President’s Message: Deep in the Heart of Texas, Endo Stars Shone Big and Bright

The stars at Endopalooza….were big and bright….deep in the heart of Texas….

AAE community members gathered in Austin, Texas, in August for “Endopalooza”. This annual event celebrates the confluence of three AAE meetings: APICES, the Educator Workshop, and the Corporate Relations Committee meeting. This year, 300 endodontic residents, 44 educators, and 76 exhibitors came to Austin to learn, network, and celebrate in a weekend made possible by the AAE and the Foundation for Endodontics.

APICES, the Advanced Programs in Clinical Endodontics Symposium, is the only educational meeting created specifically for endodontic residents nationwide. Members of the Resident and New Practitioner Committee develop the content and program for their peers. This year’s topics included a “Get to Know Your Specialty” Q&A with the presidents of the AAE, Foundation for Endodontics, American Board of Endodontics, and College of Diplomates. Clinical presentations covered subjects of utmost value to the new endodontist, including local anesthesia, endodontic surgery, practice management, evidence-based clinical pearls, and lessons learned by a new endodontist. Indeed, the stars – speakers Drs. Austyn Grissom, Patricia Tordik, S. Craig Schneider, Avina Paranjpe, John Nusstein, Elizabeth Shin Perry, Priscilla Carpenter, Bianca Aboubakare, Brian Wu, Kirk Coury, and Helen Yang Meyer – were big and bright!

Per usual, resident reviews of APICES were outstanding. With an exclusive program geared specifically for those in training, I contend that every endodontic resident should attend APICES at least once, if not every year during their endodontic program. In addition to the outstanding educational lineup, residents enjoy the opportunity to connect with peers around the country and network with corporate sponsors.

The Educator Workshop is also held annually, usually in tandem with APICES. Planned by the Educational Affairs Committee, the workshop runs on a three-year cycle, rotating between Endodontic Department Chairs, Graduate Program Directors, and Predoctoral Directors. Predoctoral Directors were hosted this year in Austin, which was particularly fitting for me, and I am proud to report this was my sixth Predoctoral Directors Workshop.

The Educator Workshop is an opportune forum to share ideas with educators in similar roles at institutions throughout the country. All endodontic educators share common challenges, but predoctoral educators have unique difficulties. Among these are a lack of clinical cases suitable for treatment by novice clinicians in the dental school environment, limited time in the dental school curriculum, and a shortage of specialists to teach dental students.

Predoctoral directors also have unique measures of success. In academia, success for a chair might be measured by the productivity of their faculty or clinic, and success for a graduate program director by the merits of their residents. But a “success story” for a predoctoral educator could be a variety of outcomes: the student who falls in love with endodontics and pursues it as a career; the student who performs selected root canal therapy as a general dentist and collaborates with an endodontist on more complex cases; the student who pursues another specialty but firmly understands endodontic diagnosis and the role of the endodontist in the dental team; and yes, the student who learns that root canals are not for them and refers all cases to an endodontist. Teaching a cohort of students with a range of interests and skill in endodontics is a distinct aspect of predoctoral endodontic education.

Again, the stars – speakers Drs. Susan Paurazas, Elinor Alon, Carla Falcon, Kerith Rankin, Rebeca Weisleder, Ana Andrada, and Anthony Palatta – were big and bright! Thanks to all predoc educators; we appreciate all you do for endodontics!

The third arm of Endopalooza is the Corporate Relations Committee meeting. This dedicated group of member volunteers identifies issues of mutual concern to the AAE and our corporate partners. In alternating years, this meeting is held in conjunction with a Corporate Community Conference, which we look forward to convening in 2026.

The end of summer is usually met with some reluctance in my sphere, as daylight grows shorter and the relaxed days of summer wind down. I admit I share those sentiments to some extent, but I am proud that AAE’s Endopalooza was a resounding success as a capstone event for the summer of 2024. Plus, Insight Track is just around the corner!