Dentists, Students and ASDA
NOVACAINE NEWS
Spring 2018
Lobby Day • Give Kids A Smile To Specialize or Not • Oral Cancer Walk Skiing Slopes of Dentistry • Green Means Go
CONTENTS Letter from the E-Board 3 Letter from the Editor 3 ASDA Committees 4 Give Kids A Smile 6 Giving Veterans Healthier Smiles 12 Hunter Green Means Go 14 Lobby Day 18 Concerns in Opioid Legislation 22 Skiing the Slopes of Dentistry 24 To Specialize or Not, A Series 28 Sit, Stay, Brush 30 Oral Cancer Walk 32
Letter from the E-Board Hi All!
Thank you for reading the 2018 Winter Novacaine Newsletter. We are so excited for what this year has in store because we have planned some pretty exciting events and programming. Firstly, we would like to thank all of the contributors of the Novacaine and our Spotlight Blog Series. Secondly, we would like to welcome our new chairs and committee and we would like to thank you for all the hard work you will put in this year. This year you can expect many new events and ideas from ASDA. We are planning a huge community service event aiding the geriatric population in our area so that you can increase your exposure to the growing field of Geriatric Dentistry. We will also be launching our Certification in Proficiency in Advocacy so that you can increase your knowledge on legislative issues while also obtaining a little extra to put on your CV. We also will be launching a new website, complete with a forum to facilitate a closer community between our chapter as well as our new blog. But do not worry, not everything will be new. We will still be having out hit events like Predental Day, the St. Patrick’s Day Block Party and ASDA Week. We expect this years ASDA to be bigger better and more awesome. We really want you all to use your membership to its fullest. ASDA has so much to offer.
Letter from the Editor
Welcome to the Spring issue of NovaCaine News!
It is my pleasure to serve as NSU ASDA’s Editor-in-Chief this year. Along with the support of my team, I am very eager and excited to create informative, entertaining and visually engaging newsletters for you this year. This past semester was filled with many community events – student, faculty and staff volunteers provided free dental health services during Give Kids A Smile, ran a 5K for Oral Cancer, advocated for dentistry-related issued by attending Lobby Day in Tallahassee just to name a few. We sincerely hope that you enjoy the articles and that you share our newsletter with those that want a glimpse into the lives of dental students. Sincerely, Melissa Batres, ‘20
President Caitlin Wild President Elect Vice President Ali Edrisi Anushka Prabhu Secretary Treasurer Karen Ben-Elazar Elen Kirilovsky Golf Committee Patricia Reach, Chair Justin Darley, Chair Rick Escobar Robert Kelly Thibault De Vernejoul Membership Committee Sierra Zarate, Chair Christy Dunham Maya Abdin Nagabis Gonzales Deshek Patel Andrew Sadek Nicole Etcheverry Communications Committee Melissa Batres, Chair Ronak Bhagat Alaa Anbari Social Committee Jenna Zacharewicz, Chair Yogin Patel, Chair Christy Dunham Ashley Rynar
Licensing Committee Nick Capp, Chair Emma Spratt Predental Committee Jenna Van de Water, Chair Karan Patel, Chair Serena Ghodasra Ashley Rynar Melissa Batres Christine Monir Emma Spratt Josh Samuel Legislative Committee Jennifer Knowlton Russell Smith Lunch and Learn Committee Brandin Lieberman, Chair Katelyn Roland Chandlor Bearden Robert Kelley Wellness Committee Gabriela Moffett, Chair
Fundraising Committee Jennifer Knowlton, Chair Robert Kelley Jennifer Sumner Russell Smith Bryan Kim, Vendor Chair Community Service Committee Rebecca Vizzi, Chair Stephanie Grossman, Chair Katelyn Roland Roman Mogilevsky Noelle Niessen Family Outreach Committee Victoria Butler, Chair Eytan Austein Mordechai Shur Kayla Tommie Class of 2019 Representative Matthew Munro Class of 2020 Representative Charlene Fosteris Class of 2021 Representative Rick Escobar
Golf Committee
Membership Committee
Fundraising Committee
Communications Committee
Community Service Committee
Pre-Dental Committee
Lunch and Learn Committee
Social Committee
Give Kids A Smile
I
By Melissa Batres
magine your very first visit to the dentist. How did you feel as you walked through those doors and into the waiting area, were you nervous or excited? Were you scared or looking forward to the visit? Think back and picture yourself sitting next to your mom, can you feel the anticipation, possibly the anxiety, as you waited to be called. Do you remember the fear slowly creeping in as they called your name and you walked towards the unknown behind that white door? Imagine walking up to that weird chair and being lifted up onto it, how did you feel sitting on this weird chair? The first visit to the dentist is a very important milestone for young patients. It can be very daunting and scary, especially if the community has very limited options for dental health services. Often times in underserved communities, there may only be one or two dental providers available and they may be better suited for adult patients rather than younger, pediatric patients that require more attention and the time and space to build a dental home. There are also communities that do not have a dental provider at their disposable.
