President Magruder and new board member Ron Winkler

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The A.T. Still University (ATSU) Board of Trustees met October 17 in Kirksville, Mo., during Founder’s Day weekend for its quarterly meeting and elected its newest member, Ronald Winkler of Kirksville. Winkler is president of Winkler Communication Services, a telephone and fiber cable installation and repair company that has served northeast Missouri since 1991. Winkler will serve a three-year term. The board now has 17 members.

The board also made a number of other personnel changes, including saying goodbye to former chair Peter Detweiler, CEO of Alliant Bank in Kirksville, whose term expired, and re-electing members Cynthia Byler, D.O., of St. Louis, Mo.; Carl Bynum, D.O., M.P.H., of Warson Woods, Mo.; Manuel Bedoya, D.M.D., of Tucson, Ariz.; Clyde Evans, Ph.D., of Needham, Mass.; and John Robinson, of Phoenix, Ariz.

New officers were also appointed: Dr. Bynum as chair; Kenneth Jones, D.O., of Clinton, Mo., as vice chair; Dr. Byler as secretary; Robert Uhl, of Phoenix, Ariz., as finance committee chair; and Dr. Evans as chair of the education/research committee.

The next board meeting is scheduled for February 2010 in Mesa, Ariz.

ICE Dental Systems promises more streamlined process for patients, students

MESA, Ariz. – A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) will be the first dental school to fully implement ICE Dental Systems, a new web-based, fully integrated dental practice management system. The school’s two Arizona clinics, the ASDOH Dental Clinic in Mesa and Dental Care West in Glendale, will launch the software October 15.

“We are excited to work with one of the most innovative software companies in the world in launching the new ICE Dental Systems,” said ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H. “This innovative, web-based system will be the management and education standard for the future. The new system will increase efficiency and effectiveness while providing an easy way to better manage the patient experience at our clinics.”

According to ATSU-ASDOH officials, the system will have a dramatic impact on students, patients, and the clinics. Integrated educational components can be accessed by students anytime, anywhere via the Internet. It also introduces students early on to the kind of practice management software that they will likely be using in their own practices one day.

Patients at the ASDOH Dental Clinic, Orthodontic Clinic, and Dental Care West, will now be able to access components of their dental history online and view patient education presentations and animations. Patients can also pre-register before their first appointment, making new patient processes faster and more streamlined. It also means that one system will serve all the clinics’ practice needs, eliminating the need for, and expense of, multiple system modules and computers.

According to the ICE Dental Systems website, patient data is encrypted and stored in a secure, remote location, then delivered privately and securely via the Internet. Even if a computer is lost, stolen, or damaged, clinic and patient data remains protected at all times.

“ICE Dental Systems truly represents a disruptive technology in dental systems software that substantially reduces cost for users while significantly increasing efficiency,” said Mark Genuis, Ph.D., president and CEO of ICE Dental Systems. “We are honored to be working in partnership with ASDOH and very pleased to be launching ICE at their school.”

The long list of software functions that ATSU-ASDOH’s dental clinics will have access to includes management dental office administrative functions, education for patients on procedures via 3-D animations that are accessible from a home computer, and access to medical reference pages about symptoms, treatments and more.

Raman Bedi, D.D.S., D.Sc.

Arizona’s first dental school graduates its third class

MESA, Ariz. – (June 15, 2009) A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) bid farewell to the class of 2009 at its third commencement ceremony Saturday, June 13 at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Ariz.

Fifty-five graduates received their doctor of dental medicine (D.M.D.) degree, one of whom also received a master in public health (M.P.H.). Also participating in Saturday’s ceremony were four candidates scheduled to graduate in August with both a certificate in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics and a doctor of health sciences (D.H.Sc.) degree.

“Today’s graduates are well prepared to tackle the challenge of today’s economy and the healthcare environment,” said ATSU Provost Craig Phelps, D.O., ‘84. “We wish them well, whether going into private practice or continuing their education. It’s been a pleasure to have them at ATSU over the past four years. Our graduates will be making a difference in communities across Arizona and the United States.”

