Trustee Report – May 2020

When the AAPD Board of Trustees, officers and others met in San Diego for the Winter Planning meeting back in January, we had no idea that two months later we would be having a Zoom meeting to talk about cancelling the AAPD Annual Meeting in Nashville. One constant in life is change and did we ever get a very heavy dose of that constant this year. We should be talking about the great CE courses, the opportunities to reconnect with our friends and peers, the chances to visit with our vendors and suppliers to see what new and exciting things that have for our practices and of course the fun of the great city of Nashville. Instead, we are trying to figure out what life as a pediatric dentist looks like as we navigate this pandemic, coronavirus and COVID-19.

By now, AAPD members know that the annual sessions in Nashville have been cancelled. Please know that the BOT struggled with the decision process and weighed very carefully the choices laid before us. With all of the evidence, there was really no choice but to cancel the AAPD 2020 meeting in Nashville. Safety of our members and their families was the very pinnacle of the decision process.

With that decision made, AAPD staff immediately set out to create a replacement annual meeting and by now, you have received emails from the AAPD explaining the NashVirtual meeting coming up in less than 2 weeks. If you haven’t seen the emails, here is a link to the registration page: https://web.cvent.com/event/1da26688-e3e8-496d-94be-915ca509c657/summary?rp=24c5e0ed-fa5b-4efe-aa05-3bfc6e4bd789 I have to tell you that the staff that live and work in Chicago for you, the members of the AAPD are beyond amazing. Their singular goal is to make certain that your AAPD works for you and provides you with more value than any other professional organization around. Please take the opportunity to register for the meeting and by doing so, you will acknowledge and thank the AAPD staff for their hard work!

We have seen, also, an above and beyond effort from AAPD staff and from your AAPD officers to help you navigate your way through these times of uncertainty. There have been Townhall web meetings, informational emails and the AAPD Re-Emergence Pediatric Dentistry Practice Checklist. If you haven’t watched the Townhalls, you should do that soon. If you haven’t read through the Practice Checklist, you should do that soon. Lastly, if you have not registered for NashVirtual, you need to do that at least for the all-day PreConference course, “COVID-19 and How to Turn Your Lights Back On.”

The SWSPD will host a district caucus as we do at every AAPD annual meeting. Of course, this will be a virtual meeting. I encourage you to participate as we share what is happening in each state within our district. Watch for more information coming soon.

It is times like these that I am most proud to be a pediatric dentist. The stories I have heard from around the country describing the concern of our peers for understanding the threat from the coronavirus and how to safely manage that threat for our teams and our patients and families. These stories underline how amazing the group of professionals are that is the AAPD. We have much to be proud of and much to celebrate. As we make our way back to whatever normal will be as this continues to unfold, I believe that pediatric dentists will be seen as even more important healthcare leaders. Exploit that position and use the voice you have as an expert in pediatric oral health. Help shape the direction we will follow.

See you in Nashville! Virtually!

John Fales

AAPD Trustee representing the SouthWestern Society of Pediatric Dentistry