Ohio Dental Association’s 139th Annual Session; Quality CE, Latest in Dental Technology and Products, Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today

News Advisory:

-- Ohio Dental Association’s 139th Annual Session ... Your ticket to everything dental & more

-- Quality CE, the latest in dental technology and innovative products - and Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today

What: Nearly 6,000 dental professionals and their guests from Ohio and nearby states - and numerous oral health experts and vendors from across the U.S. - will participate in the 139th Annual Session of the Ohio Dental Association.

This is the ODA’s yearly convention for Ohio’s dentists, hygienists, assistants, technicians and other auxiliary staff, offering four days of continuing education classes and workshops, an expansive Exhibit Hall, and numerous special events and programs.

Where: Greater Columbus Convention Center

When: Thursday, Sept. 15 to Sunday, Sept. 18

Who: The Ohio Dental Association, its members, other dental professionals, speakers and presenters, and exhibitors of dental care products, equipment and business and practice management related services.

Why: To provide a forum of continuing education, an exhibit hall with dental-related products and services, networking and social events, awards and policy making of the Ohio Dental Association.

Quote: “Our Annual Session continues to attract not only the best speakers from across the country, but it draws attendees from other areas of the Midwest as well,” said Dr. Larry Kaye, chairman of the event committee. “The ODA convention is highly regarded in the dental community, and our Annual Session Committee works diligently throughout the year in the planning and implementation of this convention to provide the best resources and CE for our attendees.”

Economic Impact: The ODA Annual Session is one of the longest running consecutive conventions in the state. This year’s is the 139t.h. The ODA reports the following based on figures provided by Experience Columbus. The 2004 Annual Session accounted for 1,674 total room nights in downtown Columbus hotels. The peak was 865.

-- The dollar value of these hotel nights is $3,687,127.

-- The total amount spent, other than hotel costs, in Columbus last year, based on estimated attendance of 5,570 and average spending per day of $266 for 3.5 days, was $5,185,670.

-- With hotels and other spending, the total amount of revenue brought to Columbus businesses from the 2004 dental convention is calculated at $8,950,777. This does not take into account spending by a spouse of a convention attendee.

Of Special Interest:

-- Continuing Education program, Dr. Jon Suzuki, international expert on periodontal disease, will present two programs. The first course will focus on the diagnosis of disease, especially the immune mechanisms based on the interaction between oral bacteria and inflammatory cells, which may serve as the biologic basis for at least some of the associations of periodontitis with systemic diseases. The second will address treatment options, with a focus on innovative products.

-- Interactive Exhibit, Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today, also known as TDOT, is dental office technology on wheels. An innovative partnership between the American Dental Association and Sullivan-Schein, TDOT’s technology demonstrates how components of the exhibit can be integrated into all aspects of a dental practice, including dental hygiene, diagnostics and treatment, patient education, billing and claims processing. Many of the components are software-driven. (See below for more information.)

-- Callahan Celebration of Excellence, honoring the 2005 Award of Excellence recipients and Callahan Medal recipient, Robert J. Genco, DDS, Ph.D. Genco is a leader in research that has displayed a link between periodontal disease and such systemic health issues as diabetes, heart attack, certain types of stroke and premature births.

-- An exhibit hall with more than 280 booths - the latest and greatest in traditional and new dental techniques, equipment and products. In addition to dental technology, visitors can see what’s new and what’s popular in orthodontic appliances and equipment -- what are the kids (and adults) wearing today? What products make the smile brighter -- and just what is the difference between the various styles of toothbrushes and bristles? This year’s Exhibit Hall is the largest ever in number of exhibitors and booths.

-- CE program, “An Introduction to Forensic Dentistry as We Know It,” offering a comprehensive look at forensic dentistry, including how case information supports the role that forensic dentistry plays in identification, and solving a particular case or assisting in times of a disaster.

