A Shining City on the Hill
William T. Johnson, D.D.S., M.S.
As we enter this New Year, it is important to optimistically look forward to our future. As we prepare for our Annual Session—History and Heritage: Forging the Future—in Boston this April, I am reminded of John F. Kennedy's statement in 1961 regarding the founding of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: "...I have been guided by the standard John Winthrop set before his shipmates on the flagship Arbella 331 years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier. We must always consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us... inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities."
The AAE represents the "shining city on a hill" in the field of endodontics. We are the leaders, the visionaries of today. As we look to the future we can rest assured that our members are capable of leading advances in research, education and clinical service.
Research and education are the drivers of our future. Our Foundation has grown to over $23 million and we fund $1 million each year in grants. In the area of research, we have funded grants exceeding $3 million in 52 institutions for projects that otherwise would not have been funded or completed—knowledge we would not have. Association research priorities include Demographics/Epidemiology of Pulpal and Periradicular Disease, Assessment of New Technology, Tissue Engineering and Biology of Pulpal and Periradicular Disease. While stem cells, scaffolds and growth factors related to regenerative endodontics have been a focus, projects involving microbiology, irrigation, disinfection, enzyme activity, clinical outcomes, access to care and systemic responses are additional studies reviewed by your Research and Scientific Affairs Committee and supported by the Foundation. The Foundation also supports research activity of every graduate student at the $500 level.
Recently the AAE has been exploring the concept of Practice-Based Research Networks. These groups are characteristically formed by nonuniversity individuals or clinics that network for the purpose of examining and evaluating health care in real world practices. In dentistry, there are three existing dental PBRNs funded by the NIDCR (University of Alabama at Birmingham, New York University and the University of Washington). They have grants of $75 million covering seven years and are currently competing for grant renewal. Organized by academic institutions, these groups conduct research carried out in nonuniversity-based dental practices on a variety of clinical issues. Advantages are identification of problems to investigate by practicing clinicians and the large patient populations that can be studied. Areas of endodontic interest are preoperative pain and root canal therapy, persistent pain and root canal therapy, outcomes of endodontic treatment and restoration, analgesic use and effectiveness in dental practices, complete vs. partial removal of deep caries, assessing the outcomes of cracked teeth, MTA versus calcium hydroxide in direct pulp capping and dentin hypersensitivity in general practices. More information can be obtained on the NIDCR website.
In the area of education, a number of initiatives have been productive. Grants supporting membership fees and Annual Session registration fees for our educator members are in place. Thanks to the Educator Fellowship Award, we have commitments to future teaching totaling 110 years for endodontists teaching endodontics. The Postgraduate Fellowship Award provides the opportunity for an endodontist with less than 10 years of practice to enter education. The Endowed Faculty Matching Grant Program supports endowed faculty positions at a variety of institutions. These are positions in perpetuity paid for with the revenue from an endowment fund. The Foundation also funds one educator from each school to attend the American Dental Education Association's Annual Session, where issues facing dental education are addressed and teaching methodologies presented. Support is also available to new educators to learn pedagogical principles at ADEA's Institute for Teaching and Learning. This year we will also be supporting an endodontist to be one of 26 selected individuals participating in ADEA's Leadership Institute, a year-long program designed to train the nation's most promising individuals at academic dental institutions to be the future leaders in dental and higher education. We have established a national award recognizing a part-time endodontic dental educator in addition to the existing Bender and Osetek Awards.
In the area of practice, the Public and Professional Affairs Committee has developed the Professional Outreach Toolkit and updated the Consumer Outreach Toolkit for endodontists to promote their practices. Root Canal Awareness Week continues to be an annual event. We are sponsoring continuing education programs on diagnosis and treatment planning for general dentists at major dental meetings throughout the United States. Our Partners in Patient Care awareness campaign sponsors a Lunch-and-Learn Program, which provides personal interaction between dental students and practicing endodontists. We are developing a position paper on enhanced magnification technologies. Our publications and communications with members are being refined to reflect the advances of the digital age, and we have endorsed a website design company for member use.
This year we are co-sponsoring a joint symposium on traumatic injuries with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in November, and we have approval to lead a joint effort in organizing a symposium to be held in the summer of 2014 in Chicago on preserving the natural dentition with the American Academy of Periodontology and the American College of Prosthodontists.
The Association is also taking the lead in developing an Implant Consensus Conference with other interested organizations. The goal of the conference is to develop treatment planning guidelines and publish the guidelines in various journals having an impact on the practice of dentistry and influencing dental education.
With the continuing efforts of our members to build on the past, we can forge a future that is bright and full of promise. Change is inevitable; how we manage change is not. We must remain the beacon on the hill.