite those challenges, I have one message: Enjoy it. There is no better time to be a dentist. On your worst day, let that linger in your mind.” He said that during his own education at the dental college, Founding Dean Judson C. Hickey would visit every class and share a story. “Dr. Hickey said he took his car to a mechanic one day, and the mechanic observed, ‘You know, dentists and mechanics have a lot in common: We both take something that’s broken and fix it.’ Hickey responded, ‘That’s exactly right. Now, I’d like to see you try to work on that car while it’s running.’”
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FIVE YEARS HOME ON FRIDAY, SEPT. 30, the dental college celebrated its official name change to The Dental College of Georgia and the fifth anniversary in its new building. During the prior week, the old GRU signage came down and was replaced by a large, temporary banner featuring the new branded logo. At a lunchtime event, staff and students enjoyed a boxed lunch and a brief presentation by Dean Carol Lefebvre and Augusta University President Brooks Keel celebrating the anniversary milestone. At an evening event for faculty, residents and alumni, Provost Gretchen Caughman and DCG alum Dr. Ben Jernigan Jr., president of the Georgia Dental Association, joined Dean Lefebvre for celebratory comments. The GDA also provided financial support for the event. Guests enjoyed casino-like games, appetizers and a jazz trio.
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WELCOME — AND WELCOME BACK! WELCOME, STUDENTS! AN IMMIGRANT born in an African refugee camp ... a third-degree black belt holder in martial arts ... a threetime state champion hurdler ... a skydiver ... These are among the members of The Dental College of Georgia Class of 2020. The freshmen were welcomed during the college’s Welcome Back Assembly Aug. 24 in the J. Harold Harrison, M.D. Education Commons. The assembly, which featured well-wishes from faculty, administrators, alumni and representatives of organized dentistry statewide and beyond, also included the presentation of $464,000 in scholarships for outstanding first-, second-, third- and fourth-year students. “We have a very diverse group,” Dean Carol A. Lefebvre told the students, citing many who already have distinguished themselves in areas including sports, music, volunteerism and community service. “We’re off to a very good start.” While applauding the many things they’ve already accomplished, Lefebvre cautioned them that they have big shoes to fill. “We know that dental school is
challenging, and we set the bar high,” she said. “For instance, in addition to the academic excellence of the Class of 2016, members of the class provided over 7,000 hours of community service during their dental education and presented class gifts to the Give a Smile Foundation and Dentists for Della. So, freshmen, no pressure.” But she assured them they will have all the support they need — including from each other — as they earn their degrees. “You need to get through dental school as a team,” she said. “Lean on each other, care for each other and be there for each other. You will be rewarded with lifelong friends.” WELCOME, RESIDENTS! A mother of five ... an Alaska native ... a Pokémon Go devotee ... multiple golf and racquetball aficionados ... These are among DCG’s new crop of residents. The residents will be on campus for one to four years, depending on their program. Seventeen out of the 31 residents/interns are DCG graduates.
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The new residents and interns are: Advanced Education in General Dentistry: • Ryan Burroughs • Adam Coleman • Leigh Garrison • Jeni Heselbarth • Miles Yarborough General Practice: • Jordan Berry • Brad Callahan • Edward Crosland • Stephen Drescher • Andrew King • Pate Smith Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: • Bryan Benton • Kiara Brown • Thomas Farrell, intern • Brian Sellers, intern Pediatric Dentistry: • Jodi Davalos • Christopher Parker • Stephanie Silva • Jenny Stevens Periodontics: • Stuart Beauchamp • Cherilyn Kasperian • Kyle Garrett • Mallory Ulmer Prosthodontics: • Eric Bailey • Lilian Ha Endodontics: • John Camba • Brandon Griffin • Marcus Miller Orthodontics: • Marielle Beauchamp • Mariesa Manente • James Raley n
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CELEBRATING THE TEAM EDUCATING FUTURE DENTISTS and caring for thousands of dental patients each year at the DCG requires the orchestrated teamwork of hundreds of employees. Time is set aside quarterly to celebrate and thank them for their hard work and dedication. At the Ice Cream Social in August, staff, residents and faculty were treated to ice cream sundaes,
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an award-winning barbershop quartet singing tunes from the 1950s, and a shag dance demonstration. The Fall Frolic in October featured hotdogs on the grill, a costume contest, chili cook-off, and cornhole tournament. The staff appreciation events are coordinated and hosted by the Human Resources Development Committee.
