GDA Action June 2013

ACTIONACTIONTHE JOURNAL OF THE GEORGIA DENTAL ASSOCIATION JUNE 2013

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American Academy of Facial Esthetics . . . . . . .9Atlanta Age Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2AFTCO Transition Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Atlanta Dental Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Center for TMJ Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Craniofacial Pain Center of Georgia . . . . . . . .29Dental Care Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95th Avenue Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32GDA Dental Recovery Network . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Georgia Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry . . . .11Georgia Dental Insurance Services . . . . . . . . .36Georgia Denture & Implant Specialists . . . . . .14Great Expressions Dental Centers . . . . . . . . . .31Heartland Dental Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Hospital Dentistry—Dr. Kurtzman . . . . . . . . . .27Law Office of Stuart J. Oberman . . . . . . . . . . .12National Practice Transitions, LLC . . . . . . . . . .30Dr. Mark Padolsky—TMD Dentist . . . . . . . . . .31

Paragon Dental Practice Transitions . . . . . . . .33PNC Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Professional Practice Management . . . . . . . . .29Robert Rutrick, DMD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17The Shaul Law Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Southeast Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33UBS Financial Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

index of advertisers

GDA ACTION (ISSN 0273-5989) The official publication ofthe Georgia Dental Association (GDA) is published monthly.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GDA Action at7000 Peachtree Dunwoody Road N.E., Suite 200,Building 17, Atlanta, GA 30328. Phone numbers in state are(404) 636-7553 and (800) 432-4357. www.gadental.org.

Closing date for copy: first of the month preceding publicationmonth. Subscriptions: $17 of membership dues is for thenewsletter; all others, $75 per year. Periodicals postage paidat Atlanta, GA.

Dr. David Bradberry Delaine HallGDA Editor GDA Managing Editor1070 Woodlawn Dr NE 7000 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd NESuite 250 Suite 200, Building 17Marietta, GA 30068 Atlanta, GA 30328

2012-13 Georgia Dental Association OfficersSidney R. Tourial, DDS, PresidentMarshall H. Mann, DDS, President ElectDouglas B. Torbush, DDS, Vice PresidentJames B. Hall III, DDS, Secretary / TreasurerR. David Bradberry, DMD, Editor

GDA/GDIS Executive Office Staff Members

Martha S. Phillips, Executive Director

Nelda Greene, MBA, Associate Executive Director

Delaine Hall, Director of Communications

Skip Jones, Director of Marketing (GDIS)

Courtney Layfield, Director of Member Services

Victoria LeMaire, Medical Accounts Manager

Judy Lively, Administrative Assistant (PT)

Melana Kopman McClatchey, General Counsel

Denis Mucha, Director of Operations (GDIS)

Margo Null, Property and Casualty Accounts Manager

Meg Robinson, Director of Governmental Affairs

Patrice Williams, Administrative Assistant

Phyllis Willich, Administrative Assistant

Pamela Yungk, Director of Membership & Finance

GDA Action seeks to be an issues-driven journal focusing on current mattersaffecting Georgia dentists, patients, and their treatment, accomplished throughdisseminating information and providing a forum for member commentary.

© Copyright 2013 by the Georgia Dental Association. All rights reserved. No partof this publication may be reproduced without written permission. Publicationof any article or advertisement should not be deemed an endorsement of theopinions expressed or products advertised. The Association expressly reservesthe right to refuse publication of any article, photograph, or advertisement.

10 ADA Launches Action Plan to

Address Access to Care Issues

13 Departing GRU Dental Dean

Connie Drisko Discusses

the State of Dental Education

18 Register for the GDA Annual Meeting

Held in Hilton Head Island,

South Carolina

4 Parting Shots

5 Editorial

6 News and Views

8 Calendar of Events

28 Classifieds

34 Minutes: Board of Trustees

House Bill 132, the GDA’s priority legislationthis year that passed the House andSenate and was signed by GovernorNathan Deal in June, moves the GeorgiaBoards of Dentistry and Pharmacy from theSecretary of State’s Professional LicensingDivision to the Department of CommunityHealth. Read the article on page 24 thatdiscusses what the dental board’s movemeans for Georgia dentists and patientsand how the licensure renewal process willbe affected this year.

ACTIONACTIONTHE JOURNAL OF THE GEORGIA DENTAL ASSOCIATION JUNE 2013

other features sections

on the cover

Member Publication American Association of Dental Editors

ACTION

V O L U M E 3 2 , N U M B E R 6 • J U N E 2 0 1 3

Note: Publication of an advertisement is not to be construed as anendorsement or approval by the GDA or any of its subsidiaries,committees, or task forces of the product or service offered in the

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4 GDA ACTIONJUNE 2013


All across the country, new dentists are graduat-ing and preparing for boards. They are planningadditional study, beginning military service,joining a practice, and launching solo careers.For the last year (can you believe it?) I havetalked about the notion of the “perfect storm”whirling around our esteemed profession. Iknow from talking to many practicing dentiststhat you are thinking about the issues I haveraised. Our new dentists are now facing thosewinds with us head on. What can we tell themabout the progress we are making to preparedentistry’s ship?

I hope that you contribute regularly to adental education scholarship fund, such as theEmile T. Fisher Foundation for DentalEducation in Georgia. The generations trainingto come after us in the profession are facing adebt storm. I am privileged to give back andeducate these fine students in a small way andthe amounts of dollars I’ve heard them discussseem unimaginable. I hear about loans of$150,000 and $200,000, and even ones north of$500,000. These students are borrowing on 20and 30-year notes and their costs go up everysemester.

The pressure to repay debt this high istremendous and will affect every practice deci-sion that new dentists make. A dentist mustproduce sufficiently to satisfy their debt burdenand starting a small practice slowly is simply notan option. In a free market vacuums are filledquickly by innovators. Such is the advent of cor-poration-based models of dentistry. They havesimply responded to economic needs of patientsand young practitioners and are picking uppatients and new graduates alike in their wake.Are we talking to colleagues who are just start-ing out about the importance of attending GDAmeetings and study club events? Are we com-municating with them about the importance ofpracticing the way they were taught and want tocare for patients, and not simply looking thebottom line as their top goal?

Meanwhile, practice costs are at an all timehigh, and the increases continue. When was thelast time you bought a supply say a month apartand did not pay at least slightly more on the sec-ond purchase? Are we finding ways to buy wise-ly? Are we talking to our younger colleaguesabout ways they can utilize GDA and ADA dis-

counts? Are we communicating with the GDAand ADA about ways we have found to savemoney and encouraging them to consider new,innovative endorsements?

New and established dentists are all feelingthe ever-increasing pressure of regulations. I’verun through the letters of this governmentalnightmare alphabet before. This arm of thestorm is expanding daily. I now have employeeswho spend hours complying with regulations,and large notebooks filled with material safetydata sheets and instructions on safety and priva-cy. My computers are secured, backed up, andencrypted to keep the wrong people out and theright in—or maybe it is the other way around. Ihave more passwords than all my limbs, fingers,and toes combined. I have resorted to using an“app” to keep up with them all, and nowmSecure is the software I use most.

The ADA is doing its best to counter theregulations thundering down from CapitolHill—I have seen staff and volunteer dentists inaction during the Washington LeadershipConference, for instance, educating legislatorsabout the punitive excise tax that is part of theAffordable Care Act. How often do you com-municate with your Congressional representa-tives? The ADA has talking points to shareabout key issues, and ways that you can becomeinvolved at the grassroots level to elect repre-sentatives and senators friendly to dentistry’sissues. Take a look at www.ada.org and find outwhat you can do.

