P R E S I D E N T ' S M E S S A G E

Welcome back, everyone to the Fall edition of our newsletter This time of year, brings notions of pumpkin spice lattes and the holiday season around the corner

Of course, in South Florida, we are really excited for the Fall colors to change on the local mango trees. Football season is kicking off. There is a renewed sense of excitement in the world again as the pandemic is fully behind us. Life is good.

We are happy to have so many positive things happening in the South Florida District Dental Society in 2023 One of our stated goals for this year is to grow by 35 new members and, based on the enthusiasm and attendance at our events so far, things are looking great

A quick recap of some of our highlights: We had great initial meetings to start the year, with Dr. Bendayan speaking to the North Dade affiliate at the Hilton in Aventura, where he inspired us all to be better dentists and better servants to humanity in general. His lecture was great.

Dr. Enrique Muller shared his insight with the Miami Dade Dental Society at Casa Juancho by demonstrating some of the latest trends in computer-guided implant surgery.

Dr Kurt Friedman shared some beautiful pearls of his vast dental wisdom for the South Broward affiliate at Cooper’s Hawk restaurant in the new Dania Pointe Shopping Center

People are listening to our “Ain’t That the Tooth” podcast from around the world, as it has been downloaded in many countries. The speakers and content are refreshing in an industry considered anything but exciting by the general public, so seeing some outside interest in our small niche is very nice. If you haven’t given it a listen, please do so - it’s great.

On a larger scale, the ADA has had a great move to support organized dentistry by working with the ADA’s State of Public Affairs program and state dental societies to advocate for state laws on dental insurance reform.

Please mark your calendars for our state-mandated courses for re-licensure on January 26, 2024 at the Kovens Conference Center, FIU Biscayne Bay Campus, as Dr Richard Mufson will guide us through:

Prescribing Controlled Substances Medical Errors and Domestic Violence

Turn to your colleague and tell them they are a great dentist. What we do is hard, and having a strong network and support of your colleagues makes us all better.

I would love to hear feedback and recommendations from all of you

Sincerely,

Tim Franklin, DDS President

To say that Ramon was a “rising star” within our profession of dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery and pediatric craniofacial surgery would understate the level of professional and personal achievement to which he had already ascended. He was a deeply-caring and accomplished surgeon who has helped so many others –many of whom, children, with severe cranial and facial deformities, syndromes, and disorders. He played so positive and profound a role impacting their lives.

Ramon was born in Cuba on September 6, 1967 His parents, Aurora and Ramon, and he emigrated to Spain in 1968 to flee Fidel Castro’s communist regime, and in 1970, moved to South Florida and made Miami their home

Ramon attended Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, and then Florida State University, before earning dental and medical degrees from University of Alabama and University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill respectively Following an internship in general surgery and residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) at UNC, he completed a fellowship in pediatric craniofacial surgery under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Posnick at Georgetown University Medical Center.

After practicing within several craniofacial facilities in England, he returned to the US and joined the OMS faculty at UNC. He then moved back to his home state of Florida, where he joined the Fort Meyers OMS practice of Drs. Gerry Laboda, Frank DiPlacido, and associates/ partners, one of whom included a co-resident of his while at UNC, and longtime close friend, Dr. T. J. Tejera.

He then moved to the Orlando area and, in 2008, assumed the position of Chairman of the Division of Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgery at University of Central Florida and Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital Dr Ruiz also developed the first fellowship training program in pediatric craniomaxillofacial surgery for OMS in 2009, where he trained over a dozen “future generation” craniomaxillofacial surgeons

My Special Connection To Ramon

I wanted to write this first and foremost about Ramon, his life, his high level of achievement – academic, surgical, and personal, which came to define him, the sadness of his passing – and far less about me.

However, I felt the need to share my own special personal experience and connection with Ramon

When he was a 20 year-old college student, and I was at the very beginning of my career, working at a group dental office on 49th street in Hialeah – I was Ramon’s oral surgeon when he underwent removal of his four wisdom teeth under IV sedation

Within several weeks, he also referred me, for the same treatment, his then-girlfriend, who months later would become his wife, Laura, and mother of their three children.