Now imagine being a kid again, going to your very first dental visit. You’re nervous, you don’t know how it will go. Picture walking through those doors and the first thing you see is a sea of green balloons and ribbons in the shape of trees, monkeys hanging from the ceiling, tigers and zebras and giraffes entangled among all those leaves. You finally manage to force yourself to look away from the lush, vibrant balloon jungle in front of you, and you now see all these tables with crayons, colored pencils and stickers just waiting for you. In the corner, they can make you into any of the animals you see around you with just some face paint. There are so many activities for you to enjoy that you don’t even realize that it’s now time to see the dentist. This is the experience that Give Kids A Smile provided for patients this year as we went “Into the Jungle”. Give Kids A Smile is a volunteer community event aimed at providing free dental health services to underserved communities. It was definitely a day to remember. From all the wonderful kids that came for treatment to our committed students and faculty who volunteered, GKAS 2018 was a huge success. None of this could have been possible without the ADA foundation, our sponsors, Dean Niessen and the incredible leadership of
our committee who put in hours and hours of hard work to make sure the day ran smoothly. In preparation, committee members went to the local Boys and Girls Club to inform parents of the event. It was in the hands of the committee to advertise the event in hopes of reaching as many children as possible. This was done via social media outlets and posting fliers around the community. The day before the event, committee members along with pre-dental student volunteers gathered at NSU’s dental clinic and spent hours creating a lush, colorful jungle filled with monkeys, giraffes, zebras and tigers. It is our job to make their experience at the dentist a fun and memorable one. GKAS here at NSU has evolved to include interdisciplinary education for our patients. The dedicated students of NSU’s College of Pharmacy and College of Osteopathic Medicine volunteered their time to teach the kids essentials on nutrition, medications, poison control, and the body’s organ systems. In addition, each child was provided with a gift bag filled with oral health related treats, ensuring that the importance of taking care of your teeth was taken home with all the children in attendance.
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event, which involves hundreds of dentists throughout the country providing free dental care to military veterans around Veterans’ Day in November.
Giving veterans healthier smiles Dentist helps expand annual volunteer event nationwide May 21, 2018
By Kimberly Solana Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a series featuring graduates of the ADA Institute for Diversity in Leadership and how these dental leaders continue to affect their communities. Los Angeles — Dr. Karin Irani has always wanted to work with military veterans. “My father was a veteran in the Iranian Army,” Dr. Irani said. “I know about the sacrifice they and their families make. We owe them a lot for our safety and security. So it’s a no-brainer that this population needs to be served.” Today, Dr. Irani is among the main organizers of the annual Veterans Smile Day
Last year, more than 600 dentists participated — a long way from its humble beginning, which stemmed from Dr. Irani’s time at the ADA Institute for Diversity in Leadership. As part of the Institute, participants are tasked with developing and executing a personal leadership project that addresses an issue or challenge in his or her community, organization or the profession. Institute participants receive help from ADA staff and work with leading educators from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. As part of the Institute’s 2009-10 class, Dr. Irani sought to create a nonprofit that would help veterans receive training as dental assistants. However, the task became too daunting and she ultimately switched objectives. “The paperwork was too much for me,” she said. “But I knew I wanted to find something that I can do to help veterans.” ‘Run with it’ When it comes to dental care, many veterans simply fall through the cracks. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, veterans have to meet certain eligibility factors to receive dental care, such as service-related dental disability or condition, or be a former prisoner of war. In addition, Dr. Irani said, some veterans who quality for dental benefits still don’t receive the care they need.