Another lightning flash from the perfectstorm? Patients are seeking out regular dentalcare less and less. The GDA workforce censusof dentists across this great state demonstratedthat Georgia dentists are under-utilized, readilyavailable, and willing to provide care. The cen-sus demonstrated that patients are not evenfully utilizing our safety net public health clinics.Despite this fact, we have several large founda-tions and even some in our own professionadvocating for mid-level providers as the solu-tion to the access issue. The issue in Georgiaisn’t providers. It is in large part patient aware-ness. Our ADA recently launched the “Actionfor Dental Health: Dentists Making a

Welcome New Graduates

editorialperspective

R. David Bradberry, DMD

EDITORIALContinued on page 34

5GDA ACTIONJUNE 2013



Dr. Brian Gowasack, of Conyers, Georgia,recently donated two dental chairs, an x-raymachine, and office equipment to MercyHeart Health Clinic in memory of generalpractitioner Dr. Bill Roberts. Dr. Robertspassed away in January after suffering a strokeat the clinic while providing volunteer dentalcare to uninsured and low-income residentsof Rockdale County. Dr. Roberts maintaineda practice in Conyers until he retired in2010, and he and his wife Cheryl were regularvolunteers at the three-year-old charitableclinic. Dr. Wayne Kerr, Dr. Gowasack’sassociate, donated $1,000 to the clinic inmemory of Dr. Roberts. The clinic isalways in need of volunteers—interesteddentists may call Mercy Heart at (678)374-5132 for information

Dr. Leon Aronson of Savannah, a retiredorthodontist, is currently serving as the2013 International President of the

International College of Dentists. He mostrecently attended and addressed theConvocation and meeting of Section XII inChinese Taipei. Dr. Aronson’s recordedmessage to College inductees was also thesubject of the ICD’s first YouTube.comvideo posting. Kudos to this past GDApresident and Award of Merit honoree forcontinuing to work to better dentistry.

Dentists for Della, a student-operatedservice organization in the College ofDental Medicine at Georgia RegentsUniversity, has received the HorizonAward for being the university’s best newstudent organization.

The organization was established in2010 as a service initiative to provide oralhygiene to residents of Georgia WarVeterans Nursing Home in Augusta. Eachmonth, 20 to 40 dental students providebasic oral hygiene and denture care tonursing home residents, and the programwas recently expanded to include freeweekly basic dental treatment.

“Dentists for Della started as amonthly program that provided only oral

hygiene, but it has blossomed into aprogram where we raise money to providefree dental treatment to the veterans,” saidDr. Katharine Ciarrocca, Faculty Advisorfor Dentists for Della and AssistantProfessor in the Department of DiagnosticSciences at GRU.

In January, the college started aweekly rotation where basic dentaltreatment is provided to the nursing homeresidents at no cost. During the springsemester, dental students provided nearly$5,700 worth of free dental treatment.

The Dentists for Della program isnamed in honor of the late Dr. VictorDella-Guistina, a founding faculty memberof the College of Dental Medicine and wascreated by former dental students ChrisDeLeon, Ryan Fulchi, Ross Levine, andWilliam Bennett.

Georgia’s dental Alliance spouses grouphad a terrific turnout at the Alliance of theAmerican Dental Association nationalconference in Branson, Missouri, in April.

generalnews

NORTHERNDr. Gowasack

GRU CDMDentists for Della

ALLIANCENational ConferenceSOUTHEASTERN

Dr. Aronson

Dr. Brian Gowasack recently donatedthe dental equipment shown here aswell as additional items to Mercy HeartHealth Clinic in Conyers in memory offellow clinic volunteer Dr. Bill Roberts.Dr. Gowasack is pictured with SherylAdams, RDH; dental staff Marie Fusaro;and Cheryl Roberts, wife of the late Dr.Roberts. (Photo Credit: Sue Ann Kuhn-Smith, Rockdale Citizen)

ICD International President (and GDAPast President) Dr. Leon Aronson ofSavannah addresses a Convocationheld in Chinese Taipei in May (PhotoCredit: International College of Dentists).

GRU dental student Bob Wilson talks toa resident of Georgia War VeteransNursing Home in Augusta prior toperforming a dental screening. Thestudent-operated “Dentists for Della”program provides basic oral hygieneand denture care to individuals at thefacility.



Members Tammy Fussell (Georgiapresident), Janelle Kauffman, DebbieTorbush, Gigi Kudyba, Dr. Janine Bethea,Julie Vaughn, and Molly Bickford, as wellas GDA members Dr. Timothy Fussell,Dr. Ryan Vaughn, and Dr. Thom Kauffman,attended sessions on networking for success,the American Dental Association PoliticalAction Committee, and national legislativeissues, and enjoyed a tour of the Titanicmuseum in Branson as well as a silent auc-tion to benefit the Alliance’s Foundationfor Dental Health Education.

Kudos to Julie Vaughn who was one offour Alliance members selected as aBeulah K. Spencer Service Award honoree.“The Beulah” is a distinguished serviceaward that recognizes members who havebeen active for fewer than 10 years whoexemplify outstanding leadership andvolunteer spirit through excellence inservice and commitment to the Alliance.She and Dr. Ryan Vaughn live in FloweryBranch, Georgia, and she has helped plannumerous dental health education activitiesin the Northern District that have reachedhundreds of children.

GDA Alliance Beulah K. Spencer ServiceAward honoree Julie Vaughn, her GDAspouse Dr. Ryan Vaughn, and theyoungest of the couple’s four childrenPiper Annalee. Mrs. Vaughn received“The Beulah” award during a nationalAlliance conference in Missouri for herdental health education work.

GDA Alliance President Tammy Fusselland her GDA spouse Dr. TimothyFussell headed up a team of GDA andAlliance members who attended anational Alliance conference in April.

Dr. Janine Bethea (l) and Molly Bickfordwere part of the Georgia Alliance andGDA team that took part in a nationalAlliance conference in April in Missouri.


JULY 2013Thurs, July 4: GDA Office Closed forIndependence Day Holiday.

Mon, July 8: Northern District ExecutiveCouncil Meeting, GDA Office.

Fri, July 12: White Coat Ceremony, GRUCollege of Dental Medicine.

Sat, July 13: GDA Alliance Family Day atTurner Field.

Thurs, July 25: GDA House of Delegates,Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Thurs-Sun, July 25-28: GDA AnnualMeeting, Hilton Head, South Carolina.See www.gadental.org for registrationdetails.

AUGUST 2013Sat, Aug 10: GDA Board of TrusteesMeeting / Committee Orientation, GDA Office.

Sat, Aug 24: Northern District “Boots and Bling Ball,” Druid Hills Golf Club, Atlanta.

Sat, Aug 24: Special Olympics Special Smiles Dental Screenings, Warner Robins.

Tues, Aug 27: Western DistrictMembership Meeting and GDA Officer Visit.

SEPTEMBER 2013Mon, Sept 2: GDA Office Closed for Labor Day Holiday.

Mon, Sept 9: Northern District ExecutiveCouncil Meeting, GDA Office.

Wed, Sept 11: Northern District CEProgram, Villa Christina, Atlanta.

Thurs, Sept 12: Central DistrictMembership Meeting and GDA OfficerVisit, Macon.

Fri, Sept 20: Southwestern DistrictMembership Meeting and GDA Officer Visit, UGA Tifton Center.

OCTOBER 2013Thurs, Oct 10: Western District OSHACourse, Green Island Country Club,Columbus.

Thurs-Sat, Oct 10-12: ADA Fifth DistrictCaucus (GA, AL, MS Delegations)Meeting, Atlanta.

Wed, Oct 16: Northern District CEProgram, Villa Christina, Atlanta.

Mon, Oct 28: Northern DistrictMembership Meeting / GDA OfficerVisit, Villa Christina, Atlanta.

Thurs-Sun, Oct 31-Nov 3: ADA AnnualSession, New Orleans, LA.


Upcoming GDA / Dental Events




The ADA House of Delegates passed aresolution last year to retain a publicrelations firm in order to take theAssociation’s common sense messages onoral health to a wider public audience.In May 2013, the ADA with the help ofthe public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard launched an initiative thatpromises to tackle the dental access tocare issue on multiple levels. “Actionfor Dental Health: Dentists Making aDifference” (www.ada.org/8585.aspx)aims to reduce the numbers of adults andchildren with untreated dental diseasethrough oral health education, prevention,and providing treatment to people in needof care.

A press conference announcing theinitiative was attended by both dentists inCongress, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona andRep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, as well asADA President Dr. Robert Faiella, whonoted that Action for Dental Health isnational and coordinated in its scope andapproach, and is designed to address thedental health crisis in three distinct areas:

TARGET AREA: Provide care nowto people suffering with untreateddisease

• Reduce by 35 percent by 2020 the numberof people who visit the emergency roomfor dental conditions, by referring themto community health centers, privatedental practices, or other settings, wherethey can receive proper dental care.

• Implement in at least 10 states by 2015 along-term care program to improve theoral health of nursing home residents.

• Expand the ADA Give Kids A Smilelocal community programs to provideeducation, screening, and treatment tounderserved children in order to achievethe vision statement of Give Kids aSmile: the elimination of cavities inchildren under five by 2020.

TARGET AREA: Strengthen andexpand the public / private safetynet to provide more care to moreAmericans

• Help provide more care to people byhaving private-practice dentists contractwith Federally Qualified Health Centers,therefore increasing the numberpatients receiving oral health services175% by 2020.

• Fight for increased dental healthprotections and simplified administrationunder Medicaid by increasing by 10%the number of states that have stream-

lined their credentialing process to lessthan one month.

TARGET AREA: Bring dental healtheducation and disease preventioninto communities

• Ensure that 80% of Americans on publicwater systems have access to optimallyfluoridated drinking water by 2020.

• Increase from seven to 15 the number ofstates where Community Dental HealthCoordinators (CDHCs) are active by2015. CDHCs provide dental educationand prevention services to the communityand help people navigate the dentalhealth system.

During the press conference, Dr.Faiella noted that while dentistry hadmade great progress, there was still a“dangerous divide” in America betweenthose with good dental health and thosewithout. He stated that, “Our mission is toclose that divide. Good oral health isn’t aluxury. It’s essential.” To underline hisstatement, he pointed to the results of anApril 2013 “Dental Divide in AmericaStudy” conducted online within theUnited States by Harris Interactive onbehalf of the American Dental Associationthat found:

• Nearly half of lower-income adults saythey haven’t seen a dentist in a year orlonger. The majority of middle- andhigher-income wage earners (70 percent)have.

• Lower-income adults 18 and older aremore than two times as likely as middle-and higher-income adults to have had allof their teeth removed (7 percent vs. 3percent).

• Nearly one in five (18 percent) lower-income adults have reported that theyor a household member has soughttreatment for dental pain in anemergency room at some point in their

ADA Launches Action Plan to Address Access to Care Issues

During the press conference,

[ADA President] Dr. [Robert]

Faiella noted that while

dentistry had made great

progress, there was still a

“dangerous divide” in

America between those

with good dental health and

those without. He stated

that, “Our mission is to

close that divide. Good oral

health isn’t a luxury. It’s

essential.”




lives, compared to only seven percent ofmiddle- and higher-income adults.

• Only six percent of those low-incomeadults who went to the ER reported thatthe problem was solved in the ER.

• Even though the Affordable Care Actoffers little relief for adult Americanswho lack dental coverage, 40% of lower-income adults believe that health carereform will help them obtain dental care.(Editor’s Note: A recent ADA analysisfinds that only an estimated 5.3 millionadults are expected to gain extensive oralhealth coverage as a result of the ACA,almost all due to Medicaid expansion inthe few states that provide extensivedental benefits. In Georgia, Gov. NathanDeal has stated he has no plans for aMedicaid expansion due to state budgetconstraints. Currently, adult dentalMedicaid benefits in the state are limitedto emergency extractions. Pregnantwomen enrolled in Medicaid have someadditional services available.)

The 2013 Harris Interactive survey’sfindings echo prior research from multiple

sources. According to a new ADA HealthPolicy Resources Center analysis of 2010MEPS and U.S. Census data, 181 millionAmericans did not visit the dentist in 2010.Nearly half of adults over age 30 sufferfrom some form of gum disease, accordingto the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),and nearly one in four children under theage of five already have cavities.

What Does Action for DentalHealth Mean for Georgia?Now that the ADA has launched thisnational campaign, every state will beasked to seek progress in the areas target-ed for improvement. The GDA hasalready made progress in many of the tar-get areas, and will consider what directionto take in others.

“We are proud that 93 percent ofGeorgia’s community water systems arecurrently fluoridated,” said GDAPresident Sidney Tourial. “The GDACommittee for Oral Health in InstitutionalSettings is pursuing funding now to reachout to every nursing home facility inGeorgia and give facility staff tools theycan use to provide daily oral health care to

residents and know when to seek profes-sional dental care. We are also consideringhow we might develop partnerships andwork to divert patients with dental painaway from Georgia emergency depart-ments.

“Meanwhile, the GDA remains a con-sistent, effective advocate for Medicaiddoctors and patients at the state level,” Dr.Tourial continued. “Our most recent GiveKids a Smile Day featured 31 eventsstatewide and reached thousands of chil-dren. Our GDA workforce census standsas proof that we have sufficient dentists tocare for Georgians’ oral health and don’tneed mid-level providers.

“The GDA will need to take a hardlook at what additional resources we canallocate to tackle additional targets,” Dr.Tourial continued. “In the short term, weare glad that the ADA can bring importantdental issues to the forefront at a nationallevel. That allows us to capitalize on thisinitiative and continue conversations at thestate and local level and hopefully contin-ue to make progress in areas that makesense for Georgia.”





As Dean and Merritt Professor of theCollege of Dental Medicine at GeorgiaRegents University (AKA the MedicalCollege of Georgia, then Georgia HealthSciences University), Dr. Connie L.Drisko oversaw an increase in studentenrollment from 60 to 80 individuals perclass and directed the funding, design, andconstruction of a $112 million, 5-story,269,000-square-foot clinical facility thatopened in 2011. She is leaving her role asdean on July 1, although she will remainwith the school and pursue multiple spe-cial projects. Dr. Drisko spoke with GDAEditor Dr. David Bradberry in Marchabout the challenges faced by dentalschools nationwide, how GRU and theAugusta community have built bridges,and the special characteristic that identifiesGRU dental graduates.

GDA: What challenges face dentalschools that desire to thrive intoday’s climate?Dr. Drisko: Schools faced a huge challengea few years ago with recruiting and retainingfaculty, but over the last 10 years, I believethe primary challenge for most dentalschools has been balancing increasingcosts against decreasing resources andsupport, and running dental schools morelike businesses. For instance, state finan-cial support for Georgia RegentsUniversity (GRU) has decreased, so theuniversity must constantly identify newresources and be much more innovativeand discriminating in the way we use themoney we do have. The GRU College ofDental Medicine (CDM), for instance, hasonly seen a minimal increase in state sup-port over 10 years, but our operating costshave almost tripled. So the College hasbeen forced to make up almost $20 millionby bringing in money from clinics, tuition,and research.

This financial pressure is requiring alldeans and all dental schools, whether they’republic or private, to be extraordinarilygood at managing money.

Another challenge facing alreadycash-strapped schools is how to handleinfrastructure and equipment improve-ments. Since the economy’s beendepressed for so many years, universitieshave not been able to replace or renovatetheir dental schools. There are a lot of den-tal facilities, like our old school was, thatwere built in the 1960s and have had verylittle done to them. Many schools arebeing forced to patch up buildings withsemi-satisfactory renovations because theydon’t have the money to build or replaceolder facilities.

Dental schools are particularly con-centrating on creating simulation labs. Ifyou don’t have a simulation lab in today’sworld, students won’t come to your dentalschool. So many students scrutinize facili-ties now before they commit, and they’renot as likely to go to beat-up, worn-downschools. They want something that looksclean, neat, and cool.

