Honorees recognized

Dr. Franklin S. Wiene has been selected to receive the Dr. Thaddeus V. Weclew Award for his exceptional contributions to the art and science of dentistry and for promoting the AGD’s principles and ideals.

Dr. Weine graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry in 1957. He taught at both Northwestern University and Indiana University and practiced endodontics. He has written seven textbooks on endodontics and has presented more than 375 lectures in 18 countries.

The award is named after Dr. Thaddeus V. Weclew, the founding father of the AGD.

Also at the 57th annual session 231 new Fellows, 155 new Masters and 33 new Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition recipients will be honored.

Graduation gowns

At Saturday night’s AGD Premier Celebration, numerous dentists will receive awards and service recognition at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum.

Among those sporting a cap and gown will be Kansas City dentist Dr. Bill Busch, who will receive his Mastership from the Academy. The member of DPR’s Clinical 360 Technology Team has amassed more than the required 750 hours of CE and also passed the written test.

Dr. Busch, who also is the co-founder of TeamSmile (teamsmile.org) will rack up some frequent flyer miles in the next few weeks while organizing the dental outreach programs with the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints.

Handy hands-on CE

Many of the CE courses at this year’s AGD meeting involve hands-on training, much to the delight of Dr. Robert Lowe, FICD, FADI, FACD, FIADFE.

Dr. Lowe, who is the Team Lead for DPR’s Clinical 360 Cosmetic-Restorative Team, will use some hands-on instruction during Saturday’s “Clinical Solutions for a Profitable Practice” course. The technique-filled seminar will teach skills needed to refine preparations and impressions and will help attendees improve consistency and quality.

“I like these AGD courses because they’re really dedicated students,” Dr. Lowe said. “They’re really into hands-on and I believe hands-on is the best way to take something right back to the office and use it.”

In addition to Saturday’s course, Dr. Lowe is doing a lecture in the Learning Lab on the trade show floor on Friday. The title of his Friday course is: “Functional and Aesthetic Direct Composite  Artistry.”

For a variety of articles and videos from Dr. Lowe, visit dentalproductsreport.com.

Bottom line on a little of everything

Dr. Gordon Christensen of Practical Clinical Courses will cover a little of everything before his full-day course, “The Christensen Bottom Line — 2009” is completed Friday at the AGD annual session Baltimore.

In the morning session, Dr. Christensen spoke to a large crowd in the ballroom about a variety of dental topics. Among his topics were the history of bonding agents and why some of the sixth-generation versions may be as “good as it gets” even though a number of seventh- and now eighth-generation versions have come available, many of which offer optimal ease of use.

He also talked about some of the latest LED curing lights which have already been tested by Clinician’s Report, even though few dentists have yet to get their hands on them yet because they are so new. Ultradent’s Valo, Invoclar Vivadent’s 20i and 3M ESPE’s Elipar S10 were just a few of the many lights that Dr. Christensen said can cure in as little as 3 to 5 seconds. He also offered up tips on how to work with some of the more powerful, quick devices without producing too much heat on the tooth.

After a lunch break he’ll cover several more areas of interest and therefore attendees can expect plenty of responses during a Q & A session at the end.

CE on the trade show floor

Some exhibitors at this year’s AGD meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center are EXCe-Participating companies, meaning attendees can stop by and ask for detailed information on a variety of products and techniques.

Visitors to these booths partipate in 10- to 15-minute CE presentations to learn about the latest in product usage and pick up CE along the way.

Manufacturers taking part in this quick educational program on Friday include DEKA Lasers, GC America, Golden Misch, IDEA, Nierman Practice Management and Sterngold Dental.

Of course, the meeting also includes a full slate of top-notch lecturers including DPR’s Clinical 360 Cosmetic-Restorative Team Lead Dr. Robert Lowe.

AGD invades Baltimore

The 2009 AGD annual session’s opening ceremonies on Thursday featured keynote speaker Cal Ripken Jr., baseball Iron Man, Hall of Famer, and local legend. Ripken, whose name has become synonymous with strength, character, endurance and integrity, spoke to attendees, guests and exhibit personnel. The keynote speaker was sponsored by Procter & Gamble.

Attendees looking for a little more baseball can sign up for Friday night’s Baltimore Orioles game and picnic. The Orioles will take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards.