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AAE holds its annual meeting with emphasis on access

Drs Alexandre A.P. Fleury, Wm. Ben Johnson, Richard E. Mounce and William L. Wildey, along with moderator Dr Anthony Tran, lead the hands-on ‘Cleaning and Shaping’ workshop at the AAE meeting in San Diego, USA. (DTI/Photo Sierra Rendon, DTA)
Sierra Rendon, DTA

Sierra Rendon, DTA

Tue. 27 April 2010

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SAN DIEGO, USA: The American Association of Endodontists welcomed about 4,000 people to its annual meeting 14 to 17 April in sunny San Diego. The focus of the meeting, which was expanded to four full days this year, was Acess to Apex, Education and Care, and it offered endodontic specialists 232 C.E. hours in 120 courses.

In addition to the vast learning and educational opportunities, dozens of exhibitors brought the newest and most innovative endodontic products on the market to the meeting. Here are some highlights from the event:

Acess to Care project

The AAE, with support from Henry Schein Dental/Henry Schein Cares, hosted its first Access to Care project at the San Diego Convention Center on 17 April. Coinciding with the final day of the annual session, the association aimed to demonstrate the important role endodontists play as part of the dental team, by providing complimentary endodontic treatment to underserved patients in the San Diego community.

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“Patient well-being is the ultimate goal of any dental treatment, and we should make every effort to provide excellent endodontic care to help patients keep their natural teeth for a lifetime,” said AAE President Dr Gerald N. Glickman. “Nationwide, more than 80 per cent of AAE members are engaged in making a difference in their communities year-round by providing charitable services. A recent AAE member survey shows that endodontists provide an average of 10 free root canals each year.”

Patients were prescreened by local community dental clinics and treated by volunteer endodontists licensed in California and endodontic residents from the University of Southern California in the USC’s Mobile Dental Clinic. Treatment plans and accompanying radiographs will be returned to the referring clinics for follow-up care.

Live surgery

Another new aspect of the AAE’s annual session was the live surgical procedures featured as part of the Master Clinician Series. Attendees were able to observe clear examples of microsurgery and grafting, CT-guided apical surgery, periradicular palatal surgery and nonsurgical endodontic retreatment in a theater-in-the-round setting.

Drs L Stephen Buchanan, Mahmoud Torabinejad, Wyatt D. Simons and Garrett M. Guess were the clinicians featured in this series.

Education

Additional workshops offered hands-on exposure to a number of areas, including microsurgery, suturing, regeneration, cleaning and shaping protocols, implants, CPR and basic life support, hand care and retreatment.

Endodontists at every level could find educational tracks appropriate for their needs with an easy access guide labeling the sessions to be of interest for Educators, Resident and New Practitioners and Endodontic Team.

Social aspects

In response to member requests, the AAE set out to provide a wide variety of venues for its members. Those requests translated into a Family Fun Night, a StayFit! Fitness program, and events with best-selling author Chris Crowley (Younger Next Year) and celebrity comedian Jay Leno at the President’s Event.

Future event

Next year’s annual meeting will be held 13–16 April in San Antonio, TX, USA.

Editorial note: The AAE contributed to this report.

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