GDA: Has the competition torecruit dental students changedduring your tenure? How success-ful has GRU been in recruitingdental students?Dr. Drisko: I think students primarilymake their schooling decision based onreputation and cost. We have some issuesto overcome with our school reputation-wise because we’re on our third name in10 years and we have to re-identify our-selves to people outside of Georgia whodon’t realize that we’re the old MCG. Weonly had the GHSU name for a couple ofyears. We have to re-brand ourselvesagain. We’re still the fantastic school we’vealways been, but people may not recognizeus.

GRU was asked recently to open upour dental school to non-state residents.This is a dilemma because we still havefour-and-a-half to five students within thestate for every slot we offer, so we send 80-something students out of Georgia to go to

dental school because we cannot accept allqualified students into our school. We willget up to 100 slots eventually, probably by2017, to help address that.

I am seeing more and more competitionto recruit under-represented studentsbecause some wealthy private schools areable to offer under-represented studentsfour-year scholarships. We accept manyhighly qualified under-represented stu-dents, but they get lured away with schol-arships. The most urgent need I see at theCDM is for scholarship money. We needendowed scholarship funds and that’sgoing to be a focus of our fundraising inthe future. Who is going to take on$150,000 to $200,000 in debt when theycan attend another dental school for free?

Dr. Connie Drisko Steps Down After 10 Years as Dental Dean: Challenges, Accomplishments,and Goals on the Horizon

DRISKOContinued on page 14

Dr. Connie L. Drisko will step down asdean of the College of Dental Medicinewithin Georgia Regents University onJuly 1. During her 10 years as dean, Dr.Drisko oversaw major expansions instudent enrollment and directed thefunding, design, and construction of a$112 million, 5-story, 269,000-square-foot clinical facility that opened in 2011.



GRU currently cannot offer anydental student a ‘full ride’ scholarship. Wedo have more students benefitting frommilitary scholarships that require serviceupon graduation, but apart from that, no.Students benefit from exposure to multiplescholarship opportunities, but the closestwe come to a full ride might be when theGeorgia Health Sciences Foundationfunds one scholarship every year for asophomore student, and that sophomoregets their tuition paid until they graduate.The Hinman Dental Society funds threeone-year full tuition scholarships forfreshmen. That is not nearly enough for 80students. GRU doesn’t have a problemgetting good students. We are reluctantlytelling good students we cannot acceptthem. However, we are losing goodstudents to scholarships at other schools.

GDA: How have you seen recenteconomic downturns affect GRU?Dr. Drisko: Students attending GRU willsee a 3.5 percent tuition increase for the

next fiscal year. The university has lost, Ibelieve, some 25% of our state dollars inthe last 5 to 10 years. That’s millionsof dollars. Our challenge is trying to keepthe cost of education down withoutimpacting the quality of education. We’vebeen able to lower costs by achievinginternal efficiencies. Just like in a privatedental office we must figure out how tobuy a product that’s just as good for alesser cost or buy that product in bulk. Theprocess is not easy, but you must figure outways to save money.

GDA: In what ways must the dentalschool make up for decreasedstate funding?Dr. Drisko: Trying to keep a healthy researchenterprise going without substantialfederal funds is very difficult to do. Thefederal government keeps cutting the NationalInstitutes of Health budget, so we findourselves going more to private foundationsto seek funding. That presents another setof issues because private foundationsoften don’t fund basic science ventures.

The school receives funding from theRobert Wood Johnson Foundation and

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. We’vebeen tremendously fortunate to receive$11 million from the Robert W. WoodruffFoundation over the last few years, $3 mil-lion for the new dental school building andan $8 million grant to help build an inter-professional state-of-the-art simulationcenter in GRU’s planned EducationCommons building. We are also pleasedthat some of the specialty foundationshave awards they give to new faculty.

We have also been fortunate toreceive grant funding to support some ofour important educational programs. Iwrote a grant with some of my facultymembers the first year I came that gotfunded—a Medicaid Administrative Grantthat totals $566,000 a year. We’ve had thatgrant renewed every year for the last eightyears. Dental students previously partici-pated in externships in private dentaloffices as part of their education. With thesupport of this grant funding, studentsprovide care for some 15,000 indigentpatients every year in public health clinics,FQHCs, or community health centersthroughout the state. This helps patientsand the state, gives the students valuabletraining, and helps the students develop

DRISKOContinued from page 13



their sense of community awareness. If welose this grant, we’d have to go digging foranother resource to continue to supportthose student rotations.

We are preparing to request a renewalfor a grant that Dr. Carole Hanes and Dr.James Barenie won for the dental schoolfrom the Health Resources and ServicesAdministration (HRSA). Through thisgrant, loan forgiveness funds totaling$50,000 annually are awarded for twodentists who agree to serve in a DentalHealth Professional Shortage Area. Wenow have 10 Georgia dentists benefittingfrom this grant working in underserved areasand devoting 50% of their practice tounderserved patients. These 10 dentists haveprovided hundreds of thousands of dollarsof unreimbursed care in exchange for$20,000 to $25,000 a year of loan forgiveness.

To me, loan forgiveness is the mostefficient and inexpensive way to getdentists in locations where you need them.When a dentist arrives and becomes partof the community, they find out that theycan make a nice living once they buildtheir base of patients. But again, it’s allgrant supported and subject to renewalsand budget pressures.

We’ve also benefitted from gifts fromdental companies. About five years ago wereceived a $6.2 million gift from NobelBiocare that allowed us to train our dentalstudents to place and restore implants,bring in a series of master clinicians to sup-port our academic program, and bring in amaster ceramist so we could grow ouraesthetic dentistry section. The companyrecently gave us another pledge to contin-ue to support our aesthetic program. Thisno-strings gift was a good fit because theschool had been using the company’sproducts for 20 years anyway. We arehopeful that the gift will be renewed.

Dental administrators must keepturning over every rock to find the nextdollar or two. As soon as you get onesource of funding going the next sourcedries up and you have to find a newresource to support a thriving program.

GDA: Ten years ago, the dental schoolconsistently reported difficulty inrecruiting dental faculty. Has thatchanged?Dr. Drisko: Well, faculty recruitment isstill a problem, but not at the magnitude it

used to be. About five or six years ago,there were approximately 400 dental facul-ty positions open nationwide. It’s nowdown to about 300, so the overall shortageof faculty has been reduced. At GRU wehave been very fortunate to recruit facultymembers when we’ve had open positions.Since I’ve been with the school, we’vegained 20 faculty positions as our class sizehas grown. I have seen 58 of our 74 facultymembers join during my 10 years as dean.

The challenge that remains is replacingfaculty members who are retiring andnearing retirement age. Some people thatwe’re hiring at GRU are coming from pri-vate practice with 20 years of experience.They are fabulous teachers, but the life oftheir remaining career isn’t as long as ifyou hired a faculty member right out ofdental school. We find ourselves constantlyrecruiting new blood. We have beensuccessful reaching younger facultymembers with young families because ofwhat Augusta offers. The city is affordablefor young families and the school systems

DRISKOContinued on page 16



are good. Say I am recruiting a facultymember from Pennsylvania. A family cansell their house there and come to Augustaand buy a house that’s 50 percent biggerand newer and have money left over. Thecity is diverse and highly educated thanksto the industries here—health care, themilitary, and the Savannah River NationalLaboratory—yet it has a small town feel.

GDA: Does GRU have a pressingfaculty need right now?Dr. Drisko: Pediatric dentists are reallyhard to come by because of the small num-ber of them that are trained every year andthe difference in compensation in acade-mia versus private practice. There are justnot enough of them around. Dentalschools in general don’t do a very good jobof attracting new graduates into teachingcareers. We covered that topic at deans’meetings and discussed ways to potentiallyexpose students to teaching while they’restudents so they might consider careers inacademics. They might find out teaching isreally their thing. People like to learn frompeople who are excited about what they’reteaching.

