For those that attended the Installation of Officers Banquet at the Oasis on Lake   Travis, May 18^th, you were treated to a fun evening with a beautiful sunset thanks to the efforts of Dr. Mark Burchard. Not sure how he made sure of that sunset, maybe he had a little help…. Special recognition was given to Dr. Eric Hollander who was honored as the New Dentist of the Year. Congratulations to a deserving Dr. Hollander as one of our up-and-coming stars.

 Our surprise guest that evening was TDA President, Dr Tommy Harrison, who was kind enough to drive in from Houston for the Board’s swearing-in ceremony. Now THAT’s what I call a President! Expect great things from our leadership at the TDA with Dr. Harrison at the helm.

 And the bigger surprise for me that evening was when upon arriving at the Oasis, one of the first people to greet me was former President Dr. Brian Scaff, who asked me if I had my written speech ready. The look on my face was evidence of my preparedness.  And when the time came for that speech, I still had nothing on paper. The only thought that came to mind was how thankful I am for being able to practice the way that I do.  Of course, I thought about my parents and their efforts, my seventh grade teacher that taught me how to read (just kidding)… I thought about the support of my family; my dental team - who through their daily efforts make it possible for me to practice.  And I also thought about all the active members of CADS I see regularly at events.

  It’s my belief that we as dentists, do not get to practice dentistry the way we do because we were smart in school, or because we do better work than the next guy. We practice the way we do because many dentists before us laid the groundwork and foundation for us to have the legal rights that we do. We are fortunate to be entrepreneurs, to be professionals, to earn nice incomes without a governing body owning our practices. We owe a lot to those that served before us. Not just on the local level, but on the state and national levels also.

 When I look around the room at our general monthly meetings, I see many who have served at various levels and I appreciate and respect these colleagues – colleagues who have given their free time – time from their families and practices for the benefit of our profession. People like Karen Frazer, Mark Peppard, Alan Moore, Bill Estes, Brian Scaff, Jerry Katz, Jeran Hooten, Leonard Dolce, Lance Sanders, Kavin Kelp, Stan LaCroix, Wayne Radwanski, Kevin Irons, Beverly Zinser and too many others to mention. I encourage you too to say thank you to these colleagues when you get the opportunity.

 It is the combined efforts of all of those that serve as well as the general membership that makes us one strong voice when it comes time for dental advocacy. It is being part of organized dentistry, i.e., your tripartite membership in CADS, the TDA and ADA, that allows us to take the stand that we do to protect our right to practice. Part of your membership dues helps pay the salaries of the lobbyist team that fought to keep the upcoming tax burden on dentistry as “small” as it is going to be.  In fact, did you know that during the 2005 Texas Legislative Session, there was a proposal on the floor for a 10% tax on cosmetic dentistry? Imagine a 10% tax on the veneers you do….  What about esthetic crown lengthening? What about orthodontics? Well, let’s exclude ortho……

  The strong voice from our membership helped to keep our scope of practice the same, maintaining the dental team as is. The TDA has a working relationship with the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners that creates the rules that protect our right to practice as well as ensures that the citizens of our state get an excellent standard of care.