Houston, Texas
The University of Texas School of Dentistry
The HOUSTON Fill
09/
ISSUE
03/
MONTH
15/
YEAR
!
!
UT HOUSTON President | Andrew Naeger ‘17 President elect | Tanya Sue Maestas ‘18 Immediate Past President | Graham Reed ‘16 Class Delegate | Andrew Naeger ’17 & Tanya Sue Maestas ‘18 Treasurer | Francisco Nieves ‘16 Advocacy Chair | Glennis Katzmark ‘17 Legislative Liason | Kyle Hale ’16, Glennis Katzmark ’17, & Samin “Huck” Huque ‘18 Pre-Dental Chair | Alex Edgerly ’17 Pre-Dental Coordinator | Paola Salazar ’16, Chris Thorburn ’16, & Anthony Tran ‘18 Communication & Media Chair | Michelle Boecker ’17 Publications Editors | Laura Nelson ’16 & Macey Cartrite ’16 Social Media Chair | Kaylea Orsak ‘18 Website Editors | Matthew Franzen ’17 & Allison Haynie ‘18 Events Chair | Mary Becker ’17 Events Coordinator | Marisa McKee ’16 Lunch and Learn Coordinator | Mariangela Arata ‘18 Social Chair | Bonner Morren ‘17 Community Service Chair | Clara Yoo ’17 Community Service Coordinators | Shivani Patel ’16 & Sarah Woernley ‘18 Leadership Development Chair | Ryan Hyde ‘17 Gold Crown Award Chair | Andrea Sauerwein ’16 & Adrien Lewis ‘16 Historian | Hieu Pham ‘17
ASDA NATIONAL LEADERS Chair, Council on Communications | Laura Nelson ’16 Chair, Council on Professional Issues | Andrew Naeger ‘17
ASDA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President | Christian Piers, Colorado ‘16 Vice-presidents | Adrien Lewis, Houston ’16; Niveditha Rajagopalan, Midwestern-Illinois ‘16 Speaker of the House | Paula Kohen, Florida, ‘17 District 9 Trustee | Kyle Larsen, Colorado ‘17 All views in this newsletter are those of the authors and not necessarily of the American Student Dental Association or The University of Texas School of Dentistry.
CONTENTS 03 / ASDA and Why it’s important 04 / Why we are drawn to what’s “weird” 05-06 / update on advocacy 07 / advocacy from a first year’s perspective 08 / networking
09 / asda national publications 10 / asda annual session update 11 – 12 / asda house of delegates 13 / what did you learn at annual session? 14 / annual session table clinics
Welcome/ Houston ASDA is growing! – We are excited to announce the recent appointments of several new officer and committee members, who will serve in advocacy, community service, events/social, pre-dental, and leadership development. As a team, we are more motivated then ever to improve our chapter and continue to create events and initiatives to better serve our members, who are our classmates and our friends. To start the year off right, twenty-three students attended Annual Session in Boston, MA where much of ASDA’s official business is conducted - such as the election of our national leadership and voting!within the House of Delegates. We learned a lot and proudly brought this information back to our members through individual class meetings. The biggest highlights of the week were winning the Gold Crown Award for
Outstanding Predental Involvement and the election of our very own Adrien Lewis, DS3 to be the next Vice President of National ASDA. We are extremely honored to have her represent our school! I look forward to serving you this year as our chapter’s President. Our officers and committee members are committed to improving our chapter by adding more benefits to you. Ultimately, it is my goal that every student finds his or her role in organized dentistry. Let ASDA help you find and build that passion. Please feel free to contact me!anytime with any questions, concerns, or comments.!Remember, ASDA is here to serve you.