GDA: Could you talk about therelationship between the CDM andAugusta dentists?Dr. Drisko: I think it’s much better than ithas been in the past. All schools face thechallenge of trying not to create “town andgown” problems. I will say that ourAugusta dentists refer a lot of patients tothe dental school, particularly to our resi-dency programs. For example, if a patientcan’t afford an implant, but the patientneeds one, doctors will often send thatpatient to our residency programs wherethey can get a procedure done at areduced cost. Then the school sends thepatient back to the private practitioner. Wesee a lot of referrals to our endodontic,periodontic, and oral surgery departments.The school’s student program is able tohelp truly indigent patients as well.

I think many of the dentists who had

concerns early on about competition orclass size have seen the positive impact thedental school makes in the community andhow much access to care our faculty andstudents provide. We have many doctors inthe Augusta area who are supportivefinancial donors to the school.They’ve figured out that we’re a niceasset to have. Plus, they’re getting ourgood graduates. We have a few studentsgraduate every year who are from Augusta.If they decide to stay in Augusta thendoctors who are looking for associates canhire a person who already has a relationshipwith a lot of people in town.

GDA: Can you talk about therelationship of GRU and thedental school with the Augustacommunity?Dr. Drisko: GRU has the second biggesteconomic impact in the region. Weemploy 9,000 people and are home tonearly 10,000 students. We even have avice president for military affairs now whowas a commanding general. We have avery strong relationship with Fort Gordon.Many individuals in their dental programpursue their master’s degrees at GRU.Two days a week faculty members in ouroral surgery department assist with care ofsoldiers at the Fort. We also have facultymembers and students who work with thewar veterans’ home in Augusta to meet thedental needs of the residents. Now thatGRU and Augusta State have merged, we arecreating programs to help veterans go backto school and get their degree.

GDA: What are the characteristicsof a dentist who graduates fromGRU? What do they stand for?Dr. Drisko: They’re all serious about beingvery good dentists and well-rounded menand women of science. We’re so fortunateto have our own oral biology department.We’re one of the few dental schools in thecountry that have our own biology teach-ers, and we’re able to introduce scienceinto the students’ clinical care instructionall the way through their four years of col-lege. That foundation was created with thefirst faculty members hired at MCG byDean Judson Hickey. If they held a PhD,they had to go to dental school. If theywere a dentist and didn’t have a PhD, they

had to get a PhD. The whole premise withthe founding of the school was that the fac-ulty needed to be men and women of sci-ence so as to give the best oral care possi-ble. We graduate that kind of student.That shows on our board and licensingexams. We have 100% licensing exam successwithin the first year after graduation andit’s been that way for years. We even havea 95% first-time pass rate on our boardscores. Our students consistently scoreabove the national average.

We’re graduating diverse classes—that makes for more culturally competentstudents. Our students all graduate afterthorough exposure to community serviceafter working at charitable clinics. Thedentists who volunteer their time to super-vise students at these clinics give me feed-back that our students are amazing. We doan excellent job training our students inthe art of dentistry. I know that becausewhen we send our residents all over thecountry and I meet those residency programdirectors at national meetings, or meetwith their military colleagues, they alwayssay, ‘we don’t need to worry about you.Your school has a strong reputation.’

I would go to any of our graduates asa patient. We train really good people.They stand for quality, fairness, and beinginvolved in organized dentistry. They seethe members of the GDA as role modelsbecause they’ve had such a positive experi-ence while they’ve been in dental schoolwith all the activities the GDA supports.You can see that with the percentage ofour students who join the GDA as soon asthey graduate. I am already seeing some ofmy recent graduates serving in the GDAHouse of Delegates.

GDA: You have achieved manygoals during your tenure. Isthere a goal left that you mighthave wished for more time toaccomplish?Dr. Drisko: I’ve not been successful ingetting a new research building for myresearch faculty—yet. I’m working on that.We haven’t had the funds to bring inmore research faculty but we’ve got thefoundation for expansion ready and wehave people lined up to come in. Weshould have some high-end recruitmentsthat should happen in the next fewmonths. We’re getting there.

DRISKOContinued from page 15



GDA: What are your personal andprofessional plans for the future asyou step down? Will you continueinvolvement in dental activities atthe state and national level?Dr. Drisko: I’ve been invited to spend halfof my time as a special assistant to theGRU senior vice-president for developmentand community relations. I’m staying infund-raising. The other part of my timewill be devoted to handling special projectsfor the provost like leadership training. Iam the current president of the GeorgiaSociety of Periodontists and I’ll chair theJoint Commission on National DentalExaminations next year. I serve on theboard of the ADEAGies Foundation,which is the foundation for the AmericanDental Education Association. I haveseveral irons in the fire.

GDA: What advice would you leavewith the CDM and those leaderswho come after you?Dr. Drisko: Keep your ears on. Listen tothe stake-holders, the community, organizeddentistry, and your alumni. Pay attentionto what’s important to your students andyour faculty, and then act when you needto and make something happen. Be as fairas you possibly can. I pride myself onbeing known as a very fair dean. It isimportant that your own agenda doesn’tget in the way. Maintain a good relationshipwith the various stake-holders andlearn to manage them in positive ways. It’schallenging. You have to figure out ways towork out differences and come out friends.It is extraordinarily important that youmanage up well, and that you have apresence on the whole campus. The dentalschool must be seen as a contributor to thewhole university, the whole enterprise.Make sure that the leadership is aware ofall the good work that dentists do and howimportant the dental school is to the whole

campus. And keep a really nice, lovingspouse like I have with Dick Drisko whohas been so supportive of me through allthis time.

GDA: What do you believe is yourmost significant accomplishment?Dr. Drisko: What I’ll remember the mostis enhancing the visibility of the school inall the ways that I wanted it to be visible.When I first arrived 10 years ago, I calledthe dental school the “hidden jewel of theSouth.” I don’t think we’re so hidden anymore. We have a lot to be proud of. I thinkI’ve been a good cheerleader for theschool and made people aware of some-thing that was already very good. As I trav-eled to do the fund-raising that went alongwith building our new school I got to knowa lot of people. That was the perfectopportunity to educate everybody on whata great school we have here.















House Bill 132, the GDA’s priority legislationthis year that passed the House and Senateand was signed by Governor Nathan Dealin May, moves the Georgia Boards ofDentistry and Pharmacy from theSecretary of State’s Professional LicensingDivision to the Department of CommunityHealth. This article discusses what thedental board’s move means for Georgiadentists and patients and how the licensurerenewal process will be affected this year.

Q: What exactly does HB 132 doregarding the Georgia Board ofDentistry?

A: As of July 1, 2013, the Georgia Board ofDentistry (BOD) will no longer be part ofthe Professional Licensing Board Division(PLBD) of the Georgia Secretary of State’sOffice in Macon. Just like the GeorgiaComposite Medical Board, HB 132 attach-es the BOD to the Department ofCommunity Health for administrative pur-poses only. The Board will continue tooperate in the same manner. They willhold monthly meetings, oversee dentalcomplaints, and continue to institute andenforce the dental rules and regulations inthis state.

Q: What does it mean for the BODto be “administratively attached”to DCH?

A: This means that DCH will provide theBoard with office space, personnel, andprovide other basic functions. However,the BOD will have its own budget andmanage its own operations. The DCH willnot have any oversight over the BODoperations except to approve the hiring ofthe executive director. With the exceptionof the budgetary process, this level of over-sight is virtually identical to the oversightthe BOD had under the auspices of theSecretary of State’s PLBD.

Q: What are the benefits of theBoard becoming attached to DCH?