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LIVING LIKE A LOCAL
London CE Trip Packed with Authentic Experiences
W
HEN DR. JAN MITCHELL was charting her career path in college, she reluctantly ruled out her first love: art history. “I couldn’t figure out how to make a living at it,” she says. So Mitchell, an associate professor of oral rehabilitation at The Dental College of Georgia, earned her dental degree instead, a decision she’s never regretted.
experience. What’s more, she hoped to inspire others to share the ongoing wanderlust that has so enriched her life. WANDERLUST “Part of the fun is teaching people to enjoy European cities without a tour guide,” says Mitchell. “I try to teach travel skills like how to use Airbnb (an online marketplace for vacation rental homes) and get a real sense of the city. I haven’t stayed in a hotel in years. It’s so much more fun to have your own apartment and live like a local.” She also had to pour through the nuts and bolts of creating four and a half hours of coursework daily. Mitchell partners with American universities that have extension campuses in Europe for classroom space. For London, she used Boston University Overseas. She enlisted several colleagues to teach the courses, which were aimed for general dentists but also applicable to specialists. Once the itinerary was in place, “we sent emails to alumni to publicize the trip,” Mitchell says. “I also made a point of going to other continuingeducation courses and giving a little plug.” The class filled quickly with enrollees, many of whom were enticed by stories of the previous year’s European jaunt. “The word of mouth is really taking off,” Mitchell says.
ENCORE PERFORMANCE But she’s visited Europe frequently throughout the years to stay connected to the Renaissance masters she so loves. And Mitchell has recently discovered a way to combine her seemingly disparate passions. In spring 2015, she spearheaded a DCG continuing education course in Florence, Italy, interspersing dental education with excursions to museums and historical sites. The course was so well-received that Dean Carol A. Lefebvre, one of the attendees, beseeched Mitchell to offer an encore performance. Mitchell was happy to oblige, changing the venue this year to London. Approximately 10 dentists, mostly DCG alumni and faculty members, enrolled in the course, which was held during Masters Week last April. Mitchell visited the city months in advance to scout out sites and activities intended to optimize the experience. “This trip was way more complex than Florence, because in Florence, we could walk everywhere,” says Mitchell, noting that she had to brush up not only on locations, but public transportation as well. She wanted to immerse course attendees not only in typical tourist attractions, but also in under-the-radar eateries, concerts and other sites and activities that created a more authentic
‘A REAL ASSET’ The participants, many of whom brought their families, couldn’t have asked for a more substantive experience. “I received very positive feedback,” Mitchell says. “They loved it. Three teenagers came [with their parents] and one said he wants to live there.” continued
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the country and its people. “That’s one of the best things about traveling without a tour guide: You really immerse yourself in the experience,” Mitchell says.
Writes one participant in a follow-up survey, “Dr. Mitchell did a superb job of integrating a continuing education course with travel. It was well-organized and well-executed ... a real asset to the university!” Another writes, “I was unfamiliar with the area, but Dr. Mitchell’s orientation made me confident to move about London.” Others concur, with one writing, “I really enjoyed Dr. Mitchell’s knowledge of historical sites. It was like having a personal tour guide!”
A LOT OF MILEAGE She has already begun creating an itinerary for next spring’s trip, this one to Paris. Activities tentatively will include visits to the Louvre, Loire Valley and two Renaissance châteaus, along with lunch at a winery. “I visited right after the tour,” she says. “I was already in Europe, so I just went ahead to the next city. It was my vacation, but I got a lot of professional mileage out of it.” Mitchell expects the class to fill quickly, so she advises prompt responses once enrollment begins. “I make a point of pricing the trips very reasonably,” she says. “I work really hard to make it within everyone’s reach. And it’s a great way for dentists to break in easily to travel in Europe. They’re seeing all the sights, but they’re doing it in a very organized way with other dentists.” Participants say they’re hard-pressed to pick a favorite activity, which is just what Mitchell likes to hear. Writes one participant, “It was extremely obvious that Jan takes pride in being prepared. Every detail was well-thoughtout and planned. We experienced all the highlights of London and still had time for 17 hours of continuing education. This has definitely been the best and most educational course I’ve ever been to.” Says Mitchell, “Everything we did was great. Asking what we liked best is like asking which child is your favorite.” n
TEA AND CLOTTED CREAM Highlights included a walking tour of Westminster Abbey, a day trip to Windsor Castle, a historical pub tour, a Buckingham Palace visit timed with the changing of the guards and a tour of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill that Mitchell likens to Downton Abbey. Mitchell also squeezed in an afternoon tea complete with scones, muffins and clotted cream. She learned from the previous year to schedule downtime, but she stressed that the outings themselves were highly organized. “We’re not spontaneous,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve got 25 people trailing behind me.” Brexit, the vote to formally withdraw the U.K. from the European Union in June 2016, was barely on the radar during their visit — “I don’t think anybody at that point even dreamed it would happen,” Mitchell says — but the participants have followed the news with keen interest, now that they have firsthand familiarity with
Tour participants visit Windsor Castle, the Queen’s Home.
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Tour participants enjoyed a few highlights of London including: (top left) the 11th-century Tower of London with the best view of Tower Bridge; (top right) the dining room of Blenheim Palace; (bottom left) Big Ben at night; and (bottom right) world-class shopping and nightlife in downtown London.
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Dr. Bustos tickling the ivories of his piano and, on the following pages, photos from his youth.