Some 15 or more years later, Ramon stopped me in the hallway at an annual meeting of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS). I instantly recognized him from seeing his presentation only minutes earlier at a symposium on pediatric craniofacial surgery.

Upon doing so, he told me that he had been trying to “track me down” (his words) at several previous meetings, although was unable to do so until then – for the purpose of reminding me that many years earlier, I had removed his wisdom teeth

A far greater surprise was the next bit of information he shared He related that his experience was so positive, so interesting and so eye-opening for him - that it was the sole inspiration for his decision to go into dentistry

As our conversation progressed, we not only recalled and spoke about our doctor-patient relationship, but also about one as a dental student and mentor

We both recalled that through the years, both prior to and during his four years in dental school, he would call and reach out to me for advice on a number of issues, including a question at one point, “What specialty should I go into?”

We also recalled I did not push him toward oral and maxillofacial surgery – but instead encouraged him to go in the direction of wherever his own sense of desire and passion would lead him. Destiny would nevertheless send him down the path of choosing the same specialty, OMS, that I had also chosen

I also wrote an article on this very set of circumstances eleven years ago, which appeared in the November 2012 issue of the North Dade-Miami Beach affiliate newsletter The article mentioned no names, but just simply told the same story, and moreover, the larger message of how important and special it is to be an advisor, counselor, role model, or mentor to someone, and in such cases as this, to have been such a positive influence on one ’ s career choice and professional life

In the years that followed, we would run into each other at other oral surgery meetings, and during those times, with a sense of humor and pride, he would again let others know of our respective role in each other’s lives

When I was president of the Florida Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (FSOMS) in 2006, I had the pleasure of presenting Ramon with our “Young Eagle” Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has shown great interest and promise as a future leader. When Ramon was FSOMS president in 2018, I then had the honor of receiving an award from him – the “FSOMS President’s Award.”

The Life of a “Young Eagle” Was Taken From Us Much Too Soon

Life is not fair We all know this And the unfair and sad things that may occur in life do not seem to have any measure of favoritism, nor discrimination, based on who may be a great and beloved individual, or of such a high level of character, or who may be as caring and loving as Ramon –which are all qualities that describe him, and to which all who knew him could attest

And this is among the reasons that both the surprising, sudden and seemingly random medical diagnosis thrown at him, and the unusually short length of time he would be afforded to fight back against such an aggressive disease –would result in such a shocking and disappointing loss for so many who knew and cherished Ramon.

With all humility, I must admit that my personal connection with Ramon, while important to me, was very small in the big picture of his life.

For countless others, including his family, teachers, fellows he trained, his surgical team and staff, the many colleagues who knew and worked with him, and the many patients and families he helped through his unique and highly complex and caring surgical treatment – their respective experiences with Ramon were of tremendous significance and depth spanning many years

A funeral service was held for Ramon on Saturday, September 30 at St Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park Several hundred people traveled from throughout Florida and across the U S to pray, grieve, reflect, honor, and celebrate the life of Dr Ramon Ruiz and his legacy of the positive effect he had on the lives of so many.

Several inspiring eulogies were shared, one by an OMS professor and teacher of his at UNC, Dr. Timothy Turvey, another by a craniofacial fellow Ramon had trained, who then joined his surgical team at Arnold Palmer, Dr Brent Golden Others included close family friends, Dr Lori Boardman, an OB-GYN physician at Orlando Health, and Walter Keys Concluding sentiments were then shared by his wife, Laura

A central message throughout was Ramon’s eagerness to learn, his ability to excel as a brilliant and caring surgeon, to have joy in teaching others, and of greatest significance, his desire to forgo his own needs in favor giving to others and contributing to their lives.

It was not enough for Ramon to treat a patient as an isolated individual with a craniofacial disorder, but as was repeatedly said, he was continuously mindful of knowing them as a member of someone ’ s family - a son, a daughter, or sibling of another, whose needs would also be affected as an important part of his care.

“Everything mattered,” Ramon was quoted as often saying “It all mattered ”

We all share collective pain, grief and sadness in losing such a “gentle giant” as Ramon at (305) 935-7501 or MufsonOralSurg@aol.com

I will greatly miss him.

Ramon leaves behind his wife of over thirty years, Laura, their three daughters, Julia, Maia and Josephine, his mother Aurora, and brother, Javier.