A: The move will allow the public to bebetter served by the BOD. So many stateagencies are being required to do morewith less. This includes the Secretary ofState’s office. Because of budget cuts andscarce resources for the PLB Division, theBoard had been unable to appropriatelyfulfill its purpose of protecting the public.Calls from the public were going unan-swered. Too few investigators meant thatdental complaints were not beingreviewed and explored in a timely manner.There have also been reports that dentistscalling the Board would often have to stayon hold for inordinately long periods oftime. When finally getting through to anemployee of the PLBD, the employee hadno specific knowledge about dental rulesand requirements and could not provideassistance. One goal of transferring theBoard to the DCH is to ensure that theBoard had a sufficient number of investi-gators who are dedicated to pursuing den-tal complaints. Another was to ensure thatanyone who calls the Board could reach anemployee who had the knowledge to assistthe caller in a timely fashion. Finally, theBoard will have authority to submit its ownbudget request to the legislature. Doing sowill enable the Board to more appropriate-ly plan for its operational needs.

Q: Does this move give the Boardmore oversight over dentists anddental hygienists?

A: No. The Board’s rule making authorityand oversight over dentists and dentalhygienists will not change at all. No addi-tional power has been given to the boardregarding instituting rules and regulationsthat affect the practice of dentistry.

How the Dental Board’s Move to the Department of Community Health Affects the Profession and Patients

Because of budget cuts and

scarce resources for the PLB

Division, the Board had been

unable to appropriately fulfill

its purpose of protecting the

public. Calls from the public

were going unanswered. Too

few investigators meant that

dental complaints were not

being reviewed and explored

in a timely manner. There have

also been reports that dentists

calling the Board would

often have to stay on hold

for inordinately long periods

of time … Once the transition

is complete, patients and

professionals should find

that the Board will be more

accessible.

DEPT. OF COMMUNITY HEALTHContinued on page 26



Q: Who are the members of theGeorgia Board of Dentistry?

A: To acquaint the membership with your Board of Dentistry,

below are brief biographies of each member.

Dr. Richard Bennett practices general dentistry in Gainesville inthe Northern District. He received his dental degree from theMCG School of Dentistry in Augusta. In addition to his GDA andADA membership, he is a member of the Academy of GeneralDentistry and the Hinman Dental Society. Dr. Bennett also serveson the board of the Emile T. Fisher Foundation for DentalEducation, is chairman of Good News Clinics’ Leadership Board,and is a board member and clinical assistant professor atGeorgia Regents University. He was recently named a GDACommunity Service honoree for his work with the Good NewsClinics.

Rebecca Bynum, RDH, is a state licensed dental hygienistworking with Azalea City Family Dentistry in Valdosta. She is amember of the Valdosta Board of the American HeartAssociation, as well as various other community and civic organ-izations. Ms. Bynum earned an Associate of Science degree indental hygiene from Darton College and has completed addition-al studies at both the University of Alabama and the University ofMadrid, Spain. She was appointed to the Board by Gov. Deal in2011.

Dr. Rebecca Carlon owns a general dentistry practice in Albanyand is a member of the Southwestern District. She was previ-ously the Supervising Dentist of the Department of DentalHygiene at Darton College and an Assistant Professor,Department of Restorative Dentistry, at the MCG School ofDentistry. She received her dental degree from Emory UniversitySchool of Dentistry and a Fellowship Award from the Academy ofGeneral Dentistry in 2000. She and her husband, Dr. DanielCarlon, have two children.

Dr. Randy Daniel has been a private practice dentist inStockbridge in the Northern District since 1984. He is a memberof the medical staff of Henry Medical Center. Dr. Daniel is a GDAHonorable Fellow and received the President’s Award from theNorthern District Dental Society for outstanding service to thedental profession. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’sdegree from the College of William and Mary and a dental degreefrom the Medical College of Virginia.

Ms. Connie Engel is the lay person member of the board. She isa partner for the Atlanta division of Childress Klein Properties. In2010, she received the Award of Excellence from NAIOP, a com-mercial real estate development association, for her career in thecommercial real estate industry. Engel is the former president ofCommercial Real Estate Women and the Georgia Chapter ofNAIOP. Her other community related responsibilities includebeing elected as a board member and treasurer of theCumberland Community Improvement District. Engel was select-ed to serve on the Board of Trustees for Kennesaw StateUniversity in 2005, and in 2007 she became chairperson of theirreal estate committee.

Dr. Tracy Gay has practiced dentistry with Middle Georgia FamilyDentistry since 2001 and is a member of the Central District. Heis a graduate of Georgia Southern University and the MCG

School of Dentistry. He and his wife, DeLynn, have two children.They reside in Dublin.

Dr. Thomas Godfrey practices general dentistry in Atlanta in theNorthern District. In addition to his ADA and GDA membership,he is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and theAmerican College of Forensic Examiners. Dr. Godfrey is a lifemember of the Georgia Tennis Association, the Southern TennisAssociation, and the United States Tennis Association. He grad-uated with a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a den-tal degree from the MCG School of Dentistry.

Dr. Stephan Holcomb has been in private, general practice since1974. He practiced in Warner Robins for 34 years and is currentlypracticing at Dental Associates of Middle Georgia in Byron. He isa Central District member. He serves as chair of the RobinsRegional Military Affairs Committee and the Joint Commission onNational Dental Exams. Dr. Holcomb also serves as a medicalforensic examiner for the Georgia Crime Lab. He served aspresident of the Central District Dental Society, the RobinsRegional Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Regional TestingAgency, and as chair of the Warner Robins Cancer Society.He is a GDA Honorable Fellow and Medical College of Georgia(MCG) Distinguished Alumni honoree. Dr. Holcomb received abachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha anda dental degree from MCG.

Dr. Logan Nalley has practiced prosthodontics in Augustasince 1980 and is a member of the Eastern District. He hadenlisted service in the U.S. Navy and retired from the U.S. ArmyReserve as a Lt. Colonel. His bachelor’s degree is from NorthGeorgia College and his dental degree and prosthodonticcertificate are from the MCG School of Dentistry. Dr. Nalley is aGDA Honorable Fellow and MCG Distinguished Alumni honoree.He has served as a Dental Examiner for the Southern RegionalTesting Agency and The Northeast Regional Board, and current-ly examines for The Central Regional Dental Testing Service. Heis a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, Fellowof the American College of Prosthodontists, American College ofDentists, and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.

Dr. Barry Stacey has practiced in Cobb County since 1977. Heattended the University of Georgia and the University ofAlabama, Birmingham School of Dentistry, graduating in 1972.He served in the U.S. Army Dental Corps in Ft. Riley, KS. Hecompleted his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at UABHospitals and Clinics in 1977. He was elected as a GDAHonorable Fellow in 2000 and is a member of the GeorgiaSociety of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and SoutheasternSociety of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He served asPresident of the GSOMS from 1994-1996. He is a Fellow of theAmerican Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons,American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, AmericanDental Society of Anesthesiology, National Dental Board ofAnesthesiology, and Pierre Fauchard Academy.

Dr. Bert Yeargan is a practicing dentist in Brunswick in theSoutheastern District. He attended Brewton-Parker, where hewas drafted to play professional baseball. He later attendedAuburn University, where he earned a B.S. degree in BuildingScience. After several years in construction, he attended theMedical College of Georgia. He graduated in 1983 with his den-tal degree and began practicing in Brunswick. He is active in theRotary Club and the Glynn County Dental Society.



Q: What changes will dentists,dental hygienists, and patientsnotice once the Board transitionsto the DCH?

A: Once the transition is complete,patients and professionals should find thatthe Board will be more accessible.Personnel will be versed in dental issuesand able to assist callers. Investigations of

complaints will also be completed in atimely manner. Another change which mayoccur is an increase in licensure fees. TheGDA reported during the session that inorder to fund this change, the licenserenewal fee for dentists may increase byup to $175 per biennium. To ensure greaterservices to the public and licensees, theBoard will need to generate additionalrevenue. The GDA will continue toreport on the Board’s transition and offerguidance to dentists and dental hygienistsonce the biennial licensure renewalprocess begins this fall.

