 Good morning. I'm Robert Lam, president of the college. Last year in my president-elect speech I asked the question, who will you push? My intention was to push all of us to help one another, to encourage one another, to do more and to do better. One of the people who pushed me this year and helped me better was our president-elect, Terry Dolan. Dr. Dolan is the chief dental officer at Overjet, a leader in AI for healthcare, and Dean Emeritus at the University of Florida School of Dentistry. She is recognized as a leader in public health dentistry and has served the ACD as an at-large regent, and has vice president, president-elect, and will be our president in 2024. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Terry Dolan. Wow. Good morning, everybody. Thank you, President Lam. I would say that I thank you, Robert, for your servant leadership, and it's been a great honor and pleasure to work with you this year. So I'm many things, but one thing I'm not is the tallest president of the American College of Dentists. I'm not sure that this arrangement is going to work, but I'll give it my best. So good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining me on this beautiful morning, and so President Lam, to my fellow American College of Dentist board members assembled here in the front of the room, new ACD fellows and honored guests. It's an absolute honor to stand before you on this step stool as the incoming president of the American College of Dentists. Our theme for this meeting is Rise and Smile, and I can't think of a more fitting theme for our profession, which is all about restoring smiles and helping people shine. And we're meeting in my home state of Florida, the Sunshine State. I saw a few fellow Gator dentists in our audience, so I'm going to give you a shout out, which is even more of a reason for me to smile this morning. And as we kick off our meeting, I'm sure there's a few people in the audience that you haven't met yet, and so as we continue the theme of fun and fellowship, I'm going to invite you all to stand up, smile, introduce yourself to someone that you haven't met yet, and let's begin our celebration together. Okay, so you're clearly more interested in meeting each other. Thank you so much. Well, and I think that's just a great illustration how we are here for the fellowship, and I hope you continue that greetings and getting to know each other as we move forward. As we all know, dentistry is so much more than just fixing teeth. It's about changing lives. It's about empowering people to be their best possible selves. And this brief address this morning, and I do promise it will be brief, is about passion, purpose, and the small things in life. And I'll start by sharing a really brief story about a recent experience that brought all these concepts to life for me, and hopefully for you as well. I know we have some dentists in the room who are licensed in California. Any California dentists here? All right. So I've been maintaining my California license since 1986, and yes, that's a pretty long time, especially considering that I've lived in Florida for 34 years. My fellow Californians know that dentists and dental hygienists and other licensed professionals are required to renew their license every two years on their birthday. So my birthday is August 21st, and this summer I had the pleasure of collecting all my CE data, taking all of the required California courses, and you know there's a lot of them. I think Californians believe dentistry is unique to the state of California, but and maybe some things are. But I took all those courses, and of course the last thing I had to do was sign up for my CPR renewal. And like everybody in this room, I'm a busy person, and honestly the last thing I wanted to do was to spend a half day renewing my CPR license. I went online and I searched for a CPR course for health professionals, and then I had this little talk track going on in my head. This little person on my left ear was saying, I can't believe I have to do this again. I've done this at least 20 times. I've only used this training course once. I did use it once, and it was at a Thanksgiving dinner, and my uncle had a seizure. Fortunately he was okay, and the one thing I had to do was call 911. And I'm thinking, oh, this training takes so long. I don't have a half day for this, so you get the picture. At the same time, this professional persona was sitting on my right shoulder and whispering my ear and saying, yes, this is the right thing to do. You need to get this done. You are a health professional, and you need to know how to administer CPR. So about a week before my training expired, I drove myself to the local Red Cross facility knowing that I needed to check that box in order to maintain my license. And so I'll give a quick shout out to anyone who has anything to do with the American Red Cross because it is an amazing organization and it provides important community services, especially in the state of Florida when we're so impacted by hurricanes and natural disasters, so they deserve a shout out as well. But back to my story. At best I would say I was conflicted. I had a pretty bad attitude about the situation, and in fact I should be embarrassed to be telling you this story, especially in front of a room full of esteemed colleagues and people who are being honored for their ethical service and commitment to the profession of dentistry. I did arrive a few minutes early. The training room was set up for five participants. The instructor was an interesting man. He was a retired police officer. He was clearly a servant leader. He was passionate about his work. He was very enthusiastic about CPR training and the importance of being well prepared and willing to serve anyone in the community who needed his help. It was a small group and so this instructor asked each of us to introduce ourselves and tell the group why we enrolled in the course. No one raised their hand, so I started and I said I was simply there