03/ Congratulations to Adrien Lewis, ’16 for her election to the Executive Committee in National ASDA! As vice president she will oversee the operations of the organization and represent 22,000 dental students at 65 schools across the country. Adrien’s passion for ASDA started early when she was the president of her predental ASDA chapter at Baylor University in Waco, TX. She is now a 3rd year dental student at UTSD and has an interest in treating pediatric patients. Adrien’s leadership in ASDA will benefit the national, district, and local levels of ASDA. She will have the opportunity to network with dentists and students and bring new, refreshed ideas to members. Her representation at allied dental meetings such as the ADA and ADEA will ensure that the dental student voice is heard. Adrien states, “I am proud and honored to be elected as the Vice President of ASDA. This organization has provided me opportunities to network with dental students around the country and develop myself as a future leader in dentistry. There are many issues affecting the dental profession such as licensure, student debt, midlevel providers, barriers to care and the Affordable Care Act. As Vice President, I will represent the voice of dental students and continue ASDA’s work to tackle these issues.” We are proud to support her through this exciting time in her life and in dentistry. If you have any questions about ASDA or want to become involved yourself, please contact your local ASDA chapter leader! What is ASDA’s Mission and Vision? Mission: The American Student Dental Association is a national student-run organization that protects and advances the rights, interests and welfare of dental students. It introduces students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education, representation and advocacy. Vision: To advance the dental profession by developing exemplary leaders and inspiring member advocacy. Core Values: Passion, Community, Engagement Integrity Who does ASDA represent? 22,000 dental students across the United States, 65 dental schools, 11 districts What are the main ASDA policies? Midlevel Providers, Licensure, Student Debt, Barriers to Care, ACA, Ethics and Professionalism What are the benefits to members? Disability and Life insurance, Publications, Networking and Mentorship
Laura Nelson | ‘16
...and why it’s important
Why we are Drawn to What’s “Weird”? One of my favorite in-school rotations at UTSD is our Urgent Care rotation. We’re assigned to this multiple times a month but if my patient no-shows, it’s typically my 1st choice to ensure I spend my clinic time wisely. There’s always room for more students in Urgent Care. Dr. C.D. Johnson runs our urgent care clinic. Unlike the typical stories you hear of dentists working 4 days a week, with Fridays for golf or waterskiing, Dr. Johnson ran a clinic working 7 days a week. A good amount of his time was spent seeing walk-in urgent care patients. Needless to say, Dr. Johnson has seen it all. If you bring Dr. Johnson a Diet Dr. Pepper, you’re likely to have a more educational experience in Urgent Care. He always points out interesting anomalies on radiographs. He also makes it a point to show you perfect WREB lesions to help train your eyes. Because of Dr. Johnson, I’ve also seen my fair share of abnormal pathology. I one time had a patient in awe that so many professors and students were incredibly excited to see his radiograph. It’s incredible how excited we are to see something out of the ordinary. The July 2014 story of the Indian boy with 232 teeth was the big hit amongst my dental student friends on Facebook. If you don’t recall, an Indian Boy was seen at a hospital in Mumbai for a mandibular swelling. It turns out the boy suffered from a complex composite odontoma 232 teeth were extracted from the site. Not only were all of my Facebook friends interested in this topic, plenty of tweeters out there seemed to be wow’ed by the situation. !
Have you experienced anything out of the norm in clinic and did it help you apply your didactic knowledge? Write about it for local or national ASDA!
04/ 01/
Let’s face it, we’ve all had experiences in clinic like mine in urgent care involving excitement over something “weird.” As dental students, we quest for knowledge. We learn about dental anomalies in our didactic classes, but we really don’t understand it’s real until we see it for ourselves. Think about a YouTube video you’ve seen recently because a friend posted in on Facebook. Why do videos go viral? Why do we like to watch a baby getting emotional at the sound of his mother’s voice? The simple answer is because it’s something we’ve never seen before. The long answer, according to a TED talk by Kevin Alloca, is there is an algorithm for sharing on multiple sites. Now think about the craziest thing you’ve seen at school on a radiograph. How many times did you tell all of your classmates about it? Probably a lot. Maybe you endodontically treated a molar with DB-2 and bragged about the final fill radiograph to your classmates. All of your friends instantly ask you about your experience. We all desire a challenge and want to experience something “cool”. Just like a viral video, we’re drawn to weird dentistry because it’s new and exciting.! Reprinted with permission from ASDA Mouthing Off, Sept. 26th, 2014, !
Katie Sowa ’15.
01 / Retrieved From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2889938/Seven-year-old-boy-EIGHTY-teeth-removed-complaining-pain-upper-jaw.html!
!
!
05/
Update on Advocacy
Glennis Katzmark ‘17
Licensure - Why aren’t we more upset? Currently, I am honored to serve my class as ASDA Legislative Liaison. I do my best to express passion when I discuss issues such as student debt, midlevel providers, and access to care issues. I care about these issues a lot, and it is easy for me to get upset about them. However, I must attest that I have never really been that bothered with the licensure exam we know as the WREB. The main reason for this disconnect is likely that it seems so far away, and certainly careful planning, time management, and confidence in clinic can prepare you for the dreaded exam. Right?... Not necessarily.