According to ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H., this is the first time ASDOH has graduated a student with both a D.M.D. and an M.P.H., as well as the first time they have presented post graduate certificates in orthodontics. “We are proud of our students for reaching these important milestones in ASDOH’s history,” he said. “We are thrilled to be producing the next generation of outstanding clinicians and dental leaders to meet the oral health needs of not only our community, but the nation.”

As part of the commencement ceremony, honorary doctor of humane letters degrees were conferred upon keynote speaker Raman Bedi, D.D.S., D.Sc., FDSRCS, FGDP, FPHM, head of the Centre for International Child Oral Health and professor at King’s College London; and Allen Lawrence Finkelstein, D.D.S., medical director of AmeriChoice/United HealthGroup and ATSU-ASDOH adjunct faculty member.

ATSU-ASDOH also honored class of 2009 member Michael Serkanic, who passed away in August 2008, with a posthumous degree. At the annual ASDOH awards brunch on June 11, fellow student Darby Lefler was awarded the first Michael Serkanic Spirit of Caring award and $1,000 scholarship, which is given to a student who demonstrates “caring and compassionate service in a fun and collegial way, as exemplified by Michael Serkanic’s life.” A total of 34 awards were given to 25 graduates at the brunch.

MESA, Ariz. (Apr. 9, 2009) – Recent reports indicate 43 percent of Arizona’s children have never seen a dentist, and 38 percent do not have dental insurance – numbers that are likely growing due to the current economic downturn.

A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) and the Arizona Dental Foundation (ADF) plan to help by bringing more than 200 underserved elementary school children from the Mesa Public School District to the ASDOH Dental Clinic in Mesa on Friday, April 17, to receive free dental care as part of Give Kids a Smile®. This is the fourth consecutive year that ASDOH and the ADF have collaborated on the event.

From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., ASDOH dental students and volunteer dentists will provide basic dental services to children including cleanings, fillings, and more complex procedures, all at no charge. In addition to dental care, kids will experience dental education, costumed entertainment, and organized games, including inflatables provided by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Children needing more comprehensive follow-up care will have an opportunity to receive it thanks to an upcoming fundraiser with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Money from ticket sales to a Diamondbacks game in September will help pay for children to return to the ASDOH Dental Clinic at a later date for follow-up procedures.

Give Kids a Smile® is organized and executed by ASDOH students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of ADF, who recruit volunteer dentists from the Arizona Dental Association to help provide services. According to Ginger Froncek, executive director of the ADF, the April event at ASDOH is the single largest Give Kids a Smile® program in the state in the number of children treated, value of services provided, and volunteer participation.

“Give Kids a Smile® is a way that [ASDOH dental students] can focus on an underserved population in our community and provide awareness and care to help treat the most prevalent disease process in children – cavities,” said third-year ASDOH student Erik Smith, chair of the ASDOH Give Kids a Smile® committee.

“ASDOH is delighted to again be a major sponsor of Give Kids a Smile®, providing free dental care to some of the Valley’s most vulnerable children. Our faculty and students alike thoroughly enjoy meeting and caring for these children and their families,” said ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H.

Give Kids a Smile® was established by the Greater St. Louis Dental Society in 2002 when a group of dentists set up a temporary full-service clinic that treated nearly 400 children over two days. With the support of the American Dental Association, the program has grown to approximately 1,900 locations and treatment of 480,000 children in 2008.

Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S, M.P.H.

MESA, Ariz. (2-9-09) – Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H., dean of A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH), is scheduled to be a featured speaker at an Institute of Medicine workshop entitled “Sufficiency in the U.S. Oral Health Workforce in the Coming Decade” in Washington, D.C., on February 9-11.

According to Tracy Harris, D.P.M., M.P.H., senior program officer for the Institute of Medicine, the workshop will give attendees the opportunity to hear from and examine a variety of perspectives of how the oral healthcare workforce affects access to oral healthcare services. “We are pleased that Dr. Dillenberg will discuss how the education and training of this workforce contributes to existing challenges,” she said.

Registration for the workshop is already closed, having reached its capacity of approximately 200 attendees. The workshop is open to the public, and attendees include a mixture of healthcare professionals, policy makers, and educators.