Dr. Irani started working on Veterans Smile Day in 2013 after a friend and University of Southern California dental school classmate reached out to her. Dr. Deryck Pham, a Navy veteran, had opened his Mays Landing, New Jersey, dental office doors to veterans who needed dental care in 2012, treating about 30 patients. “[Dr. Pham] ask me to take his idea and run with it,” Dr. Irani said. “That’s the great thing about the Institute, you become more connected with other dentists doing amazing work.” Dr. Irani said she first reached out to ADA and Institute staff to brainstorm how to get this small, local program to expand nationwide. “I attended an institute alumni group meeting and that’s where we came up with the Veterans Smile Day name,” she said. “The second thing I needed to do was get supplies.” “[Institute staff] put me in touch with Henry Schein,” she said. “Since then, they’ve sponsored us 100 percent every year.” Henry Schein donates about $50,000 worth of supplies annually, Dr. Irani said. These supplies, ranging from patient bibs to chair covers, are distributed among participating dentists. Over the last few years, Crest + Oral-B has also sponsored the event. Reaching veterans The most difficult step in the process, however, was outreach. “Our resources are very limited,” Dr. Irani said. The organizers mainly consist of three dentists: Drs. Irani, Pham and Bijan Anvar, of New York. “And there is no centralized con-
tact list for veterans.” To reach veterans who needed dental care, Dr. Irani began contacting American Legion service organizations, colleges’ and universities’ veterans departments and other local veterans groups. “Today, we’re better at spreading the word and encouraging dentists to participate,” she said, adding dentists participating are encourage to use the Veterans Smile Day event name to help with branding, allowing veterans to better recognize the program. Dentists can also choose the day they want to treat veterans, as long as it’s around Nov. 11 or Veterans Day. Dentists find the flexibility of being able to treat veterans in their own offices instead of driving for hours to a centralized location more convenient, Dr. Irani said. “We’re able to live our lives because veterans have sacrificed so much,” she said. “The least that we can do as providers is help them improve their oral health.” Dentists interested in participating in Veterans Smile Day can contact Dr. Irani at ddsusc03@ gmail.com. For more information on the ADA Institute for Diversity in Leadership, which admits dentists each year with all expenses covered by the ADA, Henry Schein Cares and Crest + Oral-B, visit ADA.org/diversityinstitute.
Reference: https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2018-archive/may/giving-veterans-healthier-smiles
[Hunter] Green Means Go By Christine Monir
T
he first day of D1 year was one for the books. There were 125 eager, smiling faces decked out in matching, freshly ironed Hunter Green scrubs and brand new sneakers that squeaked as we wandered the welcoming halls. Fast-forward six months and your new green scrubs have a miscellaneous stain from God-knowswhat in sim lab, your hair looks like it hasn’t been combed in weeks, and you’re scavenging the halls of HPD for free food. What happened?! D1 year happened… but don’t fret, there is a way to avoid the D1 burnout. As cliché as it sounds, a healthy schoollife balance is crucial in dental school. These are my three tips for getting through your first year of dental school.
STAY OPTIMISTIC
We’re all guilty of this. When you have seven exams in seven days, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and crawl under your covers and break down, but that’s not going to help you. Just think, if every dental student in the past has made it through this block of exams/ seemingly impossible lab practical / whatever the situation may be, then why can’t you? You can!! My life in dental school made a 180 when I decided to try my best to stay positive. Rather than putting big question marks on the difficult exam questions, put check marks next to the ones you know. Instead of counting all the exams you have coming up, make plans for afterwards and count down the days until you can celebrate. If you stop dwelling on the negatives, they’ll stop controlling you.
MAKE TIME FOR WHAT YOU LOVE Making time for hobbies is easier said than done, but between all the classes and exams, there is free time. Find it and use it wisely. After a long, exhausting day, you could spend your free time sitting in bed watching Friends reruns for the hundredth time while feeling sorry for yourself, of you can get up and do something you love. Weather it’s driving to Sawgrass for some retail therapy, pumping iron at the gym, or simply lounging on the beach, your rare moments of free time will truly feel like the break you deserve.
