SSOMS

Gayle Davies

2021 Annual Meeting Draws Large Turnout as We Finally Gather Again!

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After a difficult 2020 it was such a joy to be at our SSOMS meeting in person again.
Our meeting began on Thursday with our candidate interviews and SSOMS board meetings.
The leadership welcomed and enjoyed connecting with old friends and colleagues at our Wednesday reception.

Our scientific programs with Drs. Eric Carlson and David Powers were rigorous, informative and well-received. Our conference also held two business sessions with our Board of Directors and the membership and had a range of reports from our committee chairs.

View Gallery

Ms. Kristin Pfeffle, wife of President Lee Allen hosted the spouses and other guests for breakfast and a demonstration of essential oils.

We welcomed 15 candidates to active membership including: Drs. Charles DeWild, Michael Cofer, Justin Drab, Nicholas Kain, Christopher Bannon, Jeffrey Robinson, Cortland Caldemeyer, Mykle Jacobs, Jose Ravelo, Clay Chandler, Stephen English, Anne Morgan, Ryan Sheppard, Colin Bell and Fernando Alvarado.
The SSOMS offered several tours including White Oak Game Reserve and Cumberland Island. Several fishing charters braved the winds and rain but the sun came out for the Golf Tournament.
Golf Tournament Gallery

Our finale for the weekend was our President’s Reception and Banquet honoring our 2021 President Bob Pfeffle, our incoming 2022 President Peter Waite and our Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and Dr. Warren Arrasmith, DDS.

(L to R) 2021 President Bob Pfeffle, our incoming 2022 President Peter Waite
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Dr. Warren Arrasmith, DDS.
Meet the new leadership (L to R): Dr. Vinny Perciaccante, board member; Dr. Steve Maroda, board member; Dr. Peter Waite, President; Dr. Bob Pffeffle, Immediate Past President; Dr. Jeff Wallen, President Elect; Dr. Kim Swanson, Vice President and Dr. Patrick Louis, Secretary/Treasurer.

Thank you Sponsors

KLS Martin
OMSNIC
Shore Capital Partners
US Oral Surgery Management

And our Exhibitors

Advantage Technology
BioHorizons
Carestream
DePuy Synthes
DS Global
Firm Media
Hamp Med
Maxxeus Dental
National Dental Healthcare REIT
OMS Partners		OMS Preferred MedPro Group
OMS Vision
Osteo Science Foundation
Preferred Med Surg
Salvin Dental Specialties
Straumann
Stryker
Thommen Medical
X-Nav Technologies
Zimmer Biomet

SAVE THE DATE!

72nd SSOMS Annual Meeting
April 26 – May 1, 2022
Montage at Palmetto Bluff
Palmetto, SC

View Montage Video Tour

Palmetto Bluff ocean waves video

SSOMS 2021 Azamara 11-NIGHT WINE & CULTURE VOYAGE

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Azamara Quest
Sailing: June 13, 2021

Download Registration Form

We sail from Lisbon, stopping first in Porto, a European capital of culture where you can stroll the Ribeira neighborhood. After a relaxing day at sea we come to Bilbao, in the heart of Basque Country for a day of sightseeing highlighted by the Guggenheim Museum or choose the complimentary Virtuoso 8-hour food, wine and sightseeing experience. Next, we will enjoy two days in Bordeaux, the most famous wine region in the world where we’ll learn about wine production in this handsome and cohesive city filled with monumental buildings and fine estates.

Our final port of call is Guernsey, a self-governing possession of the British Crown located off the coast of Normandy, which is ideal for rambles along cliffside paths and through the bucolic interior. Here you will experience the best of England and France.

For golf lovers, this cruise if heaven. Azamara is offering an optional golf program that is fully managed by PerryGolf™ staff onboard and ashore with three special rounds of golf being offered. Your clubs will be ready and waiting at each venue. Tee times and pairings are arranged and posted in advance. A snack lunch is included at the course along with an open bar at the conclusion of each round. View Golf Package Details.

ITINERARY

AZAMARA STATEROOMS & PRICING

  • Oceanview staterooms begin at $4,435 per person*
  • Balcony staterooms begin at $5,265 per person*
  • Veranda Plus staterooms begin at $5,565 per person*
For a full cruise itinerary listing click here.
View deck plan
Stateroom diagram

*Other categories available, call for pricing. If booked by July 31, Azamara is having a BOGOHO (Buy one get one half off) promotion where the second person in the stateroom only pays half the listed price. Above prices are subject to change after September 1. There will also be shipboard credit as well as other special events. More information will be available at a later date.