Q: Where will the Georgia Board ofDentistry be located beginningJuly 1, 2013?

A: The BOD will move from its currentphysical office location in Macon to down-town Atlanta at 2 Peachtree Street in the30303 zip code by July 1. This is the samelocation as the Georgia CompositeMedical Board. The Board has hired Ms.Tanja Battle to be the Board of Dentistry’sexecutive director. Ms. Battle will alsoserve as executive director for the GeorgiaBoard of Pharmacy.

DEPT. OF COMMUNITY HEALTHContinued from page 24

Gov. Nathan Deal signed House Bill 132 into law in May. Attending to witness the signing on behalf of dentistry (pharmacy boardrepresentatives are shown on the governor’s right) were bill sponsor Rep. Lee Hawkins (a Gainesville dentist); Sen. Butch Miller(who carried the bill through the Senate); GDA President Dr. Sidney Tourial; BOD members Dr. Richard Bennett, Dr. Randy Daniel,Ms. Connie Engel, Dr. Tom Godfrey, and Dr. Steve Holcomb; Mrs. Robin Holcomb; BOD and BOP Executive Director Tanja Battle(second from left); Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Dr. Jack Bickford; and GDA staff members Martha Phillips (ExecutiveDirector), Nelda Greene (Associate Executive Director), Melana McClatchey (General Counsel), and Meg Robinson (Director ofGovernmental Affairs).





Dental Equipment

6 orthodontic / pedodontic dentalchairs for sale. Unitek / Metal craft brandwith pump bases and electric backs. Lightblue vinyl color in good condition. Willemail photos. Four chairs have gray plasticbacking and two cream colored. Willdivide. $600.00. Email: [email protected].

Dental Related Services

Hands On Extraction Class—June 30-July 5, 2013 in Guatemala. Participantswill learn about crane picks, 301 elevators,extraction techniques, elevating flaps,and suturing. Forty hours accepted forFAGD / MAGD credit on live patients.For complete information call oremail Dr. Murph at (843) 488-4357 [email protected].

X-RAY SAFETY COURSE FORDENTAL ASSISTANTS: Special $99.95for limited time. Save $60.00! TakenONLINE in the convenience of home!Also great for RDH Continuing Educationcredit recognized by the Georgia Boardof Dentistry. Make sure your assistantsare legal. Don’t risk a possible spot inspectionand citation. Order at www.gaxray.com/gdausing Coupon Code “gda” when checking out.

Dentists Availablefor Locum Tenens

Dentist will fill in for illness, vacation,or continuing education. Licensed,insured, DEA #. Call (404) 786-0229 oremail [email protected].

classified ads

How GDA members canplace classified ads

AD FORM: Submit all ads on a GDA ClassifiedAdvertisement Form. To obtain a form,call Skip Jones at (800) 432-4357 or(404) 636-7553, or email [email protected].(Note: The GDA may accept or reject anyad for any reason and in its sole discretion.)

AD DEADLINE: Ads and ad check payments are due by thefirst of the month before the publicationmonth (i.e., Dec. 1 for January).

AD RATES: ADA member dentists pay $75.00 per60-word ad per month. There is a 25 centsper-word charge for each word over 60.Non-dentist-owned companies (real estatefirms, etc.) pay $195 per 60-word ad permonth (additional word charges as above).Non-member dentists may notplace ads.

LATE FEE:Ads for which full prepayment is notreceived by the first day of the ad’spublication month (i.e.; Nov. 1 for aNovember ad) will incur a $25 late fee inaddition to the ad rate.

FORMS OF PAYMENT: Submit a check or money order with the adform. (Make checks payable to GDA.)Credit cards are not accepted as payment.

WEB SITE PLACEMENT: Prepaid ads will appear on the GDA Website www.gadental.org for the month thead appears in print. Non-prepaid ads willNOT be placed online.

CLASSIFIEDSContinued on page 30





DENTIST: Need Part Time Fill In?Vacation, Illness, Maternity? GENERALDENTIST SOLD LONG ESTAB-LISHED PRACTICE. GA & DEALICENSED. (Available Expanded AtlantaArea.) Cell: (404) 219-4097. Home: (404)842-1196. Jesse Hader, DDS.

Dentist available during emergencies,vacation, CDE courses. I have a currentlicense, DEA certificate, and insurance.Contact me at (706) 291-2254 or cell (706)802-7760. I hope I can be of service to you.Patrick A. Parrino, DDS, MAGD.

Positions Available

General Dentist Needed: LaGrange,GA. We are looking for a General Dentistto join our team in a part-time position.We practice a wide range of dentalprocedures. Please email resume to: [email protected] or fax to: (706) 885-9940.

Associate Dentist Needed: Generalfamily practice with locations in PeachtreeCity and Newnan looking for a part-timegeneral dentist. Two days per week withfuture growth. Candidate must practice allaspects of dentistry. Please email resumeto [email protected].

GEORGIA – ATLANTA. Multiple pedi-atric dental offices in Metro Atlanta areseeking pediatric dentists and general den-tists to work in an extremely successful,expanding business. We offer a team moti-vated working environment and a compet-itive salary. We believe in a high level ofpatient and parent education and makingsure that children have an excellent dentalexperience at each visit. Our practice pro-vides all levels of care, including oral seda-tion, IV sedation, and general anesthesia atlocal hospitals. Candidate must have excel-lent communication skills, be enthusiastic,and be motivated. For more informationplease call (678) 923-4466 or [email protected] our web site at www.dentistry4chil-dren.com.

Full time associate dentist needed fora fee-for-service practice focused oncomprehensive dentistry and great patientservice in Stockbridge, GA. Associate toreplace a retiring dentist and will take overhis existing patient base. Applicants shouldbe experienced with implants, root canaltreatment, extractions, dentures, and par-tials. Office has great stable staff with mostemployed over 10 years. Ideal candidateshould be looking for long term associate-ship and establishing a relationship withthe patients. Options available for futurepartnership or buyout. Email CV / resumeto [email protected].

Mature family practice in GwinnettCounty seeks independent dentist for1-2 days a week. Well equipped modernoffice. Great staff. Bonus. Excellent oppor-tunity! Send resumes to: [email protected].

CLASSIFIEDSContinued from page 28



Do you have a love for kids? We areseeking a skilled Pediatric Specialist orGeneral Dentist with pediatric experienceto join our successful, quality-oriented,multi-location practice. We are offering acompetitive salary, health insurance,401(k) plan, paid vacation, malpracticeinsurance, and CE and professional organ-ization allowance. If interested, pleasesend your C.V. to [email protected] call (770) 497-0110.

ATLANTA / DUNWOODY AREAORAL SURGEON ASSOCIATE:#8887—Board certified / eligible OMSneeded immediately. For more informa-tion, call Dr. Earl Douglas (770) 664-1982or email [email protected].

WEST GEORGIA PEDIATRIC ASSO-CIATE NEEDED: #8906. For moreinformation, call Dr. Earl Douglas (770)664-1982 or email [email protected].

Associate Dentist Needed: Busy generaldentistry practice NW of Atlanta is lookingfor an associate to add to our practice.Immediate full time employment; must beskilled and practice all aspects of generaldentistry. Our office is a beautiful, modernfacility with an experienced staff. Comejoin us! Please email [email protected] or call (770) 546-2775.

SAVANNAH: General dentist with a car-ing, patient focused approach to join busypractice. Associate and / or buy-in oppor-tunities are available. Please contact NickCease, 502-254-8514, [email protected].