This year at Annual Session I attended multiple lectures on this topic, and a fire has truly been ignited. Let me provide you with some food for thought, courtesy of National ASDA. There I was able to get educated on the this looming exam, and why ASDA is so vehemently opposed to its use. Issue #1: Finding that perfect lesion The loch ness monster, big foot, and the ideal WREB lesion. We have all heard of these entities, yet true sightings are rare. For you youngsters out there, the ideal WREB lesion is not quite to the DEJ but pretty close. You don’t want your lesion too deep and messy because you will automatically fail your exam if you don’t get every
bit of caries out, and of course the larger the lesion the more likely a pulped tooth. With this in mind dental students are looking for a moderately shallow lesion, ideally right next to the DEJ. Does anybody remember what radiographic evidence is required to open a carious lesion from operative? If you were paying attention the answer is contact or past the DEJ or > D1 lesion. Wait what? Are you saying that a test that is supposed to measure your ability to treatment plan forces students to do unnecessary procedures? YES! That is exactly what I am saying. In practice, you would more than likely attempt to remineralize and watch the tooth for further decay, and in reality if Continued on page 6
!
Are you interested in dental advocacy? Visit ASDA’s Engage page to take action! www.cqrcengage.com/asda/home
your patient has good compliance they would succeed in this endeavor. Issue #2: The treatment planning and patient safety With students so focused on getting a specific lesion, other problems in the oral cavity go overlooked. WREB examiners are also focused on this lesion, so much in fact that you could have an adjacent tooth with more serious issues that will be delayed in order to get a patient in for WREB. Again, this standard of testing is essentially forcing students to go AGAINST their better clinical judgement. We have to ask ourselves what this is saying to the public about our profession. If our admittance into this profession is through the
gates of a live patient exam, we are admitting that unethical behavior is acceptable in the profession. Students do things that they would NEVER do in a private practice or even in their student clinic, so why are we taking an exam that forces poor clinical judgment at the risk of patient safety? Issue #3: The Student Perspective I have always thought that good luck is truly good planning in disguise. Not in WREB world. I have spoken to students who had their patients rejected despite getting multiple approvals from faculty which results in automatically failing their exam. I have spoken to current FACULTY who have also failed their WREB exam because of an unforeseen occurrence, but clearly represent excellence
06/
in their field today. So the question is, what is this exam measuring anyway? Professionals and students alike will attest that it is in no way a measure of clinical skill. Students who have performed terribly in clinic pass just as readily as students who are at the top of their classes fail. The licensing board will tell you that the exam must be there to protect the public from unprepared students. However, the fact is one way or another ALL students eventually pass the WREB. So who is this exam protecting exactly? Everyone gets through it, and while they are getting through we are forcing patients to be guinea pigs in some sort of strange experiment. So the question is this, are you upset? Me too.
Before attending Annual Session, I had no idea how big of an impact ASDA would have on my life. We have all heard about the issues future dentists face, such as student debt, licensure exams, and midlevel providers. I had the opportunity to witness firsthand ASDA’s hard work, dedication, and passion when it comes to resolving these issues. As a first year student, it is easy to overlook these issues- they seem so far in the future. However ASDA has taught me that it’s never too early to take a stance on these important topics. ASDA members from all across the nation united to decide what issues are worth fighting for and where ASDA stands on the issues. Student debt is one of the top priorities of ASDA. According to the American Dental Education Association, the average dental student graduates with student loan debt up to $241,000. ASDA believes that this large amount can ultimately affect the dentists’ ability to follow their preferred career path. ASDA actively advocates for financially sustainable and longterm solutions. ASDA meets with Congress and state legislatures to discuss student debt and propose pass measures that include, but are not limited to, reducing student loan interest rates, increasing scholarship opportunities, and capping interest rates upon graduation. !
Kaylea Orsak | ‘18
07/
08/
02/!
Networking
As a first year dental student I truly did not understand the significance of ASDA. This year I was privileged to take part in the ASDA annual session. This was my first dip into ASDA fever town. I was able to witness the parliamentary process, elections, Gold Crown Awards ceremony, and the famous President’s Gala. At each of these events I was able to meet future dentists from all over the nation. Although majority students there were third and fourth years, I was still able to sit down and talk to
many first year students about the dental school life. My favorite topics we talked/vented about was gross anatomy, our awesome suction skills, and the fear boards exam. This sincerely was an amazing adventure that I wish every ASDA member could experience. There was so much comradery and pride for our profession; I genuinely will never forget my experience at the ASDA Awesome annual session. !