because I needed to renew my dental license. The instructor was not satisfied with that answer and so he asked me to tell a little more about myself to the group. So I told the group that I'd been a dentist for 40 years, that I spent many of my years in my career in dental academics and dental education, and that I was not currently in clinical practice but I worked for a dental AI company called Overjet. So much to my surprise, my fellow students were really interested in that that I was a dentist and it was such a good reminder of how people in our community really respect dentists as community leaders and as health professionals and sometimes we forget that so it was a really nice reminder to me. In retrospect though my introduction and my reason for being in the course was pretty underwhelming especially when I tell you about the other participants. One of the trainees was an active duty Marine. He was a young man probably in his 20s and he told the group that he was attending the course and he did this on his free time while he was on leave because he wanted to be and this is a quote he wanted to be useful and of best service to his platoon and he wanted to be able to help his fellow Marines and wanted to be there to do whatever he could to help them and help keep them safe and that really resonated with me because my husband is a Marine and he was clearly so sincere in the way he described his passion and motivation. So my second shout out or third maybe at this point it was a good reminder that we have many active duty members of the military personnel in our audience or members and being recognized and I would ask you if you would all stand so that we can say thank you to you for your service. Active duty or retired. Robert thank you. All right so back to my my story. Also in our class were two nurses they were both home care nurses and hospice nurses. They didn't know each other before the course but each had a long career in nursing. They were clearly committed to their work. Each described how they wanted to provide the best possible care to their patients in their final stages of their life and they were so committed to support not only the patient but the patient's family during this difficult time. And the final person that I'd like to introduce was a young man. He was sitting across the aisle from me and he was so excited to tell the group that he was planning to become a dentist. He was so excited and he told everyone that he was starting dental school at the University of Florida College of Dentistry the following week. Now I really felt like the worst person in the room and I also thought what a small world. I worked as a faculty member at the University of Florida for 24 years. I worked as associate dean and I planned that orientation program for new students for at least eight years. Then I spent 12 years as the dean of the college and I welcomed those students on behalf of the college. And those that was really one of the most fun days in each dental school. And so I was so excited to meet this young man as he was beginning his journey into dentistry. This CPR training room was filled with servant leaders, public servants, health professionals, a soldier, and a wide-eyed young man about to begin his professional journey as a dental student. And spending the half day with that small group of people randomly assembled was one of the most unexpected and yet incredibly impactful experiences for me. Each of these individuals clearly articulated their purpose. They knew why they were in the room. They were not just checking the box. They were there for a reason. They were there to best serve their patients, to serve their buddies and fellow soldiers, to best serve their community, as well as being trained to act and help someone in their time of need and to be well prepared as an incoming dental student. Each participant demonstrated their passion for their chosen profession as well as their purpose and their reason for being. As they demonstrated the importance of being present and committed to the task of the day. Following their brief introductions and out of respect for their expression of passion and purpose, I stepped up my game. I had to become fully engaged. I had to be present and I had to be in the moment. My why and my purpose changed. I wasn't there now to just check the box and get my license renewed, although that was still important. But I was there to represent the profession of dentistry. I was there to hone my skills. I was there to be prepared at any moment in time, should anyone, a family member, a complete stranger, a patient be there to help them, should they need me. And this small group of people reminded me of the opportunity to study dentistry and to be part of this respected profession as a dentist is truly a privilege. And with that privilege comes responsibilities. I was reminded how easy it is to become complacent, to go through life checking boxes, to get that to do list done for the day, and not remembering our purpose and our why. How we show up every day at work, at home, is so important in every moment, every small decision, every action has meaning and significance. Meeting that young dental student brought back so many memories of my first day in dental school. How many of you remember your first day in dental school? I know I remember the mix of excitement, anxiety, a dash of naive enthusiasm. I remember being worried, am I good enough? Will I be able to accomplish this task? And will I be a good dentist? As a professor and dean emeritus at the University of Florida, it reminded me of the importance of the work we do as dental educators. How we set the tone for what it means to be a dental professional and how we live our values and demonstrate our commitment to ethics and professionalism each and every day. So, I do owe a shout out to all my colleagues, my dental academic, academicians, scientists, educators who are in the room, and anyone who volunteers for dental school. I'd like you to