DON’T OVER-STUDY
I know this sounds silly. You can’t really over-study, can you? YES! Before every exam, there’s that time of night (or early morning if you’re one to pull all-nighters) where your brain has turned off but your eyes are wired open from that *3rd* Monster. At this point, you know what you know and you’re not going to get much out of those last few hours or blankly staring at your notes. When you’ve reached this point, follow this last, and arguably most important piece of advice: GO TO SLEEP! You’ll be able to function tremendously better on exams when you’re well-rested, even if you don’t know every letter in that 150 page neuroanatomy packet.
D1 year is a green light with nowhere to pull over to rest, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride! STAY POSITIVE, MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF, AND DON’T FORGET TO SLEEP!
Dentist’s Day on the Hill By Julia Krek
Hello! My name is Julia and I am a second year dental student at Nova Southeastern College of Dental Medicine. On February 6th I had the opportunity to attend the 2018 Dentist’s Day on the Hill in Tallahassee, Florida alongside 11 of my fellow classmates and Dr. Brown, a faculty at NSU CDM. We were joined by various other dentists, dental students and specialists across Florida. This year there were many hot topics to discuss! Our goal was to advocate and have our voice heard by visiting state representatives and state senators to educate them about dental affairs. The day before DDOH, we attended a briefing during which the FDA provided us with the Do’s and Don’ts on how to handle ourselves when meeting with a representative. During this time we also had the opportunity to meet a handful of dentists, specialists, and other dental students around Florida while learning about their struggles as well as successes experienced in the dental profession. Since there were a handful of students this year, they separated students into different groups guided by various dental leaders according to the district that they were from. The following day each group met with a number of representatives where they advocated for dental issues. Some of the groups were able to attend the Legislative Hearing of the House Healthcare Appropriations Subcommittee during which the CS/HB683 by Rep. Daniel Perez was taken up that would enable a study on the “affordability, access and delivery of dental care”. This asked for an appropriation equaling $250,000 for a study of the dental therapist need in Florida. During the hearing, it was voted to be postponed.
This study is opposed by the FDA with the reason that those funds could instead be used to deliver direct dental care to the underserved areas rather than on a study. Students who were in the District of Dr. Brown met with Sen. Lauren Book, Sen. Kevin Rader, Rep. Barrington Russell, Sen. Perry E. Thurston, Rep. Patricia Williams, Rep. Katie Edwards, and Rep. Richard Stark to discuss this year’s legislative issues that the FDA supports and opposes. One of the issues that the FDA supports includes community water fluoridation (seeing as 23% of the Florida population still does not receive regularly fluoridated water and it is vital in the prevention of tooth decay). Another involves the increase in access to dental care in underserved areas which is a program that would help dental students pay back their loans while simultaneously providing dental care to underserved areas. Attending the Dentist’s Day on the Hill event was an extremely rewarding and informative experience. Every year that I attend, I learn something new and have an enriching experience. Besides networking with various dentists, I also gained insight on the issues that dentists and their patients face and the importance of relaying these concerns to the representatives that ultimately decide the future of our profession. It is important to remember the prominent role that government plays in regulating healthcare as well as the constant transformation that our profession is undergoing which we can protect through attending dental lobby days.
fessional organizations and a sign of how seriously we take this issue.”
ADA asks Senate Judiciary committee to include dental profession’s concerns in opioid legislation
The Association urged the committee to take a measured approach when considering mandatory continuing education, prescribing limits and prescription drug monitoring programs. Drs. Crowley and O’Loughlin stressed that any continuing education mandate “emphasize the clinical skills needed to prevent drug overdoses, chemical dependency and diversion.” They also asked for the following components to be included for CE:
Washington — As the Senate Judiciary Committee looks this week at legislation focused on ending the nation’s opioid crisis, the ADA is urging lawmakers to include dental providers in the solution.
All credits should be acceptable for Drug Enforcement Administration registration and state licensure renewal purposes. Coursework should be tailored to the prescriber’s scope of practice and the nature of pain managed (e.g., chronic vs. acute pain, dental vs. medical pain, etc.). Affected dentists should be given a reasonable amount of time to comply. The ADA also said it supports limiting opioid prescriptions to no more than a seven day supply of pills for the initial treatment of acute pain and asked legislators to clarify that “this prescribing limit is for the initial treatment of acute pain.”
