I hope you are all enjoying the first quarter of the year! It seems like Spring is finally arriving with longer lighter days. That always makes me feel happy! I wanted to send you an update on our district as we are finally getting back to in-person meetings and gatherings.
Our Northeast Society of Pediatric Dentistry is under new leadership:
President: Dr. Max Sulla
Vice President: Dr. Vrutti Patel
Secretary-Treasurer: Dr. Bina Katechia
Immediate Past President: Dr. Adam Silevitch
Drs. Sulla, Patel, Katechia and Silevitch are a great team working on many projects and are here to assist you in any needs you have in your state. The website is being upgraded, vNED’s are being scheduled and plans for the Annual Session in San Diego are being finalized.
I hope you all are planning on attending the 75th anniversary AAPD Annual Session starting May 26th. The link is: https://annual.aapd.org. Many great courses, meetings, exhibitors, social events and surprises are planned for all to benefit from and enjoy!! Please put in your calendars the NESPD District Caucus on May 28th from 1-2 PM PT at the San Diego Convention Center in Room 8 and the After Hours Reception sponsored by the NESPD at the Union Kitchen & Tap in the Gaslamp District on Friday, May 27th from 10:30 PM to 12:00 AM PT after the Welcome Reception. It will be a super time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones!! An invitation will follow this week.
A very successful Pediatric Oral Health Advocacy Conference happened in early March in-person in DC at the Mayflower Hotel. Many of our district residencies were represented and participated in virtual and in-person Congressional visits. The legislative asks focused on Title VII funding, the Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program, Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act and Operating Room Access and new CMS Billing Codes for operating rooms and surgery centers for oral rehabilitations. It was a real joy to finally see so many colleagues and friends! I was so impressed with the residents that took part in the conference. This was a great team effort by everyone present.
And finally, it has been a true pleasure being your Trustee for the past 3 years! Unfortunately, COVID had prevented me from traveling to visit many of your states for a majority of my tenure. Since there were no volunteers this past year to replace me in this position, I am thrilled to extend my term one more year! I hope to be able to visit more state meetings and residencies in the near future. Our executive committee and I would love to be present at your state meetings and programs, if possible, so please keep us informed of your activities. Thank you!
If anyone is interested in being the NE District Trustee, please let me know and I am happy to discuss this position with you. The application package will be due the end of August. Be on the look-out for an AAPD email describing the process and calling for nominations in June. It is a wonderful experience working with the exceptional AAPD board and the fantastic district you would represent.