please stand so we can recognize you and thank you for your service to the profession of dentistry. Thank you. Well that's a huge proportion and I'm so thrilled to see you. And so my final and most important shout out is to our new fellows being inducted today. And for those who were inducted in the past couple years who weren't able to celebrate in person with us. Congratulations to each and every one of you. Today, you are being honored by our profession for the work you do every day. Thank you for remembering your purpose. Thank you for living your passion at home and at work. Your dedication to the excellence of dentistry has not gone unnoticed and I am proud to welcome you into this esteemed organization. Thank you to everyone in this room for your service and commitment to the American College of Dentists. We stand at a very pivotal moment in our profession's history. Dentistry is undergoing a significant transformation with new technologies, techniques and challenges emerging every day. And with those challenges come opportunity and the need for strong leadership and we're counting on each and every one of you to be those leaders and help us through that transformation. And as your president I'm committed to working with the ACD leadership and lead this organization into the future ensuring that we stay at the forefront of excellence in dentistry. As fellows in the American College of Dentistry our purpose is clear to advance the art and science of dentistry for the benefit of society. We must continue to advocate for oral health emphasizing the critical role that dentists, dental team members and the health community play together in ensuring that every person has the opportunity to be healthy. And in the words of former Surgeon General C. Evercoop, we know that you're not healthy without good oral health. The American College of Dentists has a new strategic plan which will serve as a roadmap to empower us as an organization, as an individual members to fulfill this vision and this purpose. We are so fortunate to be assembled at this annual meeting to have the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends and if needed reignite the passion that brought us into the profession in the first place. We're all passionate about what we do and it really shines through in our work. Our patients can feel it, our students can feel it and our colleagues and our communities can feel it. So let's continue to inspire the next generation of dentists to embrace this passion as well. Sometimes it's just the small things in life that matter the most. We must not forget that the value of a small, a warm smile, a kind word or a gentle touch is so important to everyone we come in contact with. These small gestures can have a profound impact on both our patients and each other. My CPR course reminded me of the importance of being present, bringing your full self to everything we do, whether it's a course, a hygiene check, a surgical procedure or your child's piano recital or a baseball game. And so I just would like to take a moment to just say a few thank yous to the many people who have mentored me and supported me through my career, beginning with my parents, family and friends. As the daughter of an immigrant mother, the first generation American to attend and graduate from college, I'm so grateful to the extended family who helped me along the way on this journey. They always encouraged me to pursue my dreams and helped me believe that anything was possible. Dental education and the profession of dentistry also helped so many other people pursue their American dream and in every case that dream was fueled by the support of family, friends, mentors and colleagues. So I thank my husband Stan and my daughter and her husband for reminding me that there's more than life. They value the work I do, but they always tell me there's more to life than teeth and dentistry. So don't forget that as well. Their love and support and occasional redirection has made me a better human. I also wanted to thank my fellow University of Florida faculty member, some of you might know Dr. Larry Clark, because he sponsored me as a fellow in the American College of Dentists. Larry remains an inspiration to me, a role model and at the age of almost 90 years, he is still actively mentoring his former students and many of his former faculty colleagues and is very active in his community. So I thank Larry and all of the sponsors in this room who, like Dr. Clark, have loved and supported us and I hope we are all fortunate to have at least one Dr. Larry in our life. I thank you to my ACD champions and colleagues who encouraged my servant leadership. I thank my fellow board members and officers for their encouragement and I especially want to thank my nominators for an officer role in this organization. I especially want to thank Dr. Pat Blanton, Dr. Marcia Boyd, I think Marcia's in the audience, thank you Marcia and Teresa Gonzalez. These amazing three women are incredible servant leaders who have helped advance dental education, science and practice and have touched so many lives. Thank you President Lam, thank you ACD officers and board members, section leaders and regents, because you give your time, your talent and your treasure to this important organization and one special additional shout out to Susan Pittman, I know you're in the room somewhere and all the incredible ACD staff who have helped organize this incredible series of activities today. So thank you Susan and team. So in closing, as we continue to rise and smile in the world of dentistry, let's remember the passion that fuels us, the purpose that drives us and the small things in life that make it all worthwhile. Together we'll navigate the ever involving landscape of dentistry and ensure that our profession continues to shine brightly. Thank you for this incredible honor and may the annual meeting be a tremendous source of inspiration and camaraderie for everyone. Thank you so much. Thank you Dr. Dolan for those