“As you know, the ADA recently expressed support for mandatory continuing education for opioid prescribers, limits on the number of pills that can be prescribed for initial acute pain and mandatory use of prescription drug monitoring programs,” wrote ADA President Joseph P. Crowley and Executive Director Kathleen T. O’Loughlin in a May 22 letter to the committee. “We believe our policy is the first of its kind among major health pro-
“[T]he seven-day limit is based on the cursory mention of acute pain in the [2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain,” Drs. Crowley and O’Loughlin wrote. “We are hopeful that the CDC will follow-up with a guideline that focuses expressly on best practices for managing acute post-operative pain, which would be more relevant to the average dentist.”
May 23, 2018
By Jennifer Garvin
In closing the ADA asked the committee to address the need for prescription drug monitoring programs to be easier to use and for the data to be more reliable and available across state lines. “Our main criticism of the federal response to the opioid crisis is that federal agencies have not sufficiently addressed best practices for managing acute pain versus chronic pain,” they concluded. “Federal efforts have also not sufficiently addressed best practices for managing post-operative dental pain, which is more nuanced than managing pain in medical settings. For those reasons, the federal response to date has not been particularly helpful to dentists.” The ADA also sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, which shares jurisdiction over the requirements associated with obtaining or renewing a Drug Enforcement Agency registration to prescribe controlled substances, as required by the Controlled Substances Act. For more information, visit ADA.org/opioids.
Reference: https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2018-archive/may/ ada-asks-senate-judiciary-committee-to-include-dental-professions-concerns-in-opioid-legislation
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
SKIING THE SLOPES OF DENTISTRY By Etan Austein
W
ith the winter season coming to a close, my old family ski vacations of years past come to mind. As another semester of dental school comes to a close, I’d like to highlight some of the various parallels between the approaches to dentistry and to skiing.
and thought. Similarly, prior to preparing a tooth, you may choose to draw on the tooth to map out your plan of action. Of course, there are numerous approaches to the preparation as well.
As we dental students have witnessed firsthand, you can ask four different faculPicture yourself at the top of a snowcapped mountain, untouched and pristine. ty members for advice, and receive four different recommendations. As with skiing, Right before you begin to make your way down the mountain, you draw a mental pic- some people work quickly and some take ture of the path you plan to take. Although their time. Some prefer going in straight there are limitless paths, you choose your lines, while others prefer more curves and own based on personal considerations edges.
Additionally, there are vast options when it comes to choosing a set of skis and poles. Some are short, some are long. Some are curved, and some are straight. The same is true of dental burs. You may choose to use a 330L, or a round bur, flat-end taper diamond bur depending on the terrain that you are presented with.
There can be anything unexpected under the surface of the snow no matter how much you plan. Often times there are hidden rocks, bushes, or even small animals under the surface. You have to be prepared for anything, and be able to act and swiftly and make a quick decision as to how you will handle the unexpected. Similarly, no matter how many radiographs you’ve taken, intraoral exams you’ve performed, and patient charts you’ve read, anything can occur. There can always be unforeseen caries below the surface, an iatrogenic injury can occur, or the patient can suddenly have a change of heart regarding his treatment plan. Moreover, there are many types of ski runs. There are bowls which are wide open portions of mountains that provide a lot of room, enabling an easier skiing experience. In contrast, there are also tight and narrow runs which require you to carefully traverse the slope, and one wrong turn will send you over the ridge into danger.
Whether you are performing a routine prophylaxis, a crown preparation, or an extraction, every patient scenario is entirely different. Some can be easier to work with, having no health risk factors, and no previous complaints or pains, while some may require extreme care due to various oral lesions, limited opening, or even something as simple as a frequent tendency to cough! Anything can complicate the procedure at hand, but it’s all “in our hands” as to how we approach it.
It’s important to keep in mind that no “one way” is more correct than another. It’s all up to the discretion of the skier or the dentist and what works best for them, as long as we have the end-goal in mind: to be successful and enjoy the process.
