Hispanic Dental Association 18th Annual Meeting
Hispanic Dental Association 18th Annual Meeting Chicago, Illinois– Oral health professionals, students, leaders from allied dental organizations, corporate sponsors and the dental industry met together in Chicago at the historic Palmer House
Hispanic
Dental Association 18th Annual Meeting
Chicago, Illinois– Oral health professionals, students, leaders from allied dental
organizations, corporate sponsors and the dental industry met together in Chicago at the historic
Palmer House Hilton to attend the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) 18th
Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting theme “Celebrating the Past and
Changing the Future”
was inspired by an Association milestone –
the celebration of their 20th Anniversary as an association.
The Annual Meeting began on Thursday, October 28, 2010, with a
Pre-Conference Symposium entitled, “Improving
Oral Health Matters, Oral Health Disparities, and Oral Health Access for
Hispanics.” The Symposium, moderated by Francisco
Ramos-Gomez, DDS, MS, MPH, included three
panels led by experts in the field of dentistry: Sara Grossi, DDS, MS, Brody School of
Medicine, Clemencia Vargas, DDS, PhD, University of Maryland Dental School, and
Maria Rosa Watson, DDS, MS, DrPH, Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County. Panel Coordinators, Magda A. de la Torre, RDH,
MPH, Sarita Arteaga, DMD, MAGD, and Dr. Ramos-Gomez assisted the Panel Leaders with their workgroups of invited
guest experts. The Symposium will be
published by Aegis Communications through a grant from Colgate-Palmolive.
Bringing greetings to
a record number of attendees at the Opening Ceremony were the following
esteemed guests:
Dr. Ray Gist, President of the American Dental Association, Dr. Walter
Owens, President of the National Dental Association, Dr. David Smith, President
of the Society of American Indian Dentists, Ms. Cristina Bordabeheres, RDH for
the American Dental Hygienists’
Association, Dr. Rena D’Souza,
Vice President of the American Association of Dental Research, Dr. Fares Elias,
President of the Academy of General Dentistry, Ms. Natalie Kaweckyj, President
of the American Dental Assistants’
Association, and Dr. Michael Stablein, President of the Chicago Dental
Society. Special guest, Mr. Ian Cook,
President & CEO of Colgate Palmolive, shared a presentation encapsulating
the twenty year partnership between HDA and Colgate Palmolive, the Association’s founding sponsor.
Dr. Victor Rodriguez, 2010 HDA President,
presented Mr. Cook with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In celebration of the 20th
Anniversary, HDA Past Presidents, founding members, and staff were recognized
for their important role in building the Association.
HDA
Executive Director, Dr. Carmen Yolanda Bonta, a founding Board member, reminded the community “of the brilliant visionary thinking
that created a solution for a need that was not yet perceived.” “The growth of the Hispanic patient
demographics and increased communication among colleague associations focusing
on underserved minorities has created a heretofore strength in the dental
professional community.”
Presidential
Awards were given to three organizations for their contributions
to the improvement of oral health in the majority and minority communities of
our nation: American Dental Association,
National Dental Association, and Society of American Indian Dentists. Befitting of the theme, Keynote Speaker, Jose
Galvez, gave the audience an autobiographical photography presentation
depicting his humble beginnings as a shoe shine boy to present day Pulitzer
Prize winning photographer. His well
known photography focuses on different aspects of Latino life.
Friday saw the opening of the Exhibit
Hall filled with an array of dental suppliers and industry organizations. A diverse schedule of Continuing Dental
Education sessions were offered on Friday and Saturday. The day ended with the judging of two
competitions, the Arturo Santiago / Dentsply International Scientific Abstract
Competition and the Procter & Gamble Oral Health Orgullo Competition.
The culmination of a landmark Annual
Meeting took place at the Gala and Award Dinner, where Ms. Tsi-tsi-ki Felix, award winning News Anchor for
Telemundo-Chicago, was Master of Ceremonies .
Sharing in the sponsorship of the Gala were DentaQuest, Henry Schein
Dental, the Greater Chicago HDA, and the UIC College of Dentistry. The program included recognition of the award
winner for the Scientific Abstract Competition –
Ms. Alejandra Valencia of the University of Iowa, and the HDA Student Chapter
winners of the Orgullo Competition –
1st Place: University of Iowa
College of Dentistry, 2nd Place:
University of Maryland Dental School, and 3rd Place: University of Connecticut School of Dental
Medicine. Presidential Awards were
presented to two very deserving individuals for positively impacting oral
health through their professions, they were:
Dr. Aidee Nieto-Herman, Tufts University, and Dr. Elena Rios, National
Hispanic Health Foundation. The 2011 HDA
Board of Trustees joined Executive Director, Dr. Bonta, to recite their oath of
acceptance of HDA Board responsibilities and commitment. Ms. Margo Melchor, RDH, MEd will begin
her presidency on January 1, 2011.
For more information on the Hispanic
Dental Association, please visit their website at http://www.hdassoc.org.
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