02/ http://www.careersprout.net
Sarah Woernley | ‘18
!
ASDA National Publications Have you ever wondered about the numerous publications that National ASDA provides? Who writes them? Where does the information come from? Well here is your answer! First, ASDA’s print publications include ASDA News, a monthly newspaper, Mouth, a quarterly journal, and a predental and dental student guide. In addition, the organization emails e-Newsletters including The Leader, Advocacy Brief, and Word of Mouth. Finally, there is the Mouthing Off Blog which can be viewed at asdablog.com. You probably didn’t realize that these articles can be written by just about anyone! From National leaders to predentals and all sort of dental students in between, writes have contributed their thoughts and stories to ASDA publications. Have you even wondered how you could have your ideas and thoughts published? Do you want to write for National ASDA? Visit this link at http://asdanet.org/howtosubmit.aspx If these resources aren’t enough, be sure the visit the Facebook page, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn pages to get your #ASDAfever on!
09/
!
ASDA ANNUAL SESSION UPDATE FEB. 18-22ND, 2015 floss
10/
Congratulations to our very own Adrien Lewis, D3 for being elected to the Executive Committee for the National ASDA organization!
The local UTSD ASDA Chapter won the Gold Crown Award for Outstanding Predental Involvement. Our chapter initiated the very first Explored UTSD Day, Interview Preparation Day, Soap Carving Workshop, and PredentalDental Student Mentor Program in 2014. In addition, funding was provided for a predental to the ASDA National Leadership Conference in Chicago, IL.
ASDA House of Delegates
11/
This year at Annual Session, I had the opportunity to serve as a voting member in the House of Delegates. Sitting in amongst the fellow representatives from the various schools across the nation was truly a great experience. Some of the resolutions that were brought forward included that of the adoption and encouragement for all dental schools to adopt a comprehensive needlestick/blood borne pathogen policy. This resolution came about due to the initial proposal last year at the 2014 Annual Session requesting ASDA to develop this needed policy. Other resolutions that were presented included: (the strike through represents eliminated text and bolded text represents additions made) • Pre-dental Application Process: ASDA encourages all U.S. CODA-accredited dental schools to accept a standard universal and affordable application that does not request supplemental material provided by the standard application and discourages the schools from requesting additional fees unless a requiring a supplemental application. • Rescission of Current ASDA statement of Position or Policy, D-# Policy, Evidence Based Dentistry: Rescission of this policy would allow an extension of the policy for it not only to include Student Research, but also to encourage schools to include EBD when structuring pre-clinical and clinical curricula. • Amendment to Current ASDA Statement of Position or Policy, Section A-4, Distribution of Grades: Amendment to the policy for it to read: It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that dental schools should distribute student grades in a manner that is timely and fully confidential • Amendment to Current ASDA Statement of Position or Policy, Section A-12, Curriculum Media Choice: An update in language as to reflect the current media
Tanya Sue Maestas ‘18
!