Pediatric Dentist Needed: We have anoutstanding full time opportunity for aPediatric Dentist in our successful, well-respected, quality-oriented private pedi-atric dental practice for the right candi-date. We are seeking a special, motivated,personable full time pediatric dentist tojoin in our success. We are a booming prac-tice with tremendous growth and earningpotential. We offer in office sedation. Weoffer excellent compensation and benefits.For more information, please contact Dr.Vishant Nath at (678) 763-2600 or [email protected] or you cancontact Amanda at (678) 352-1090 or (678)352-1090 / (678) 429-9931.




Coast Dental is one of the largestproviders of general and specialty dentalcare in the United States with practices inCalifornia, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, andTexas. Coast Dental is currently look-ing for General Dentists andSpecialist to practice in the greaterAtlanta area. We have full and part-timeopportunities available for experienceddentists to practice where contributionsare valued and the sky is the limit onopportunities to grow. Coast Dental offerscompetitive wages with sign-on bonusesavailable for select locations, a greatbenefits package and a chance to workwith advanced technology and devotedpeople who take a visionary approach tomaking every patients smile a work of art.If you are interested in an opportunity inone of our practices, please email [email protected] or apply online atwww.coastdental.com/careers/dentists.

Practices /Office Space Available

Fantastic Fayetteville Opportunity!Build or expand the practice of yourdreams in this large dental suite compris-ing 3,600 square feet, rent part or all.Ideally located in affluent neighborhoodwith high visibility on Hwy 85. Equippedwith 11 operatories, extensive closet space,dark room, kitchen, restroom, and office.Great landlord! Available immediately,incentives offered. Contact Peter at (907)250-8822 or [email protected].

Available Dental Spaces for Specialist!Stockbridge, Fayetteville, Duluth, andRiverdale locations. Ideal for PediatricDentist, Periodontist, Endodontist, or OralSurgeon looking to add satellite location ornew startup. Already plumbed & fullyequipped with 4 operatories and room for2-3 more. Save time and money by sharingspace in these new multi-specialty locations.Contact us at: [email protected].

Available: NORTH ATLANTA #8897—Gross Collections $1.57M; COLUMBUSAREA #8824—Gross Collections $389K;ATLANTA ORAL SURGERY #8887—Gross Collections $1.1M; ATLANTA PERIO#5241—Gross Collections $1.3M. Formore information, call Dr. Earl Douglas(770) 664-1982 or email [email protected].

South Georgia: High net practice,$850,000 gross. Insurance and FFS 60%with 4 ops. Hunting, fishing, and golf paradise.Call Dr. John Wagner (636) 517-1136.

Available: CANTON: Beautiful officegrossing $393,000, 4 operatories. LAKEOCONEE AREA: Exceptional opportunity,grossing $823K. NORTH ATLANTA:Gorgeous new facility with 6 operatories,grossing $1.4M with high volume of cos-metics and implants. WOODSTOCK:Beautiful 5 operatory office grossing$400K. Richane Swedenburg, New SouthDental Transitions: (770) 630-0436 [email protected]. Check newlistings, www.newsouthdental.com.







President Sidney Tourial called the meetingto order on April 6, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. Afterthe invocation and pledge of allegiance tothe flag led by Dr. Byron Colley,Secretary/Treasurer Dr. Jim Hall called theroll and declared a quorum. Present: Dr.Sidney Tourial, presiding; Drs. DavidBradberry, Robert Carpenter, Byron Colley,Brad Hall, Jim Hall, Jim Hutson (for StanHalpern), Jay Harrington, Ben Jernigan,Mike Loden, Marshall Mann, Greg Morris,Robin Reich, Ben Duval (for Julie AnnRouthier), Steve Sample, Ched Smaha, EdSmith, Doug Torbush, Mike Vernon, CarolWolff. Absent: Dr. Erik Wells; Visitors: Drs.Elizabeth Lewis and Richard Weinman.GDA staff: Martha Phillips, Nelda Greene,Delaine Hall, Skip Jones, CourtneyLayfield, Meg Robinson, MelanaMcClatchey, Phyllis Willich, Pam Yungk.

Minutes: The minutes of the January 12,2013, meeting were approved by generalconsent.

President’s Report: Dr. Tourial stated thatDr. Jim Reynierson has resigned from theADA Delegation. He thanked Dr.Reynierson for his many years of dedicatedservice on the Delegation and for his tenureas Delegation Chairman.

ADA Delegation: Due to the resignationof Dr. Jim Reynierson as the EasternDistrict’s Delegate, the Eastern Districtnominated Dr. Mike Vernon to fill the unex-pired term of Dr. Reynierson (expires 1/14).[13-4.01] Dr. Marshall Mann moved toapprove the nomination of Dr. Mike Vernonto fill the unexpired term (January 2014) ofDr. Jim Reynierson on the ADA Delegation.The motion passed unanimously.

Governmental Affairs Committee: TheBoard recognized the efforts of those den-tists participating in the LAW Day Program.The District Challenge for LAW Day waswon by the Central District. Following arethe district percentages for participation ofdistrict membership in LAW Day:Central—12%; Northwestern—7%;Southwestern—6%; Northern—4%;Eastern and Western—3%; Southeastern—0.

Public Relations Committee: Dr. RobinReich presented action items from theCommittee’s March conference call andasked for ratification of these items:

[13-4.02] Dr. Robin Reich moved for theGDA to contract with the Colorado DentalAssociation for a 12 month period to pro-vide the Business Brief videos via email toGDA member dentists. The motion passedunanimously.

Dr. Reich presented the proposed policyconcerning skyscraper ads on the GDA website. The recommended policy is to incen-tivize GDA Action advertisers to sign a sixor 12-month contract for display ads inGDA Action and then they can purchase askyscraper ad on the GDA web site for anadditional cost. Advertising will not be onthe home page and dentists’ practice adswill not be listed. [13-4.03] Dr. Robin Reichmoved to approve the GDA web site adver-tising policy as presented. The motionpassed unanimously.

Adjourn: Being no further business, themeeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Unofficial Minutes of the April 6,2013, Board of Trustees Meeting

board minutes

Only the persons present, resolutions passed, and key issues discussed at this meetingare printed in this journal. For full minutes, visit www.gadental.org. If you do not haveInternet access, contact Phyllis Willich at (800) 432-4357 for a copy of the minutes.

NORTH FULTON COUNTY: Small,well-established practice in a great location!Consistently collecting $300K. Doctor toretire and building is for sale. Please call oremail for details using reference #GA1032.For more information call (678) 482-7305,email [email protected],or visit www.southeasttransitions.com.

COBB COUNTY GEM: Long term,bread & butter practice, in a fantastic loca-tion with lots of room for growth! Staff willstay on after the transition. Don’t miss outon this great opportunity to grow in a verydesirable area! Please call or email fordetails using reference #GA1031. Formore information call (678) 482-7305,email [email protected],or visit www.southeasttransitions.com.

Difference” campaign to reduce the num-bers of adults and children with untreateddental disease through oral health educa-tion, prevention, and providing treatmentto people in need of care. That is a positivestep to get the message out to our commu-nities that dentists can provide the bestcare and are there for them day and night.Are you sharing information about thecampaign with your colleagues and thosein your community? Are you talking withconsumers about the ADA’s 2min2x cam-paign that encourages caregivers to brushchildren’s teeth two minutes two times aday and see a dentist?

During my first year as editor, I havebeen blunt about the challenges we face.The storm is here. We must act to educatethose inside and outside the profession sothat when the winds subside we are still astrong and highly reputable profession.Graduates, welcome to the profession.Please add the preservation of your profes-sion to your to do list.


EDITORIALContinued from page 5



Suite 200, Building 17, 7000 Peachtree Dunwoody RoadAtlanta, Georgia 30328-1655

www.gadental.org

ACTIONInside This Issue

• Register for the GDAAnnual Meeting by July 1

• GRU Dental Dean Dr. Connie Drisko Discusses Her 10 Years of Leadership

DATED MATERIALPLEASE DELIVER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE


Documents

GDA Action June 2013