inspiring comments and I want you to know that Dr. Lam and I think you are the almost the perfect height to be president of the college and having said that I would like all the past presidents of the American College of Dentists to stand, turn to your audience and wave. Hold on Bert and Dick please stand. Dr. Oetmeier, Dr. Stillwell are extravagantly tall. Good morning, I'm Dick Jones. Thank you for joining us at the annual fellows forum. I'm president of the ACD foundation. One of the many ways the foundation supports the mission of the college is by providing funding for a continuing education including the fellows forum. Our continuing education verification partner is the Academy of General Dentistry. In addition to our partnership through the PACE program, the ACD provides, the AGD provides, I screwed up again, the ACD provides ethics articles for the AGD publication, AGD impact, written by members of the American Society for Dental Ethics. We have also begun providing ethics presentations for new dentists at the AGD scientific session. I'm happy to welcome their president and fellow of the college, Dr. Hans Guter. Dr. Guter, on behalf of the college and the ACD foundation, we thank the AGD for their years of partnership and friendship. Please welcome Dr. Guter. That very nice introduction, he just told me, cost me $20. So my donation to your foundation. I thank you for the opportunity. I got notice of this a couple of weeks back and I said absolutely I would love to be here and welcome all of you on behalf of the Academy of General Dentistry. For me, induction into the American college was an honor that I still, many years later, I'm looking around the room, I see a lot of good friends, we've all been around the block a long time, but induction into this academy many years ago was something that still hold near and dear to my heart along with my involvement in the Academy of General Dentistry. One of my initiatives as president coming in this year and it finishes next month, trust me my wife is anxious for November to get here so that my travel schedule decreases significantly, but one of my initiatives was it's time for the profession of dentistry to start working collaboratively. We have the American college, we have the international college, we have so many different wonderful groups, but we are as you are already mentioned practicing in a day and age where the practice of dentistry is changing as we speak. We mentioned technology, the cost of dental education was not mentioned up here, but practice modalities are also changing and I think ethics now more than ever means more than it did when I was inducted into this college. Our young professionals are graduating with huge amounts of debt, many of them wish to practice in a private practice setting, but unfortunately cannot afford to do it right off the bat and are working in different modalities and we as the Academy of General Dentistry are here to represent all the general dentists regardless of the practice modality from an educational point of view, but they have stresses that I didn't have when I was a young dentist, I bought an office and you know always practice the motto of the patient in the chair is me or my family and it has managed to work for 34 years. Some of these new grads are practicing with different pressures, financial pressures from practice modalities are in and I'm a peer review chair in my area of the state and I can't tell you how disheartening it is to make a phone call to a young dentist practicing in that kind of condition and I always say never compromise your ethics or your professionalism, that will carry you through the rest of your career, your practice will evolve, it will grow, your patients will grow to appreciate you for doing that and my patients are constantly pushing me to become a better dentist. They know of my involvement in the AGD and one of the greatest honors I had was also being recognized by one of my peers many years ago to be nominated to this college and it's something like I said in honor I hold near dear to my heart. So we are working collaboratively with the American College, we've had them at our annual meeting they will be in Minneapolis next year because I think ethics right now is crucial to this profession and we will continue to push to build momentum in the right direction so that the ADA for instance we meet with their leadership now quarterly and discuss issues in dentistry I think we've reached a consensus where we agree on about 97 percent of the things we defer and about three to five percent and the decision was made let's work together on the 95 percent of the things that we all agree on and then we can lobby individually for the issues that affect us as general dentists the oral surgeons have different issues that may affect them separately than what impacts a general dentist so that is the momentum that I hope I have created this year I appreciate the opportunity to be here I have so many friends sitting out there and it's amazing you travel the country and you visit other organizations and you see a lot of the same people so kudos to you for doing what you have done to your profession as professionals continue being mentors and leaders in organized dentistry and to you younger dentists I I saw a few of you sitting behind me learn from these people sitting in this room because that's how I got to this point in my career where I can say I love what I do every day I've enjoyed the practice of dentistry and I have met some wonderful people throughout my entire career and I owe an awful lot to all the mentors that I had when I was a young dentist congratulations to your fellows I look forward to visiting with you during the day you have a busy day and whoever's handing out all the awards make sure you take a break I was up on stage for three and a half hours shaking lots of hands in Las Vegas back in July so thank you for the opportunity congratulations to all of you have a great day I know you have a full agenda