This Week at AGD

As the pandemic continues and practices reopen, many dentists are facing additional difficult questions regarding their teams: “How should I deal with a valuable team member who refuses to be vaccinated? What do I do after discussions and even incentives fail to persuade this team member to be vaccinated?”

“By recruiting colleagues to join AGD, I’ve not only lowered my membership renewal cost, I’m also helping my fellow dentists,” says AGD member Filippo Marchello, DDS, MAGD. Let colleagues know they can join for half off headquarters dues until Sept. 30.

The AGD Foundation is excited to announce that applications for its 2022 grant funding cycle are now open. The Foundation’s grant program offers support to AGD constituencies and nonprofit community-based outreach programs in the United States and Canada that provide free oral cancer screenings and education to the public.

This month, AGD Impact examines human resources quandaries in the post-COVID age. Feature stories in this issue cover tactics to increase the value of your practice and ways dentists should consider obesity in patients. The issue contains one Self-Instruction exercise worth 1 CE credit.

This month's podcast features John Molinari, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of Detroit Mercy and an expert on infection control in dentistry. Molinari and AGD Podcast Series host Wes Blakeslee, DMD, FAGD, discuss vaccine properties, required standards for testing and follow-up, COVID-19 vaccinations, booster shots and more.

Are you planning to attend the 2021 Fall Fellowship Review Course at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., Oct. 1–2? With the recently reduced AGD special hotel rate ending this Friday, Sept. 10, this is one of your last chances to take advantage of the discounted pricing.

Check out the latest issue, now available online. Highlights include a review of several formulations of topical anesthetics, an analysis of growth factors and cell differentiation in PRF membranes and an assessment of the diagnostic accuracy of digital periapical radiography, just to name a few.

No matter where you are in your career, you can always benefit from the advice of experts in particular fields. We hope you have financial advisers, and many of you may also have personal advisers. We’re fairly certain, however, that neither of these two types of advisers considers the vantage point of the other. So, when it comes to balancing the relationship between your personal and financial well-being, the responsibility is yours.

Dentists seeking information about the COVID-19 vaccination status of their patients may be able to access that data through their state’s immunization information systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website offers links to help you access this information.

AGD is working to address the most pressing issues faced by our members as we advocate to government entities for general dentists.

Want to get recognized as a Fellow, Master or LLSR at AGD2022? If so, all requirements must be completed and applications submitted by Dec. 31, 2021. Take courses that can help you reach your goal. Learn how to take the Fellowship Exam. Join a MasterTrack Program to stay motivated.

The AGD Foundation distributed grants in 2021 to Team Maureen. The organization is responsible for the Oral HPV Prevention Toolkit for Dental Professionals, distributed both electronically and in print. It includes relevant, medically sound cancer prevention information and resources for dental professionals in order to reduce oropharyngeal cancer.

AGD is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Dr. Thaddeus V. Weclew Award. To nominate a deserving colleague or educator, contact education@agd.org, and request a nomination form. The nomination deadline is Dec. 1, 2021.

AGD strongly supports H.R. 1550, the PREVENT HPV Cancers Act, and its provisions to promote public awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. This bipartisan legislation would also increase funding at the National Cancer Institute to focus research on HPV-associated cancers.

The AGD Foundation distributed grants in 2021 to the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council to support free dental services — including an oral cancer screening clinic — to underinsured, uninsured and underserved adults in Chatham County, Georgia.

Recently, there has been much talk about the rise of overall prices (inflation) for goods and services, and dental care is not exempt from that rise.

Portable devices and digital imaging are increasingly common in healthcare, with advantages that include the easy exchange of image files and the manipulation of image contrast and size, among others. But can portable devices display radiographic images with a quality comparable to LCD and LED monitors?

If you’re a new dentist, making sure you have the right malpractice insurance to protect your career from financial disaster is a necessity. Luckily, AGD includes it at no extra cost from Dentist’s Advantage as one of your membership benefits.

AGD2022 will be held in Orlando, Florida, July 27–30. Orlando is known as the “Theme Park Capital of the World” and is home to Walt Disney World® Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld® Orlando and LEGOLAND® Florida Resort.

AGD is working to address the most pressing issues faced by our members as we advocate to government entities for general dentists.