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A LIFE OF ZEAL
Retired Biochemist Has Song in His Heart
D
R. SERGIO BUSTOS-VALDES laughs that, a lifetime of education notwithstanding, he felt decidedly intimidated recently during a Shakespeare course. He enrolled in the Augusta University course as one of his many retirement pursuits, thinking he had a respectable enough familiarity with the bard to hold his own, even among a class full of English majors. But when the professor asked the class to opine about Lady Anne Neville’s attraction to Richard III, Bustos sat in petrified silence as his classmates waxed eloquent with interpretations and allusions attesting to a seemingly much deeper knowledge base than his own. “I stayed quiet and hoped the teacher wouldn’t call on me,” Bustos says with a laugh. No such luck. So when pressed for his opinion, Bustos decided to draw on his basic-science expertise. “I mentioned that in addition to being a case of a simple hormonal storm, Lady Anne’s feelings could
be explained by the fact that the love and hate brain centers are in close proximity and share the same circuitry,” he says. “The class seemed impressed, and that gave me so much confidence. Before the class, all I’d been able to do was drop a few Shakespeare quotes into conversations.” OPENING DOORS The anecdote, which Bustos shares with his characteristic sparkling wit, speaks volumes about the man who served on The Dental College of Georgia faculty for almost 30 years before retiring in 1998. For one, he’s remarkably versatile. The Chilean native’s first love was linguistics (he studied three languages by his teens and is still adding to his repertoire), but chose dentistry as a vocation when encouraged to pursue a more practical path and embraced it with gusto. For another, Bustos is a lifelong learner who always welcomes new challenges. It was in retirement, for continued
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instance, that he honed his skills on the piano, bass and guitar (he’s an amateur guitar performer at the North Carolina Jazz Festival), and his boundless curiosity opens new doors on a virtually daily basis. He also cheerfully acknowledges his limitations while not letting the fear of failure deter him from trying new things. For instance, “I took an art class and realized that was not something I would be very proficient at,” he concedes. “It took me forever to finish a project.” But modesty notwithstanding, there’s not much Bustos isn’t good at. His high-achieving nature was evident early on. He grew up drinking in his mother’s loves of literature, languages and music. “She taught me nursery rhymes in English, and she was a Conservatory-trained pianist who could play any piece at first sight,” Bustos recalls fondly. His youthful pursuits included reciting Walt Whitman poetry flawlessly in his school auditorium, competing with indefatigable tenacity on a rowing team and playing guitar and bass in a jazz combo. His potential seemed as boundless as the view from his childhood window, overlooking the Maule River feeding into the Pacific Ocean. He has no qualms characterizing his youth as nothing short of charmed. His education, he says, was second to none, and Chile at the time was “an island of democracy.” Anything seemed possible, and Bustos was determined to take advantage of every opportunity.
medical students. The last three years were devoted to dentistry. “We had to do a hospital internship before being awarded a DDS degree,” says Bustos. “I did mine in ear/nose/throat, which is an integral component of oral health.” After earning his degree at the Universidad de Concepción, he obtained a faculty position there. He stayed for four years until, in 1962, he received a scholarship to further his studies at the Universidad de Santiago. But soon after his arrival, he was informed he had been accepted for a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Rochester in New York. “I’d published a paper on radioisotopes, and I was invited there to do research,” he says. “I had applied, but I was astonished when I was accepted. It was extremely competitive.” So off he went, trading Santiago’s balmy Mediterranean climate for the bone-chilling cold of the U.S. Northeast. But Bustos was single, light on his feet and ready for a new adventure. He didn’t stay single long. Shortly after arriving in Rochester, he met an undergraduate named Roxann and married her within months. His marital status didn’t diminish his determination to squeeze every ounce of productivity possible out of his Fulbright Scholarship. “The scholarship enabled me to do research full time, but I wanted to take courses, too, so I took a full load.” He says with a laugh that he may actually have overextended himself for once — “I learned my lesson” HEADING NORTH — but he managed to keep all the balls in the air. Bustos He pursued his higher education at the Universidad de returned in 1968 to his faculty position at the Universidad Concepción, where dentistry is considered a specialty de Concepción School of Medicine Department of of medicine. Earning his dental degree required that Physiology with his family, which now included two Bustos take three years of the curriculum required for daughters and a son. “Immediately, I started teaching and
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continuing my research on histones,” he says. “I had to gather the necessary lab equipment and collaborators. It required arduous work, tenacity and creativity, but we surged forward and embarked on an investigation of rat and hagfish histones to document any evolutionary changes in these proteins. The research steadily progressed but came to a halt due to the lack of an amino acid analyzer.” Fortunately, his thesis advisor at the University of Rochester, Dr. Alexander Dounce, suggested processing the histone samples in his lab. “My mother-in-law then invited the rest of the family to Syracuse,” Bustos says, “so we boarded a plane to the States.” LEAP OF FAITH It was then that he found out how high the demand was for his considerable skills. He received a call about a possible faculty position at The Dental College of Georgia (then the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry). The founding dean, Dr. Judson C. Hickey, was seeking faculty members with both a dental degree and a PhD in a basic science. “All of the original faculty had dual degrees,” Bustos says. “Although he was not trained as a scientist, Dr. Hickey was quite aware of the importance of the basic sciences in dentistry. He anticipated very early that dentistry in the future would no longer deal exclusively with dental caries and periodontal disease. Instead, its scope would include all the diseases and disorders that affect the oral and maxillofacial structures throughout life. He is quite a remarkable man.” Bustos was high on his wish list for the Department of Oral Biology faculty.
