Association in Action

Reorganization of AAPHD Committees. Since the Annual Business Meeting held during the 2008 National Oral Health Conference, several committees have met, picking up where last year's committees left off. Volunteers are needed for a number of taskforces that are forming. You can find committee reports on the website at www.aaphd.org/committees. Please contact Pam Tolson in the national office to volunteer: pam@assn-srvs.com.

Oral Health Policy & Advocacy Committee, Chair: Ardell Wilson. Over the next two months reviewers will evaluate the status of the association's existing policies, resolutions and white papers. Reviewers are asked to make a judgment of whether to keep, archive, combine or revise each. All are posted on the website at www.aaphd.org/policy. The committee will make a final recommendation to the Executive Council (EC). If you are interested in participating on this committee, please contact the national office.

BYLAWS Task Force, Chair: Raul Garcia. This taskforce is appointed as needed to review and update the AAPHD Bylaws. The bylaws have been updated several times in the past few years, but in 2008-2009 this Taskforce will do a complete review to ensure that the bylaws are in compliance with the Illinois Not-For-Profit Act and that the bylaws outline appropriate processes for the association's actions. It will also recommend policies for governance of the newly developing Student Chapters at University of Illinois-Chicago and University of Florida. Members are being recruited now to serve on this Taskforce. Meetings will be by conference call and begin in August. Contact Pam Tolson to volunteer.

aaphd.org Taskforce. The website, aaphd.org, is about to undergo a face lift.  A new template program is being provided by the AAPHD management company and work will be done by staff. However, volunteers are needed who have experience in developing websites to assist with functionality and design. Please contact Pam Tolson at pam@assn-srvs.com. The taskforce will meet by conference call beginning in early September.

Audit & Finance Committee, Chair: Mary Foley. This committee has met several times and is working on a new format for reporting the organizations financials to the membership and to help the EC with budgeting. The new format is expected to be finished by the end of summer.

2008 Annual Business Meeting Minutes now on website. Minutes from the 2008 Annual Business Meeting may now be found by going to www.aaphd.org/minutes, which also connects to AAPHD Annual Committee Reports. The current financial report is not yet posted, but a member who wants a copy may contact natoff@aaphd.org. The AAPHD Annual Audit is also available to members.

Call for Horowitz Scholarship Applications. Dentists enrolled in a full-time accredited MPH program or the first year of a 2-year advanced education in the Dental Public Health Program are invited to apply for the 2009-2010 Herschel S. Horowitz Scholarship, a $25,000 scholarship. The application deadline is October 31, 2008 for the fall 2009 semester. The submission form may be found on the website at www.aaphd.org/FoundationScholarship.

Call for 2009 NOHC Program Abstracts. The Planning Committee for the 2009 National Oral Health Conference invites plenary and breakout workshop proposals presenting scientific research, program evaluations, community-based interventions and partnerships related to dental public health. While there is no specific theme for the NOHC, proposals reflecting a "pursuit of excellence in dental public health" are encouraged. The program abstract should be submitted online at www.nationaloralhealthconference.com. Please indicate your preference for a plenary or breakout workshop; however, the Planning Committee will make the final decision on program format. Please submit no later than August 31, 2008. Notification of selection will be made in early October 2008. Any questions may be directed to Pam Tolson at natoff@aaphd.org.

Date Changed for 2011 NOHC in Pittsburgh. The original dates for the 2011 NOHC overlap a religious holiday. The date has been changed to April 11-13, 2011.

Mark your calendars now for the next three National Oral Health Conferences:

 April 26-28, 2010             St. Louis, MissouriHilton St. Louis at the Ball Park

 April 11- 13, 2011            Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hilton Pittsburgh

Lost & Found 2008 NOHC. A ladies necklace was left on the registration counter at the NOHC in Miami. The necklace is 18" in length and was in a black gift box. If anyone lost a necklace, call Sandi Steil at 217-529-6941 to identify with a full description. Several computer cords were found also.

AAPHD Officers and Staff Attend Summer Meetings. It has been a busy summer for AAPHD officers and staff and more travel is expected as they attend a number of meetings throughout the country. Here is a sampling of the calendar:

June 2008  ADHA Annual Meeting - Jane Steffensen

July 2008   ASTDD Leadership Meeting - Scott Tomar

             National Dental Association Annual Meeting - Caswell Evans

             Dental Specialty Group Meeting - Caswell Evans and Pam Tolson

             Council on Dental Accreditation - Pam Tolson

August 2008  ADA Meeting of Specialty Boards and Sponsoring Organizations- Isabel Garcia, Joe Alderman, Scott Tomar and Caswell Evans

             CODA Informational Meeting - Scott Tomar

AAPHD Provides Input to NIDCR 2008-2013 Strategic Plan. In June, President Mark Greer sent a letter to Dr. Tabak, NIDCR Director, emphasizing eight points that AAPHD feels require priority attention, several of which were included in the 2003-2008 strategic plan. These points are: 

▪     Identify and validate clinical and non-clinical markers for oral diseases and conditions that can be used for population-based public health surveillance.

▪     Provide national and international leadership in the development of evidence-based dental public health practice, including continued assessment of the oral health status of the U.S. population.

▪     Identify and evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of novel and existing modalities for the primary and secondary prevention of dental caries, periodontal diseases, and oral and pharyngeal cancer, particularly in populations that are at high-risk for those diseases.

▪     Identify behavioral interventions for oral diseases that are effective in communities at high risk.

▪     Increase the number of researchers from disciplines such as informatics, biostatistics, behavioral sciences, social sciences, health services research, and epidemiology working in population-based clinical dental research.

▪     Increase the public's oral health literacy.

▪     Increase the enrollment and retention of women, children, racial and ethnic minorities and other underrepresented groups in studies conducted at NIDCR and in NIDCR-funded clinical research.

▪     Increase the number of investigators from groups that are underrepresented in oral, dental and craniofacial research, including individuals from racial and ethnic minorities or from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Urging NIDCR to bolster its intramural expertise in dental public health, population-based prevention, oral epidemiology, social science, behavioral science and health services research, Greer offered assistance from AAPHD that would be helpful to the Institute.