Continued)on)Page)13)
Continued)from)Page)12)
12/
choices available to dental students; The American Student Dental Association supports the individual student’s choice in purchasing either DVD electronic or traditional textbooks in conjunction with predetermined curriculum at each dental school. • Amendment to Current ASDA Statement of Position or Policy, Section B-3, Interdisciplinary Dental Education: Outdated terminology was removed for the policy to read: The American Student Dental Association supports opportunities for interprofessional education interdisciplinary experience, through participation in a team health care delivery approach within the dental school clinical and didactic curriculum. One efficient method of offering such team experiences is through a more cooperative and reciprocal didactic and clinical approach among the various health professional schools within the given medical center. • Amendment to Bylaws Article IV, Section 5 Term: An elected or appointed leader serves the term specified in leadership application materials. From the conclusion of the conclusion of the annual session following their election or appointment until the conclusion of the subsequent annual session. Member appointed to ADA councils or the ASDA delegation to the ADA House of Delegates serve the terms specified by the ADA. • Amendment to the Standing Rules of the House of Delegates, Section.1 Officers A. Speaker of the House: Amendment to the duties of the speaker of the House for it to read…. Serves as a nonvoting member of the House of Delegates and performs the following tasks: (followed by the traditional tasks already outlined in the standing rule) • Amendment to the Standing Rules of the House of Delegates, Section. 7., Elections B., Election Code of Conduct: a clause was added to include the use of social media for candidates who are campaigning. In addition there was a removal of “No corporate donations of any kind may be utilized” for it to read solely as: Candidates are only permitted to use their own personal funds for their campaign. Other non- consent calendar based resolutions: • Oral Health Literacy: Resolution to encourage the American Student Dental Association to support efforts to improve oral health literacy and include the term “oral health literacy” into CODA accreditation standards. • Action for Adult Medicaid Benefits: Resolution for the American Dental Association to encourage Congress to introduce and pass legislation that includes adult dental services in the federal Medicaid program. o The action on this resolution was for it to be referred to the 2015-2016 Council on Advocacy and a report be given during the 2016 Annual Session • Amendment to Current ASDA Statement of Position or policy, Section A-10, Dental Degree Designations: Amendment was made for it to read: The American Student Dental Association encourages the administrators of all U.S. CODA-accredited dental schools to confer the same a DDS or DMD degree for all U.S. dental schools upon graduation dental school graduates.
!
What did you Learn at Annual Session?
13/ !
When I first decided to go on this Boston trip for the ASDA convention, I wasn't sure what to expect. Most of us at school never really knew what ASDA actually did, but I had heard from the officers that these events are a great way to network and learn more about the dental community so that convinced me to try it out and I am so happy that I did. With so many dental students coming in from all across the country, it was a great opportunity to learn about their experiences and their perspectives on the variety of topics discussed. It was interesting to hear about how different the schools are from one another and to share outlooks on those differences. I thought it was pretty amazing to see hundreds of people who are so diverse, coming together and bonding over their shared interest in dentistry and I am glad that ASDA provided me the opportunity to be a part of that. I’m also particularly happy that I got to see my classmate Adrien Lewis become ASDA Vice President!! #ASDAawesome -Gazelle Shabani, ‘16
Attending the ASDA Annual Session this year was definitely an eye opening experience for me as to what ASDA actually is. It was amazing to see the work and passion that so many of these students apply to make the changes that we see back at the chapter level. I was able to get a perspective from a much grander level which gave me even more of an appreciation for all the decisions that are made. We were able to meet many students who faced the same challenges we did on a daily basis and connect with them about our common love for dentistry. It was also even more of an exceptional experience to watch one of my classmates and dear friends run for EC and win the national vice presidency. Overall, I'm so thankful I was able to see what ASDA is about and look forward to increasing my participation in the future. -Nour Amin, ‘16
Traveling to Boston for ASDA Annual Session showed me that the dental community is much larger than I ever imagined. I never expected to walk into a room with nearly 700 dental students from around the country. Here in Houston it is easy for me to get caught up in requirements and grades and to forget the real reason why we all came to dental school in the first place. Hearing students stories and seeing how passionate everyone was about dentistry helped me remember my reasons for starting this journey. I will admit that I was unsure about what ASDA really did, but I quickly learned that it simply is passionate dental students who want to have a voice in our profession. My favorite part was getting to know students from other schools and comparing our experiences, it is nice to know that other people are going through the same things you are and are surviving! GO TEAM ADRIEN! -Meghan McKee, ‘16
14/ Francisco Nieves ‘16
Annual Session Table Clinics
!
The 2015 ASDA Annual Session hosted its 3rd Student Research Poster Session at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston. Twenty-five posters were presented by dental students from ASDA chapters all over the country. Dental students had the opportunity to share and appreciate dental research with other ASDA members on topics diversely ranging from HIV discrimination in the dental clinic to the characterization of amelogenin formation in tooth development to suture knot techniques. Participating dental students presented to judges for 10 minutes and were asked five questions while competing for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize. ASDA Annual Session attendees could also submit votes to their favorite poster for the Student Choice Award. The winner of the Student Research Poster Session was recognized in red carpet fashion at the Gold Crown Awards. UTSD Houston students interested in participating in the 2016 ASDA Annual Session Student Research Poster Session in Dallas may contact their class ASDA representatives for more information. Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook ! #HoustonASDA
The UT School of Dentistry 7500 Cambridge St. Houston, TX 77054 !
UTSDASDA