Bustos agreed to an interview but acknowledges he had second thoughts upon flying to Augusta for a recruitment visit. “I remember flying into town, and I couldn’t see any streets from the plane — just woods,” he says. “And when I was being shown around the city, I couldn’t find a library. I went home and told my wife, ‘I don’t think they have one.’” Hickey offered him a faculty position, but Bustos declined. “I wrote to Dean Hickey about my decision, and he sent me an extremely nice letter saying that if in the near future I would reconsider my decision, to please let him know,” Bustos says. Shortly afterward, the family returned to Chile. “Unfortunately, the political situation had deteriorated to the point that it began to interfere with my academic duties,” Bustos says. “This prompted me to reconsider Dr. Hickey’s offer. Within a few weeks, I took a leap of faith and communicated my acceptance.” Arriving in Augusta, he was happy to find out the city had plenty of libraries. But he still had last-minute jitters. Frigid late-winter air greeted his arrival, a gloomy omen in his estimation. “I’d brought my whole family here, and all I could think was, ‘What did I do? Did I make a mistake?’” MUSIC TO HIS EARS Then, like an oasis in the desert, everything changed. “It was so cold when we arrived, but practically overnight — spring!” Bustos recalls, his eyes sparkling at the memory. “Flowers were everywhere. It was like an artist had painted the city. It evoked music to my ears. That changed everything.” He relished starting a school from the ground up with continued
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Hickey and his fellow recruits, all of whom were eager to create curricula that provided dental students as comprehensive a basic-science education as the medical students received. Bustos was delighted to discover how committed Hickey was to his faculty. He invited Bustos to design his own lab to his specifications. “Besides being personable, knowledgeable, articulate and caring, Dr. Hickey was a charismatic leader,” Bustos says. “He would stop by my office and ask how I thought he could make the school better. He had tremendous rapport with people. He knew everyone by their first name.” Bustos’ duties, in addition to teaching dental students, included teaching biochemistry to students in the Medical College of Georgia and other health sciences programs in the university. He served as coordinator of the Department of Biochemistry from 1979 to 1996. His approach to a medically infused dental education was nothing short of visionary.
“It was so cold when we arrived, but practically overnight — spring!” —DR. SERGIO BUSTOS-VALDES
CLOSE BONDS “It was clear that medically complicated or compromised patients, especially the elderly, were becoming a larger part of the dental practice,” he says. “Treatment for these patients requires that their systemic health problems are considered. Changes in oral health care have made the acquisition of additional knowledge of these diseases more important.” He was on the forefront of incorporating those changes in the classroom. He advocated other curricular changes as well. For instance, he pushed for more time for students to integrate basic and clinical skills, favoring problembased learning to stimulate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Upon his retirement, he was asked to help facilitate problem-based learning in the Medical College of Georgia curriculum. Research also factored prominently in his workload. “I was particularly interested in histones, the proteins that communicate instructions to genes,” Bustos says. “We originally thought the histones just held the DNA together, but nothing could be further from the truth. That study has exploded into a field called epigenetics. I had no idea how important it would turn out to be.” His broad expertise enabled him to incorporate anatomy, physiology and pharmacology into his lectures. He thoroughly enjoyed the teaching and research roles of his career, establishing close bonds with his students and mentees. In addition to guiding them in classrooms and labs, he also enjoyed challenging them to the sports he’d mastered in Chile. Little did the unsuspecting students realize that they were playing with a ringer. “A group of students invited me to play table tennis once,” Bustos says. “I think they thought, ‘We’ll give him some retribution for what he puts us through in the classroom.’ But my spin drove them crazy. They couldn’t get the ball back.” He repeated the same impressive feat with students on the tennis court. FOLLOWING HIS DREAMS His family thrived in Augusta as well. Roxann, who had already earned a master’s degree in English at the University of Rochester, earned a master’s degree in library science at the University of South Carolina and began her own career at Augusta University after the children had flown the nest. She
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Dr. Bustos assists grandchildren Ben and Clara as they man a front-yard lemonade stand.