To Specialize or Not To Specialize, A Series: Oral Surgery By: Kalynn Foster ’18
Our last leg of our specialty series is focus on oral surgery. We interviewed our very own Vanessa Watts D.M.D on her experiences on the road to becoming a surgeon. “I knew I wanted to do OMS going into dental school. I’ve always had a passion and interested in surgery, particularly of the head and neck. I enjoy the intricacies of the procedures, the medical knowledge base, and the ability to “save” faces post trauma or pathologic diagnosis. It’s a unique profession in the surgical realm that emphasizes restoring a patient to
form and function, and has a drastic impact on affected patients.
OMS is a match system, and I was privileged to be able to match my top choice. I chose Nova because my mentor, Dr. Kaltman, has been a critical influence on my perspective of the profession and my desire to pursue it as a career. He is committed to developing his residents as skillful surgeons and contributing members of the profession. He encourages us to contribute to the profession via research and presentations.
Additionally the program has a very broad scope of training. Also, as a four year program, we have to opportunity to perform major reconstructive surgeries, are exposed to year round trauma, are involved with craniofacial clinics in the community, all while also having ample bread and butter training. This broad scope is very unique amongst programs, and a great asset that nova has to offer. The most exciting part of the profession is the ability to offer a great service to your patients. We are able to offer cosmetic and functional reconstructions to patients with complex head and neck pathologies that may have
historically had a devastating impact on their quality of life.. Seeing the appreciation in our patient’s faces after devastating injuries or life altering diagnosis makes the job well worth it. The most challenging aspect of the profession is the transition from treating a patient’s mouth, to treating the whole patient. We get outstanding training in internal medicine, trauma and general surgery, while learning to manage the entire patient. From admission, through their surgery, and safely to discharge is a drastic change from learning how to manage caries. It is challenging, but very rewarding.
My advice to anyone applying is to do his or her research. There is a misconception that oral surgery is extraction and implants. The profession has a broad scope, and residency training will be inclusive of all aspects of the profession. Do externships, shadow practicing professionals, and do research. The training is rigorous, and the profession is demanding, but if you know this is really what you love and want to do, then you’ll never truly work a day in your life, because every day is more rewarding and exciting than the day before.”
That’s why he brings his affable partner, a three-year-old golden retriever named Bennett, who helps the message sink in. For the past year or so, Dr. Riley and Bennett have been making the rounds to grade schools in the south central parts of Kentucky where he lives and works. There, the two teach children about oral hygiene techniques. The highlight of the show occurs when Dr. Riley brushes Bennett’s teeth. “He behaves so well and is so inviting to kids,” Dr. Riley said. “I get dog-specific toothpaste. It’s a way to make oral health and oral hygiene interesting and fun.”
Sit, stay, brush: Golden retriever helps teach kids oral hygiene habits in Kentucky May 11, 2018
By Michelle Manchir Bowling Green, Ky. — A dentist and community educator, Dr. Matthew Riley knows elementary school students aren’t usually captivated by spiels on oral hygiene.
Dr. Riley adopted Bennett while he as still in dental school at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. On snow days, he found time to train the well-behaved boy, which has made the pup a trustworthy – and, yes, adorable – companion for the school programs. Bennett is close to receiving his certification as a therapy dog, Dr. Riley said, and in addition to the school programs also visits the assisted living facility where his mother works and makes regular appearances in Dr. Riley’s dental office. An associate in Briarwood Dental in Bowling Green, Dr. Riley said he brings Bennett with him to the office when he knows a young patient with a big treatment plan ahead could use the extra comfort (and after he gets permission from the children’s parents or guardians.) “We have a special harness I put him in, and then he knows he’s going somewhere fun,” Dr. Riley said. “He loves the attention.
