Q&A: Dr. Robert Hanlon on Being the First Endodontic CDA President
Compiled by Rae Burach
Robert Hanlon, D.M.D., is a practicing endodontist and AAE member residing in Southern California. A longtime member and volunteer of the California Dental Association (CDA), Dr. Hanlon has just become the first endodontist president of the organization. We talked with him about why this position is so meaningful– personally and professionally– and how it can further strengthen the relationship between specialists and general practitioners.
AAE: What does it mean to you to be one of the first endodontist presidents of the CDA, and what do you hope it represents for specialists?
RH: I’m truly honored and humbled to become the 156th president of the 27,000 member California Dental Association (CDA). I was actually quite surprised to find out that I am the first endodontist to hold this position. Many leaders and past leaders in AAE leadership come from the CDA. AAE Past Presidents like Mahmoud Torabinejad, Alan Gluskin, and Stefan Zweig come to mind. I first met incoming AAE President Craig Noblett fifteen years ago when we were both members of the CDA Political Action Committee. Current AAE ADPAC Representative Ken Tittle is another CDA member. I chose a somewhat different path and focused more of my time at the CDA rather than the AAE. I was Chair of CDA’s Government Affairs Council for several years and CDA’s Political Action Committee for more than a decade. One only has a limited amount of time, and I decided to focus my attention with my state organization rather than the AAE.
AAE: What are your top priorities/goals for your CDA presidency, and why those now?
RH: I’ve always been of the belief that a leader’s job is not to institute his own personal goals or agenda, but to facilitate the implementation of the strategic plan that the associations Board of Directors has mutually agreed upon. That’s my goal, that’s my job. With that said, if there is one thing that I would like to focus on it is wellness. Being a young endodontist today is extremely stressful. Many of us are isolated and practice alone. We see patients in pain. We squeeze emergencies in wherever we can in our already busy schedules. Factor in student loan debt, staffing issues, rising overhead costs, stagnant or decreasing reimbursement rates from dental benefit plans and it all adds up to increasing stress levels. I know of two endodontic colleagues here in California who took their own lives. This is where we as a profession – as a specialty and as individuals – have to do better. We have to be willing to reach out to our colleagues in trouble and ask them “How are you doing?” Starting a conversation and listening to what they have to say. We need to embrace our roles as ambassadors of the specialty of endodontics, but we also need to embrace our roles as friends, colleagues and members of the dental community.
AAE: How has your perspective as an endodontist influenced the way you approach leading a statewide general dental organization?
RH: If I could sum up my leadership style in one word it would be “collaborative.” As an endodontist, you have to have a collaborative relationship with your referral base. To be a successful endodontist, you have to learn how to get along with a diverse group of referring doctors. For example, as I become more mature in my years (I’m a Baby Boomer), I’m finding that the younger generation of dentists don’t want to communicate with me the same way I communicate with general dentists of my generation. I have to be able to collaborate with them to find common ground on how we communicate with each other. Some prefer email, some prefer text messages, some like a phone conversation. I find the same thing leading the CDA. Our Board as well as our general membership is very broad and diverse. The collaborative skills that I have developed as an endodontist have also served me well in my ability to be collaborative with my Board of Directors and to communicate our message to the general membership through a variety of different channels.
AAE: What do you think general dentists most need from specialists at this point in time, and vice versa?
RH: I think we both need better collaboration and communication skills. My best referring doctors give me all the information I need including recent and, in some cases, historic radiographs prior to me seeing the patient. And some send a referral slip with a tooth number circled and nothing more. General dentists need to know that their endodontic colleagues are there to support and help them. We as endodontic specialists need to get out into the communities where we practice and help educate not only general dentists but other specialists about what it is that makes endodontics so special and unique. With the nationwide shortage of endodontic faculty in dental schools, some dental students are barely exposed to endodontics by endodontists. We need to be willing to step up and give lectures to our local dental societies, study clubs and things as simple as a quick Lunch & Learn within our own offices. We as specialists need to be there to help educate and support those within our dental communities.
AAE: You’ve spent years involved in organized dentistry. What first motivated you to get involved, and what kept you saying “yes” since then?
RH: I’m a third-generation dentist in my family. My grandfather was a general dentist and my father’s older brother was a general dentist. My father was a physician who practiced to the age of 85. From a young age, my father would say to me in Latin, “cui multum datur, multum exspectatur,” which translates to, “to whom much is given, much is expected.” That phrase has reverberated in the back of my head since I was a young boy. That’s probably what motivated me in the beginning to get involved, giving back to a profession that has given so much to me. What propelled me to put forth my name to be CDA President was the words of the Jewish Schlor Hillel the Elder: “If not me than who, if not now than when.” What has probably kept me saying ‘yes’ all these years is that a lot (not all) of it has been fun, the personal fulfillment that I have obtained, the many relationships that I have developed over the years, and the gratification of knowing that the profession of dentistry is a little bit better because of some of the things I was able to accomplish over my career.