THE BEAUTY OF RETIREMENT The beauty of retirement, he noted, has been the ability to pursue as many disparate passions as he pleases. This has included traveling extensively with his family, including his grandchildren. Five of those grandchildren live next door and frequently enlist their grandfather in passions of their own. During this interview, for instance, his grandchildren, Ben and Clara, had manned a lemonade stand in their front yard, calling over to him to lend a hand. Odidi, as they affectionately call him (pronounced O-Dee-Dee), was more than happy to oblige. At age 84, Bustos looks fully three decades younger and has more energy than most people half his age. When he retired in 1998, he noted, “I have ambitions I have not fulfilled.” Almost 18 years later, he is thrilled to have marked many of those items off his bucket list — and even more pleased that plenty still remain. “Says Bustos simply, “I’m very enthusiastic. I approach everything I do with zeal.” n
has now retired as an emeritus associate professor. As fulfilling as Bustos’ life was, he still felt the pull of long-dormant passions. He never lost his love of linguistics and wanted to learn still more languages. He wanted to supplement his love of literature with more education. He wanted to immerse himself further in the music he loved. He retired in 1998 to follow those dreams, virtually all of which he has fulfilled — and then some. “I go to bed thinking about music and I wake up thinking about music,” he says. “And I’m becoming increasingly proficient in languages, including Italian, German and French. I’m not interested in just being able to say, ‘Hello, how are you?’” At this time, he is enrolled as a first-year piano student in Augusta University’s Department of Music and in three online courses. His scientific expertise has also continued to be in high demand. For instance, upon his retirement, he was asked to chair the Savannah River Site Health Effects Subcommittee, an independent group of citizens charged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the effects of radiation on citizens who live near nuclear plants.
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LEARNING CURVE Alumna Helps DCG Students Contribute to Raising Dental IQ Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of Word of Mouth articles highlighting community-based dental rotation sites for seniors.
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N A RECENT CONVERSATION, Dr. Vanessa Downer wracked her brain for a name on the tip of her tongue but came up dry. “I know people by their teeth,” she says with a laugh. But make no mistake: Downer may not remember the name of every patient and student who has crossed her path throughout her 30-year dental career (their numbers are voluminous), but she has definitely left her mark on their lives. And they on hers. continued
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EXPANDING HORIZONS Downer, who grew up in Albany, Georgia, had dreamed since childhood of a health care career, not only because she loved science, but because she yearned to address a disparity she noticed at a very young age: Very few health professionals in her community looked like her. In other words, very few were African-Americans. “I wanted to help underprivileged people and give them a better quality of life,” says Downer. After earning a biology degree from Albany State College (now Albany State University), she enrolled in
The Dental College of Georgia. “I really enjoyed it,” says Downer. “I made a lot of new friends, and the experience expanded my horizons in a lot of different ways. It was more than I expected; it really enhanced my life.” She also met her future husband at the DCG (Dr. Tommy Downer, ’86), and after she graduated in 1987 and worked in Albany, Georgia, for a year, they embarked on both a personal and professional lifelong journey. When they married in 1988, Downer joined her husband in Columbus, Georgia, where he had a private practice, and she worked in public health, commuting
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to Stewart Webster Rural Health Clinic in nearby Richland, Georgia. “It was a rural health clinic, and patient dental IQ was very low at the time,” she says. “Many of my patients, for instance, thought the only way to treat a toothache was to pull the tooth.” DENTAL IQ As extensive as their problems were, Downer considered it a profound privilege to treat and educate them. “I got to help a lot of people and help raise their dental IQ,” she says. She practiced there for approximately 18 years while also working part time at the Columbus Health Department. She signed on with the health department’s West Central Health District full time in 2005 and has been there ever since, not only treating underserved patients, but mentoring DCG students who rotate through her clinic. “This district is comprised of 16 counties, and when I initially started, we treated mainly children,” Downer says. “Now, we treat all ages, from babies to the elderly.” She averages about 25 to 30 patients a day, including those she visits in a mobile unit. A SMALL-TOWN FEEL Downer, a mother of two, is gratified to see firsthand how dentistry has evolved over the years, particularly regarding public health. “People in general do a good job taking care of their oral health these days. Dentistry has really made a lot of progress with things like fluoridated water and education. Most people know now, for instance, not to put babies to sleep with a bottle of milk or sweetened beverages. I don’t see nearly as many problems as I did when I first started practicing. The vast majority of my patients are very compliant with oral hygiene.” The DCG students, she says, are a big help — and receive a big dose of education in return. Two students per semester generally rotate through the clinic. One of the most recent was her niece, Dr. Jasmine Edwards (’16), who now practices at Albany Area Primary Health Care in Albany, Georgia. “It was a thrill to work with my niece,” Downer says. “I enjoy all of the students. A lot of them come from small towns, so they’re used to the environment.” The clinic offers them a nice mix, she says, that they may find unavailable at other rotation sites. “We’ve expanded to include patients with private insurance,” Downer says. “These are patients who could go elsewhere if they wanted, but they choose to come here. That’s very gratifying.” n
“These people could go elsewhere if they wanted, but they choose to come here.” —DR. VANESSA DOWNER
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LIFEBLOOD OF DENTAL EDUCATION Program Cultivates Interests of Aspiring Academicians
