Page 5 - SPRING 2016

From the Regional Director

By Ira Levine, DDS, FAGD I will start off with the sugar before we get to the medicine. Your
membership in the AGD is extraordinarily important for the
A Spoon Full of Sugar preservation of our profession for current and future generations
of dentists. Just by being a member you strengthen the voice of
In my previous article I wrote that general general dentists at a time when it is needed most. I am honored
dentists are as much a family as your to be able to represent you and I am grateful for your continued
immediate family. As a family, we should membership.
speak frankly with one another, even if it is
about something that one party would There are over 200,000 dentists in the United States. 40,000 of
rather not hear. As I write this I can hear those are specialists. The total membership of the AGD is near
my editor yelling at me that I can’t say 40,000. The ADA represents 159,000 dentists. There is a dispro-
what I am about to say. Please read the following carefully. portionate representation of specialists in the leadership of the
ADA as well as in governing bodies such as the New York State
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are Board for Dentistry. If you have ever attended a meeting of the
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official pol- NYS Board for Dentistry, you will find they will invite comment
icy or position of the NYSAGD. from various specialty groups, NYSDA, and maybe (not always)
the NYSAGD. If you happen to attend a meeting of the House of
continued on page 35
From the National Trustee

By Abe Dyzenhaus, DDS, FAGD This year’s board has seven new members which represents about
S ince the end of the AGD national meet- a quarter of the board. During the first day of the meeting, the
board worked on team building. It may sound unusual but it real-
ing and the first board meeting in the
Maria Smith administration, the AGD ly works. The gentleman leading the discussion was excellent and
you could see the results during the rest of the meeting. The board
board has met face to face in Chicago and worked well together and overall there was consensus.
through teleconference.
The following were some of the issues discussed:
The teleconference meetings in the past • The launch of the new AGD website. This will take place
few years have been productive. At times sometime in June 2017.
it can be difficult to speak due to the num- • Rebranding is moving forward.
ber of people on the call, but in the end the • The concept of the joint council meetings is changing
business of the AGD gets accomplished. slightly; there will be divisional council meetings.
There was one teleconference between the
Boston meeting and the board meeting the first weekend in The board met with the AGD staff and I personally found that the
November. During that teleconference the board discussed sever- staff is happy and working well together. This is probably due to
al resolutions which gave the board the opportunity to work on the leadership of the interim executive directors, Dan Buksa and
other issues when it met in Chicago. Tom Killem. As for the search for a new executive director, there

continued on page 35
From the Executive Director

By Mrs. Paula Bostick, Executive Director same thing. They take a hard look at their finances and want to
make sure that most of the money going out is accounted for and
Remember the Reasons that they are getting some form of return on the money spent.
As time passes by, most individuals like to If any of our members are in any way doubtful about the dues dol-
reflect and see how they’re doing along lars they are spending every year to be a member of the Academy
life’s narrow way; I know I do. I evaluate of General Dentistry, I would like to highlight some of the “rea-
what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, how sons” it is money well spent.
I’m doing it, and make sense of all the rea- Continuing Education
sons why. One of the things is my • AGD State Board Transcript
finances. I make sure that every dollar This valuable feature is customized to your state board require-
spent is being returned to me in some form ments and tracks your CE credits toward relicensure. View the
or fashion. Not being able to account for credits you’ve earned at the AGD website (simply by clicking
money spent drives me crazy. Whether
I’m satisfied or not, at least I know where the money went and on the -My CE” tab at the top of the AGD home
page). The AGD state transcript is approved by the New
why. I’m certain that I’m not alone. Many of our members do the
continued on page 35
www.nysagd.org | Spring 2017 | GP 5