Dr. Riley, who entered private practice right after graduating from dental school in 2016, said visiting classrooms is one way to contribute to community health. He also serves as dental director for his local public health department. Dr. Riley said he knows the K9 assistance is a little unorthodox, but he thinks having Bennett is a way to make the oral health lessons engaging. Often after visiting a school, Dr. Riley said he hears from parents of students who were eager to brush their teeth that night, citing Bennett’s endorsement. “It’s hard to teach kids oral health,” he said. “Here you have something that’s fun and exciting that they can remember.” The effort has drawn attention of media, which featured him on one of his school visits on the local TV news, which was picked up by CNN. The clip has been featured on local news channels throughout the country since then. The media attention has made Bennett, and Dr. Riley, even more popular in southern Kentucky. Dr. Riley said he’s been getting more and more requests from schools to visit. Dr. Riley said he’s happy to take the requests and will fit in all the visits he can on his days off from practice. “This allows me to get to those kids I might not otherwise see,” he said. Reference: https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2018-archive/may/sit-staybrush-golden-retriever-helps-teach-kids
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
6 Annual Oral Cancer Walk th
By Jiten Solanki
Jovial joggers, dancing dog-walkers, and waltzing walkers all came together for a splendid Sunday stroll as Alpha Omega held its 6th Annual Oral Cancer 5K Walk on March 25. Students from a variety of healthcare programs came out and spent their Sunday morning walking 5 kilometers on a scenic tour of the NSU main campus. The event took place in the Miniacci Courtyard with over 350 event participants present. The Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity joined forces with the HPD Asian American Association to organize the 2018 Oral Cancer 5K community service event along with the support of a generous NSU Pan-Student Government grant. Both of these organizations work fervently to promote diversity among the NSU student body, support student initiatives, and bridge cultural gaps in academic and professional work environments. With the help of corporate sponsors, personal donations, local vendors, university faculty and students, the NSU Alpha Ome ga Chapter long surpassed its goal in raising well over $12,000 to contribute towards the treatment of a patient battling oral cancer.
With a smile that gleams and a vibrant spirit that adorns her aura, the patient beneficiary selected was a young adolescent girl in high school. While in search of re-designing her smile with the use of braces, she encountered an unnerving development. Upon a consultation visit to an orthodontic office in late 2017, an aggressive lesion was discovered in the right side of her mandible. Through a series of specialty referrals, she was directed to Nova Southeastern University’s Oral & Maxillofacial Department for surgical treatment. After several interactions with the patient, the event organizers were inspired by her calm collectedness and firm resolve to pursue surgical treatment and brave the storm that lies ahead. Her loving family is to be commended and admired for showing tenacious drive and unwavering support throughout what has been an unimaginably difficult life experience. On the crisp, warm sunny March morning, impassioned community members arrived at the event ready to traverse a 5-kilometer path. An elaborate registration run by the Split-Second Timing team, welcomed event participants with a vibrant event t-shirt, race bibs embedded with a digital tracking chip, and an assortment of diesel-esque refreshments to fuel them for the race. An atmosphere of palpable excitement, rich school spirit, and a united community all clouded the air, as participants lined up at the start line led by more competitive racers positioned in front. To count down the start, Christopher Robertson from Aspen Dental (the event’s title sponsor) offered some welcoming words, geared up the crowd, and fired a loud cry. On Robertson’s thunderous roar, accompanied by the sound of a starting horn, racers were off! With the path winding along, participants were treated to the pic-
turesque landscape lined with scenic palm trees and industrial campus architectural designs. The route began at the Alvin Sherman library, led runners pass the Carl DeSantis building, and ushered them through a well-marked corridor of cones on Abe Fischler Boulevard looping back to finish at the original start line. As participants sprinted through the finish line, they were congratulated by Timmy the Tooth, leaders of NSU Alpha Omega, and the HPD Asian Student Association. At the race’s conclusion, a brief ceremony ensued. The audience of CDM faculty, students, and members of the greater Fort Lauderdale community enjoyed welcoming words and heartfelt praises from event organizers and key sponsors including Allen Ressler from the Alpha Omega Foundation, Gabi from Henry Schein, Chris Robertson from Aspen Dental, and Dr. Linda Niessen from the College of Dental Medicine. To crown the winners, the patient beneficiary was called to the stage to present gold and silver medals. Coming in first: voyaging from across the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil’s well-renowned and seasoned career 5K champion, Luis F, dashed the course in the blink of an eye resulting in a 17 minute race time. Class of 2020’s Rafael Martinez, a cosmetic dentist in the making, came in a close second achieving the Silver Medal award. But the biggest winner was presented last. With smiling faces, student organization leaders from both NSU Alpha Omega and the HPD Asian Students Association presented a giant check of $12,000 to assist with costs associated with medical and dental treatments. Having battled a ferocious disease, the patient’s victory over oral cancer was the biggest one to be celebrated.