“W
E HAVE SO MANY opportunities to explore our passions right at our fingertips.” That’s Matthew Giordano’s assessment of his education at The Dental College of Georgia, and college administrators have recently gone one step further in making themselves optimally worthy of the accolade. Last year, Dean Carol A. Lefebvre asked Dr. Kate Ciarrocca, assistant professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, to launch a fellowship program cultivating the interest of DCG students interested in academic careers. The result, the DCG Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program, launched as a pilot project this fall. “The fellowship program started in 2006 with a startup grant from the American Dental Association and is now administered and supported by the American Dental Education Association,” Ciarrocca explains. “The purpose is to connect a dental student or fellow with a faculty mentor to provide insight into the day-to-day life of an educator or researcher in academic dentistry. The overarching goal is to encourage students to pursue an academic career.” SMOOTHING THE PATH Academic dentistry — educating future generations of dentists and continually infusing the discipline with new knowledge and expertise — is one of the most important roles of dentistry, Ciarrocca says. Yet the career path is often overlooked by dental graduates, and dental schools continued
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“I’ve always been on the lookout for students I thought could be great teachers.” —DR. KATE CIARROCCA
nationwide are continually seeking ways to ensure a steady source of excellent faculty talent. That was the impetus for the ADEA to continue the fellowship program, and the dental college was eager to jump aboard. “Dental education is something I’m very passionate about,” Ciarrocca says. “I’ve always been on the lookout for students I thought could be great teachers. I would discuss that option with them, but prior to this year, there was no formal program I could direct them to. This fills that gap. We are always looking for the future of dental education, and this is a concrete way for students to learn about it.” Students who applied were required to conceptualize a yearlong educational project, create a time line and action plan for its completion and identify a mentor — a DCG faculty member who agreed to the role — with whom to partner. “This is a very big commitment, which in itself weeds out students who aren’t really interested,” Ciarrocca says. “The participants we selected are those who clearly have a passion for education. It’s a lot of work and scheduling, so this is intended for students who have a genuine interest.” TRANSFORMING INTO EXPERTS Seven students were selected as this year’s participants, and Ciarrocca, who herself is serving as a mentor, is thrilled with how it is unfolding. Her mentee, Giordano, plans to study Ciarrocca’s teaching style and methods, then deliver one of her lectures to a first-year class. “It’s really exciting for him,” Ciarrocca says. “It gives him the opportunity to be an ‘expert’ and teach in a classroom setting.” Says Giordano, “This is giving me a clearer vision of what it means to be a dental educator. I’ve always enjoyed teaching informally as a tutor to my
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classmates, so I am excited to see what formal teaching will be like.” This is the spark, Ciarrocca says, that she and her colleagues look for in potential educators. “They’re all kind of natural teachers,” she says. “They want to help their classmates and share knowledge. They’re very collaborative, and they’re in it to help others; that’s very easily identifiable. You can see in classrooms the ones helping others and offering advice in a welcoming way. They’re also able to explain concepts in a manner that’s easily understood.” Charisma, she says, is also a component of effective teaching — and one that Giordano has in spades. “Matt has a vibrant, happy personality and loves to help others,” she says. “He has a passion for it.”
undiagnosed or uncontrolled diabetes. “Our focus is on blood-testing,” adds De Rossi, professor in the Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences. “Millions of Americans with undiagnosed diabetes go to dental offices. We’re in a prime position to become part of the primary health care system. We already routinely screen for hypertension. Diabetes screening is easy and fairly cost-effective, and certainly our patient population in this part of the country is at risk.” MERGING PASSIONS Says Manhiani, a fourth-year dental student who already has earned her PhD, “I have a research background and would like to merge my previous research with my dental path. I feel this fellowship is giving me that opportunity.” “These types of programs are absolutely necessary to maintain the lifeblood of our profession,” De Rossi says. Dr. Bill Bachand, associate professor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation and another mentor in the program, concurs. “I wanted to get involved with this program because I was intrigued by the thought of students being interested in academia,” he says. “Many of our faculty, including myself, come from second careers, and academia in general has a difficult time attracting new graduates into the profession. Teaching is a very rewarding part of dentistry, and I hope to instill the desire to teach in our fellowship participants.”
CONNECTING FACE TO FACE Says Giordano, “Dr. Ciarrocca has given me a ton of information already, and I am looking forward to learning more. Ever since I decided to be a dentist, I thought it would be so cool to teach at some point in my career. I can’t help but be drawn to the opportunity to pass down what was given to me by our own faculty members: a passion for learning and delivering outstanding dental care. It would be amazing to one day hold a faculty or administrative position.” Michael Hampton, another participant, concurs. “I’ve always enjoyed working with and helping others, and I’ve found that the things I’ve been most fascinated in are dentistry and education. I’m hoping to learn more about being a dental educator and that I become a better teacher and speaker in general.” Ciarrocca notes that the program immerses the fellows extensively in the different roles in academia. Part of the project, she says, is for them to meet with, interview and observe DCG faculty and administrators, both individually and as a group. “This is an integral part of the program, along with bimonthly meetings with mentors,” she says. “Face-to-face meetings are encouraged; it really cements the connection.”
EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS Each student wrote an essay at the beginning of the fellowship articulating what they hope to get out of the experience, then will write another at the end of the year reflecting on what they have learned. “The essays will demonstrate their changing perceptions,” Ciarrocca says. The projects will be presented at the dental college’s annual Table Clinic Day, and a panel of judges will award prizes. Award-winning participants will attend the American Dental Education Association meeting this spring in Los Angeles, all expenses paid. Ciarrocca will also host luncheons and other activities for participants. “Because it’s a pilot year,” she says, “we’re all learning together. But so far, it’s been awesome.” The most rewarding part, De Rossi says, is showing the participants something he’s known for years. “For me,” he says, “an academic career provides tremendous variety. Every day is different — teaching, research, patient care, administrative work — and the variety provides a very balanced career. The ability to impact students’ lives and careers is by far the most rewarding aspect, and it’s not even close.” n
A BROAD SCOPE The scope of the students’ projects also demonstrates that education takes place both in and out of the classroom, and with a variety of “students” — including patients. Dental student Marlina Manhiani’s project, for instance, involves diabetes screening for DCG patients. Says Manhiani’s mentor, Dr. Scott De Rossi, “We’re going to be screening for diabetes in our new patient admissions clinic, then come up with an educational module of how dentists can play a role in addressing
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SECRET LIVES
JOSEPH VITOLO DAY JOB: Associate Dean of Academic Affairs SECRET LIFE: Calligraphy and penmanship expert
D
OCTORS AREN’T typically known for their penmanship. In fact, the handwriting of doctors is a well-used punchline. The stereotype makes it doubly surprising that Dr. Joseph Vitolo, holding both DMD and PhD degrees, is a foremost expert on penmanship and calligraphy. He refers to himself not as an expert, but as a highly informed “penman.” Vitolo is the newly appointed associate dean of academic affairs at The Dental College of Georgia. Penmanship was not Vitolo’s first unique hobby. As a teenager, he was artistic and adventurous in pursuing new experiences, but not particularly athletic. He was inspired by a movie prop to take
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up competitive archery and aspired to be an Olympian, even winning a New Jersey state title. As a student in Catholic schools in Hoboken, New Jersey, his handwriting earned him more punishment than praise. A fascination with Biblical documents and handwritten letters led him to experiment with an inexpensive calligraphy pen. But his passion was ignited a decade later while studying for his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Rochester when he saw a beautifully handwritten name plate inscribed by a colleague. Sensing a kindred spirit, the person encouraged him to attend a meeting of the International Association of Master Penmen,
Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting (IAMPETH), an organization started in the late 1940s. “Once I attended that first conference, I knew I’d found a new passion!” says Vitolo. “I applied scientific methodology to the study of an artistic expression.” Vitolo pursued several years of intense study and writing, a time he laughingly describes as an “obsessive-compulsive passion.” Soon, he gained a reputation as an expert in the field of Copperplate-style penmanship, also known as Engrosser’s or Engraver’s script. This particular style of script type is not considered handwriting, but rather an art form involving the drawing of letters. It is described by experts as “engraving on paper” and is an American twist on the old English Roundhand, the beautiful style of writing used to create the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. As Vitolo’s goal is to teach and preserve the art form, he wrote a 90-page, interactive, electronic book that is a compilation of his years of research and study. To date, nearly 20,000 beginners and advanced students have downloaded the free book. “I never intended to profit from my work, but with this many downloads, I wish I’d charged a couple of dollars per copy!” Vitolo chuckles. “I feel that I’ve accomplished what I set out to do: to teach and preserve the history of penmanship from the Golden Age of Ornamental Penmanship in the U.S.” Today, Vitolo is promoting the use of cursive handwriting. If Common Core education standards eliminate teaching cursive in elementary schools, he says, our society runs the risk of losing the ability to read and write cursive writing. “Writing in cursive contributes to neuromuscular development,” Vitolo says. “Not only does it enhance eye-hand coordination and develop fine motor skills, but it takes us back to our earliest roots of communication.” The next time you write or receive a handwritten note, remember that it represents more than just words on the page, but is preserving a historic art form. And Google “Joe Vitolo” to see just how accomplished our resident penman and script specialist truly is. View his writing samples and writing instruments up-close at magazines.augusta.edu. n
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STUDENT VOICE
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE NUMBER
IT IS NOT ABOUT THE NUMBER. Our leader their health, seek advice on home care, and learn dentist’s words had yet to resonate. I hoped to learn more about children’s dental health. Inspiring our from the vast experience in service trips as well as translators to be leaders for health care in the from the combined years of practice of the dental community through education, we dispelled myths team leading our trip. After hours of travel on a about tooth color and decay. In partnership with the rocky road in a sweaty bus, we finally arrived at our incredibly brilliant physician normally occupying the destination in the valley of an undeniably beautiful clinic, we were able to diagnose and seek treatment mountain range in Haiti. Swatting mosquitoes, for many life-threatening illnesses. Our team was the group began the arduous task of also invaluable: We had top executives and assembling the clinic in Hinche. CEOs running for instruments, fixing any Perhaps because I had never been malfunctioning equipment, and generally so directly responsible, I felt both more making it possible for us to provide dental invested and yet more helpless than