Announcements

The Academy of Operative Dentistry's 39^th Annual Meeting once again offers an incredible group of world-class essayists, over 30 table clinics filled with practical information and personal demonstrations and a wonderful social program. Our meeting is the heart of the Academy and is held in conjunction with the Chicago Mid-Winter meeting, as well as various other academy meetings, so that attendees can maximize the benefits of their time and travel. Please plan on joining your colleagues and fellow academy members to receive cutting-edge information and be revitalized in your commitment to excellence in dentistry.

Remember, the Academy of Operative Dentistry is an ADA-CERP-recognized provider and attendees at the 2010 meeting will be awarded 12 hours of continuing education by the Academy. A certificate to that effect will be provided to each registrant at the conclusion of themeeting.

SCIENTIFIC SESSION: Thursday's lineup begins in the Imperial Ballroom with Dr Mark Cruz presenting the Richard V Tucker Lecture of Excellence, “Decision- Making Theory and Its Effect on Clinical Outcomes.” Dr Dennis Fasbinder follows with “Restorative Dentistry in a Digital World.” The 29^th Buonocore Memorial Lecture, “Assessing Quality of Care in Dental Practice,” will be presented by Dr James Bader. The highlight of Thursday's luncheonwill be the presentation of the Hollenback Memorial Prize to Dr J Rodway Mackert, Jr. Thursday afternoon features DrGalipGurel presenting “Esthetic Excellence: Being Minimally Invasive with Interdisciplinary Approaches,” followed by Dr John Burgess presenting “All Ceramic Restorations—State of the Art.” The afternoon will close with a Special Panel Discussion featuring Drs Gurel and Burgess, moderated by Drs James Summitt and Thomas Hilton. There will be a CODE meeting following the afternoon session.

Friday morning introduces Dr Jeff Rouse discussing “Bruxism: Myths and Mysteries Examined,” followed by Dr Richard Schwartz presenting “The Restoration of Endodontically-treated Teeth: The Endodontists Perspective.” The Scientific Session will close with Dr Carl Haveman on “Dental Management of Xerostomic Patients.” Friday's luncheon will be held in the Mid-America Club and will feature the presentation of the Academy's Award of Excellence to Dr Richard Stevenson III. The 2010 annual session will conclude with more than 30 informative table clinics presented on Friday afternoon, including four special “seated” clinics.

RECEPTION: Finally, our Gala Reception on Thursday evening will once again provide a wonderful, once-a-year platform for socializing with all our friends and colleagues from across the country and around the world. Plan to join us in the International Ballroom at 6:30 p.m.

Please don't miss this fantastic opportunity for education, information exchange and fun. See you in Chicago in February! For more meeting information, contact Dr Gregory Smith, PO Box 14996, Gainesville, FL 32604- 2996; FAX: (352) 371-4882; e-mail: greg679@cox.net, or you can go to the Academy of Operative Dentistry website: www.operativedentistry.com.

Dr Savitri Vaseenon, originally from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, and currently a graduate student in Operative Dentistry at the University of Iowa, is the 2009 recipient of the George C Paffenbarger Student Research Award.

“Bow” Vaseenon, DDS was selected for her excellent proposal, “Relationship between caries-affected dentin mineral density and microtensile bond strength.” Dr Vaseenon will pursue her project under the guidance of Dr Steven Armstrong. Dr Vaseenon's research interest is in the field of adhesion between caries-affected dentin (CAD) and resin-based composite. Since CAD is the most common substrate presented to restorative dentistry, it is critical that a better understanding of its physical properties and mechanism of adhesion for the advancement of minimally invasive restorative dentistry be acquired.

It has been shown that the bond between CAD and adhesive materials is not as strong as that with normal teeth and, hence, this reduced bond integrity leads to premature failure of the restoration. This problem remains unsolved and has raised interest in studies comparing the strength of the bond between CAD and tooth-colored material using different bonding strategies. Since there have been no studies measuring the mineral density of CAD at the resin dentin interface, the purpose of my research is to determine the relationship between its microtensile bond strength and mineral density.

Mineral density measurements will be performed using microcomputed tomography.

Understanding this substrate is critical to improving clinical success and the advancement of minimally invasive dentistry for the benefit of our patients.

A clinical course in conservative gold castings, mentored by Dr Richard V Tucker, will be held June 18–22, 2010 at the University of Washington Dental School. For course information, contact Dr Dennis Miya, (206) 244-1618 or at dmichi@aol.com.