Happy new year to all of our members!  Let’s all hope for a great, more prosperous 2011!

We had a busy December, and I was happy to speak with so many of our members at the CE seminar early in the month, as well as greeting you at our holiday party at Trump Tower.  I think it’s good to get together and share some collegiality and fellowship.  As dentists, we are part of a unique profession, so it’s nice to be able to relax and share the company of colleagues who speak the same language, have the same concerns, the same interests.  We are part of the American Dental Association, the world’s largest dental professional organization, yes, but we are also part of a local society.  To me, a society is an organization that not only conducts business but has a social side as well.

This time of year is a good example of that.  As a society, we have come together for our Operation Dental Elf project.  Our members, some of their team members, and even some patients, all come together to gather toys and gifts for the families of deployed service men and women at Nellis Air Force Base.  These are then turned over to our colleagues in the 99th Dental Squadron, stationed at Nellis, for distribution on the base.  What a wonderful way to come together as dentists, in the community and at the Air Force Base, and make difference for people!

At the same time, we’re working on the plans for Give Kids A Smile, being held on Saturday, February 5th.  Give Kids A Smile is a national event of the ADA, bringing volunteer dentists together to help children who have no access to oral health care.  While most events around the country do exams only, we are fortunate to be hosted by the UNLV School of Dental Medicine, where we can do restorative work, and the Hygiene Association and Hygiene School can provide cleaning as well.  Last year we treated 174 children, delivering more than $150,000 worth of treatment… all in 5 hours!  Of course, this is only possible with the many, many volunteer dental students, and by the residents at the University of Southern Nevada who host us for a pre-screening day, the residents from UNLV, and even the dentists and residents at Nellis Air Force Base.  There is no other event in southern Nevada that brings every oral health education program together in one effort, all working together, and the children in our community are the beneficiaries.

Preparations are also underway for our February dinner meeting at Nellis Air Force Base.  Despite their operations and deployments, they will once again be hosting us on Tuesday, February 8th.  The SNDS office staff will be sending out reminders and taking RSVP’s, but this is always one of our best attended meetings.  We’ll have just worked together on Give Kids A Smile, so this really does provide a sense of community and inclusiveness.  I know they are working on bringing in an outstanding speaker for us, so I hope you’ll all be able to attend.

As events are planned, I’m often struck by two things.  First, of course, is the outstanding value that membership represents.  Dinner meetings and other society events are included in your membership dues, as are the CE Café seminars.  A member can acquire 15 CEU’s just by attending dinner meetings and the CE Café seminars.  Add into that the discount on our mainline CE series, with outstanding speakers right here in Las Vegas, and the benefits provided for you and your practice by the ADA and NDA, and membership is an excellent value. 

But the other aspect that is not spoken of is the value of fellowship and collegiality.  As I’ve said earlier, we dentists don’t get many opportunities to gather and mix and socialize with each other.  The social aspect… the “society”… provides a richer opportunity than only the CEU’s that might be provided.  Chatting during cocktail hour at a dinner meeting, attending the holiday party, mixing with the military dentists at Nellis, and especially working together with your colleagues during Give Kids A Smile keeps us fresh and lets us feel connected.

So just as I hope to meet you at our meetings and events, I hope, too, that you’ll join us in renewing your membership.  As we so often say, together, we can put a smile on southern Nevada!