CONTACT:
Linda Kinsey – Custom Travel & Cruise
770-949-1133
770-855-8244 cell or text
linda@customtravel-cruise.com

Letter from Robert C. Pfeffle, DMD President, SSOMS

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Dear SSOMS members:

I hope you are all faring well with the personal and professional adjustments we are all going through due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is already having a profound impact on our lives. Hopefully, we will see some resolution of this terrible problem in the near future.

The Board of the SSOMS met via conference call on Monday, March 15 to discuss the 2020 annual meeting scheduled for April 22-26 in Key West. In light of the growing pandemic, it is obviously not possible for us to proceed with this meeting as planned. Hank has been working diligently on our behalf and was able to provide a good option for us to consider related to the meeting.

The Key West meeting will remain at the Casa Marina resort but will be moved to August 19-23, 2020. Fortunately, the entire schedule for the meeting in April will be seamlessly transferred to the new dates in August. Also, our speakers, Drs. Eric Carlson and David Powers are available as well.

While this date was necessary due to other scheduling conflicts, there are actually a number of benefits to having the meeting at this time:

  • This will be coming out of the busy season, so hotel rates and airfare will be lower (airlines are allowing current tickets impacted by the pandemic to be changed without any fees).
  • The weather in August is more predictable and generally calmer allowing fishing, watersports, and other tours to be scheduled more easily.
  • The crowds in Key West will be smaller, allowing more flexibility with dinner reservations and sightseeing
  • And those wonderful breezes for which Key West is famous will mitigate the slightly higher temperatures!

Hank will be sending you the details regarding procedures for transferring registrations to the August dates in a separate email shortly. Please respond promptly as we have some important deadlines to meet to protect our position in this matter.

Hopefully by August, the current crisis will be resolving, we will be winding up a busy summer, and we all will be ready for some relief in the Conch Republic!

Sincerely

Robert C. Pfeffle, DMD
President

IMPORTANT: Procedures for Moving SSOMS Annual Meeting Registrations to August

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We are moving our annual meeting to August 19-23, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be a seamless transition in that all hotel registrations will be moved to the new dates and will retain the same confirmation numbers. Also, all conference registrations will be moved without change as the meeting and tour schedule will remain the same. You only need to change your airline reservation; it is our understanding that change fees will be waived on all airlines.

We promise to retain the outstanding quality, our tradition unlike any other and the unparalleled charm of our annual meeting over the new dates. While the average temperature will be slightly higher (81 in April vs 89 in August) the afternoon storms will abate providing for better weather for fishing and touring. And don’t forget the famous Key West breezes. Plus, the room rates dropped from $389 to $279 for the basic room, from $439 to $$329 for the Ocean View, no Balcony and from $499 to $369 for the Ocean View with Balcony rooms, representing a saving of almost $450 for most reservations.

If you are concerned about travel restrictions continuing into August, we have updated the Force Majeure (impossibility) section of our contract to include the following language:

Neither party shall be responsible for failure to perform this Agreement if unanticipated circumstances beyond their control including, but not limited to: acts of God; government regulation, including, but not limited to, government regulations prohibiting travel to the city in which the Hotel is located over the Event dates and/or the issuance of a “Level 3 Travel Warning” by the Centers for Disease Control that specifically advises travelers to avoid all non-essential travel to the city in which the Hotel is located and which travel advisory is in effect over the Event dates; terrorist attacks in the city in which Hotel is located; or declared war in the United States make it illegal or impossible for Hotel to hold the Event. The affected party may terminate this Agreement without liability upon providing written notice to the other party within ten (10) days of the occurrence.

Therefore, all hotel reservations will be cancelled and conference registration fees refunded if we cannot travel safely.

However, if you prefer to cancel your reservation for whatever reason, please notify Melissa Connor at mconnor@pami.org or by phone (770.271.0453) by April 15. After that date, our revised block is set and we will have less flexibility to avoid losses. Please do not cancel your reservation directly with the hotel.

If you did not register for the April meeting and now want to register for the meeting in August, please go to https://www.123signup.com/register?id=rdhjt.

Stay well…….and see you in Key West!

Hank Holderfield
Executive Director

EXTRACTED; Unmasking Rampant Antisemitism in America’s Higher Education

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Dr. Perry Brickman, GSOMS Past President, founder of our GSOMS Educational Trust and recipient of our John Freihaut Lifetime Achievement Award, is the author of Extracted, a fascinating book that describes the antisemitism he and many other Jewish students experienced at Emory University’s Dental School and the Atlanta Southern Dental College in the 1950’s and early 60’s. Also a part of the “racial quota” scheme was ADA’s Council on Dental Education (CODE).

Perry’s story is compelling in many ways but his relentless pursuit of the truth stands out throughout the tightly written text. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

You will be proud of Perry, ashamed of the leadership at Emory during that critical time in dental education but pleased with the end result of reconciliation and forgiveness.

Posted 2-2020