Awards of Excellence: The Awards of Excellence are an annual ODA event. This year’s recipient of the Marvin Fisk Humanitarian Award is Dr. Michael Thomas of Louisville. Receiving the Achievement Award are Nick Baird, MD, director of the Ohio Dept. of Health and Kathleen Koehn, newly retired executive director of the Toledo Dental Society. The N. Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award goes to Dr. Cheri Lampe of Pataskala (she is also a Captain in the USAR Medical Support Unit, Dental Corp). The ODA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Dentist Award, will be presented to Dr. John Gerstenmaier of Akron. These awards are presented along with the Callahan Medal of Honor given to Dr. Robert J. Genco at the Callahan Celebration of Excellence dinner on Friday evening, Sept. 16 in the Hyatt Regency Ballroom.

Continuing Education: CE courses: more than 60 top-notch courses and/or workshops encompassing the practice of dentistry, practice management, office administration, insurance, regulatory compliance, technology and so on. The majority of the CE courses meet licensure renewal requirements of the Ohio State Dental Board.

Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today, also known as TDOT, will “park” in the Greater Columbus Convention Center’s Exhibit Hall C, from 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 through mid-Saturday, Sept. 17 during the ODA dental convention. ADVANCE MEDIA HOURS TO TOUR TDOT ARE FROM 3:30 TO 5 P.M. ON SEPT. 15.

TDOT is dental practice and office technology on wheels. An interactive mobile exhibit, TDOT provides visitors a first-hand experience of how high-tech lasers, digital imaging and computer technology are revolutionizing the dental practice.

Designed to improve overall practice productivity and directed to the dentist as a health professional and a business owner, the TDOT exhibit includes processes that can help enhance productivity and patient care:

-- Sterilization Center: The 10’ sterilization center is used within the dental office to sterilize dental equipment and help prevent the the spread of germs. The area uses sensors to detect the presence of objects, thereby eliminating the need for a dentist or dental assistant to use their hands to open drawers, open equipment packaging, open sterilization lids, etc. By limiting the areas where a dental practitioner touches, the steri-center helps prevent the spread of infection and disease within the operatory and to patients.

-- Evolution 4D Milling System: Used for the efficient and accurate construction of crowns for patients, the product consists of two components: the laser and the milling machine. The laser takes measurements of the tooth and creates a 3D digital model of the crown to be created. This information is communicated to the milling machine, which molds the porcelain into a crown based on the instuctions received by the laser. The crown can be produced and be ready for placement in about 30 minutes.

-- Short Column OP 100 Digital Pan: The digital panographic x- ray system does not require film or messy chemicals and requires significantly less radiation exposure. The photo instantly appears on a monitor. The patient benefits from significanlty reduced radiation exposure; the practitioner benefits from reduced film and chemical processing costs.

-- Scan X System: This phosphorous digital x-ray system, used for photographing individual teeth, has the same benefits as the digital pan device.

-- ImageRayi: A digital x-ray sensor that eliminates the need to place film in the patient’s mouth. Additionally, the ImageRayi captures the xray digitally and instanteously, and reduces radition exposure by 90 to 95 percent. The device also eliminates the need for x-ray development within the dental office. With the ImageRayi, a dental practitioner can also utilize the technology to enhance brightness, contrast, and sizing (by zooming in and out) of photographs. The photo information can easily be shared with patients, payors and other groups.

-- Dentrix ImageCamUSB2.0: An intraoral camera that allows the dentist to digitally photograph regions within the mouth from the comfort of the dental chair.

-- DENTRIX: The heart of the digital dental office, DENTRIX, the flagship product of Dentrix Dental Systems, Inc., is recognized as the industry’s top practice management application, helping practitioners use technology to streamline patient record keeping, management and updates in the dental office.


Contact: Kathy L. Woodard, director of communication and public service, at 614-486-2700; kathyw@oda.org. Visit http://www.oda.org - Ohio’s resource for oral health information.

Contact Information

Kathy L. Woodard

Media Contact

Ohio Dental Association

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