ever care. Their enthusiasm to serve and be before. Despite all the care we provided, involved was inspiring. While we wished I became heartbroken by patients asking we could have helped more people, we for replacement teeth after extractions were joyful in the care we were able to or by those we had to turn away at the provide. end of the day. During one particularly The people of Haiti, the willingness of HAYLEE HUMES difficult hour on the first day, I balanced our dental team to serve the community Class of 2017 a terrified 10-year-old boy preparing to and the students, and the generosity of lose his abscessed first molars with an resources and time of Dr. Ken McMillan, exuberant and thankful teenage girl whose fractured clinical adjunct faculty at the DCG, and our anterior teeth I was able to restore. We had expert other dental leaders changed our lives and our dentists in esthetics, oral surgery and general understanding of our role in health care. Our group dentistry ready to provide guidance and help. is beyond thankful for the experience and felt far I began to understand my mentor’s message. It more prepared than our peers heading into our was not about the number. I now realize the number senior year of dental school. I plan to continue of patients seen could never be our primary goal. giving back both in my community and abroad as I Instead, we were creating a community where it continue to grow in the practice of dentistry. was safe for the patients to ask questions about
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CELEBRATE: WELCOME BACK, WELCOME HOME
DALE CRAIL DCG DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT dcrail@augusta.edu 706-840-0868
THIS ISSUE of Word of Mouth could easily be called our celebration issue. Most recently, we held an open house to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our new dental school. Alumni, faculty and friends all had an enjoyable evening, but it is hard to imagine that this magnificent building has been “lived in” for half a decade. It was also the celebration of a name — The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University. A name that will last, and a name that will be as respected as those before it — the same traditions, same outstanding faculty and administrators, and the same stellar students who year-after-year come to Augusta to learn with the best. We celebrated the Class of 2016 and its 100 percent pass rate on the Central Regional Dental Testing exam — a feat not accomplished by every dental school. And, of course, we celebrated their graduation and entrance into the dental profession. Our community was celebrated with the annual Day of Service, in which the dental school
family gives back to Augusta by volunteering help where help is most needed. The loved ones who mean so much to our incoming students were recognized during Family Day on campus. We gave them just a small sample of what their sons, daughters, spouses and parents can expect during the next four years. The White Coat Ceremony, a milestone for second-year students, marks the transition to the clinical portion of their educations. A very special celebration every fall ushers in a new class and acknowledges the accomplishments of all four classes with the awarding of scholarships. We call this annual fall ceremony — Welcome Back. But, it might just as easily be called — Welcome Home. The Dental College of Georgia — Your Home. If you would like to invest in the future of dentistry in Georgia, please give me a call or email. Help us celebrate. Your support is always appreciated.
CLASS NOTES DR. DONALD NELSON (’74) has been named an honorable fellow of the Georgia Dental Association. He practices at Effingham Dental Associates in Springfield, Georgia.
DR. GARRETT SEEBA (’09) has joined a group practice in Webster, Texas, after completing his oral and maxillofacial residency in 2015 at Louisiana State University, New Orleans.
DR. KEN HUTCHINSON (’82) has been named an honorable fellow of the Georgia Dental Association. He practices at Brookwood Dentistry in Snellville, Georgia.
DR. JACKIE DELASH (’15) has joined our faculty as an instructor in the Department of Oral Rehabilitation. She completed a general dentistry residency at Atlanta’s Lutheran Medical Center and a master’s degree in health informatics from Augusta University. She is an inaugural member of Alpha Upsilon Phi, the Augusta University service and leadership honor society, and a member of the Hinman Dental Society.
DR. BENJAMIN KNAAK (’98) has been named an honorable fellow of the Georgia Dental Association. He practices dentistry in Rome, Georgia. DR. CHED SMAHA (’03) has been named an honorable fellow of the Georgia Dental Association. He practices orthodontics at Smaha Orthodontics in Macon, Georgia. DR. KARA MOORE (’05) has been named an honorable fellow of the Georgia Dental Association. She practices at Gray Dental Associates in Gray, Georgia. DR. CHRISTOPHER COMER (’08) has received the Academy of General Dentistry’s Fellowship Award. The award honors the highest-quality dental care by staying current in the profession. Comer completed 500 hours of continuing dental education, passed a comprehensive written exam and completed three years of continuous membership in the academy. Comer practices dentistry in Savannah, Georgia.
DRS. EMILY HAHN AND BECKY PAQUIN, who completed DCG residencies in periodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery this summer, respectively, received 2016 Connie L. Drisko Resident Awards for Professionalism. The residents were nominated by their program directors and were selected by Dean Carol A. Lefebvre’s leadership team. The award generally goes to a single resident, but co-awardees were selected this year. The award was inaugurated in 2015 to honor Drisko, a now-deceased former dean and well-known art lover. The honor includes a blown-glass piece of art and a $2,000 award. Paquin is serving on the dental college’s faculty for a year before completing her medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia — the first DCG oral and maxillofacial surgery resident to be accepted into the medical school. Hahn began private practice in New York.
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The Dental College of Georgia 1120 15th Street, GC-5202 Augusta, Georgia 30912 105532 C HA N G E S E RV I C E R E Q U E S T E D
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WORD OF
MOUTH
WINTER 2017
THE SECRET LIFE OF DR. JOSEPH VITOLO Our new associate dean of academic affairs is a man of many talents. Learn more about one of them on page 34.
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