ADA to hold its 150th meeting in Hawaii

“This year’s Annual Session continues its great tradition of bringing unique learning opportunities, cutting-edge technology and the newest and most popular dental products and services,” said Dr Robert Skinner, 2009 chair of the Council on ADA Sessions. Join us in Hawaii to take advantage of these outstanding offerings, help observe the 150th anniversary of the ADA and, at the same time, celebrate the accomplishments of our great profession.”

The ADA Annual Session offers attendees the choice of more than 180 relevant and topical continuing education courses, the majority of which are free with registration. Registration also includes entrance into the World Marketplace Exhibition, featuring more than 350 suppliers of dental products and services, and access to the ADA’s Distinguished Speaker Series.

Sidney Poitier to speak

The Opening General Session will take place on Wednesday, 30 September, at 5:30 pm at the Waikiki Shell and will feature an address by Sidney Poitier, an Academy Award-winning actor, writer, director and diplomat. He has been described as a political and artistic trailblazer for more than half a century. Poitier has had an incalculable impact on American culture since the early 1950s, when he began appearing in a string of groundbreaking movies that addressed issues of racial and social inequality. To listening audiences he narrates his struggle to achieve equality for himself and other black actors, as well as the films that would make him one of the world’s most popular and respected actors, including No Way Out, The Blackboard Jungle, Lilies of the Field, The Defiant Ones, A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night.

The Opening Session will also include Hawaiian cultural performances and a special tribute to the ADA’s 150th anniversary.

Education

Attendees will be able to select from more than 180 continuing education options, both inside and outside the classroom.

The schedule for continuing education is as follows:

• Thursday, 1 October, through Saturday, 3 October, from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm
• Sunday, 4 October, from 7:30 to 10:30 am

Education in the Round, a live-patient educational environment, will feature live patient procedures conducted in a fully functional dental operatory, in an interactive format between speaker and attendees. This high-tech learning environment includes images captured on intraoral cameras and displayed on 60-inch flat-screen monitors.

Meeting attendees will also be able to earn CE on the exhibit floor. A Live Operatory Center will enable dental professionals to experience the latest technology on the market and how it can enhance their ability to effectively diagnose and treat patients. The 2009 Live Operatory Center will feature a CAD/CAM Stage and a new Competition Hub.

For those who wish to extend their stay on the islands while earning CE on Maui, Kauai or the Big Island of Hawaii, post-session courses will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, 6 and 7 October, at three Marriott resorts: the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, the Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach Club and and the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. All courses take place from 8 to 11am, leaving attendees with plenty of time for the afternoon sun.

On Maui, you can expand your skills with a 'mini' implant course taught by Dr Gordon Christensen on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, he will teach how to integrate 'mini' implants into your practice. On Kauai, you can expand your practice with an advanced Invisalign course on Tuesday, then learn how to build a corresponding business model with the Pride Institute on Wednesday. And on the Big Island of Hawaii, you can expand your mind with an esthetic photography class on Tuesday, flowed up with a fun vacation photography class on Wednesday.

Exhibits

At the World Marketplace Exhibition, meeting attendees will be able to find solutions for business needs and explore the latest in dental products and services. Hundreds of exhibitors will allow participants to touch, feel and 'test drive' the latest products on the market.

The World Marketplace Exhibition hours are as follows:

• Thursday, 1 October, through Saturday, 3 October, from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm each day.

Every day on the exhibit hall floor, meeting attendees will be able to play a Super Sweepstakes for a chance to win cash and prizes. A photo booth will offer free souvenir photos. Attendees can pre-order a Grab-and-Go lunch and enjoy it in the hall, or get a meal or snack at one of the exhibit hall restaurants. An Exhibit Hall Closing Party will be held on Saturday from 1:30 to 3 pm.

150th anniversary

The ADA launched the celebration of its 150th anniversary at its 149th Annual Session in San Antonio last October. Annual Session attendees this year can join their colleagues in helping the ADA culminate its 150th birthday at An Evening under the Stars, on Friday, 2 October, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. The famed Waikiki Shell is site of the celebration, featuring spectacular Hawaiian music and culture against the backdrop of Diamond Head Crater, one of the state’s most famous landmarks.

Presidential Gala

An evening honoring the American Dental Association President, Dr John Findley, and the ADA’s 150th anniversary will be held on Monday, 5 October at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Mid-Pacific Conference Center Coral Ballroom. The cost to attend is $110 per person. Attendees will get a three-course dinner and be able to dance the night away while listening to favorite hits. This celebration is designed to be a perfect finale for the meeting.