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Communicating Goodwill

As the only dental school in Louisiana, the LSU School of Dentistry (LSUSD) has a unique connection to over 2,000 practicing alumni around the state. Many miles separate a clinician in Slidell from one in Shreveport but both share a professional career shaped by their years at LSUSD.

Out of that sharing comes a need to know how the school is doing today and what are the plans to face the challenges of tomorrow, especially now that the new dean is on board. This powerful need to connect is a responsibility that Dean Henry Gremillion takes seriously. “The dental school has created much goodwill and provided for enhanced oral health of the populace of the state over the decades. People want to be a part of that,” said Dr. Gremillion. “We also need to reach out to community leaders and remind them why the dental school is vital to the health of the citizens of Louisiana.”

Dr. Vincent Liberto, acting chairman of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, is flanked by the two guest speakers for the Third Annual Clifton O. Dummett Jr. Memorial Lecture. The speakers are Dr. Jerry Smith, left, and Dr. Dennis hartlieb. Dr. Dummett was the beloved and longtime head of the LSUSD Department of Pediatric Dentistry.

For the past year, Dr. Gremillion has traveled to Houma, Baton Rouge, Mandeville, Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette, Monroe and suburban New Orleans to attend the dental district meetings of the Louisiana Dental Association. Before each meeting is over, he makes an effort to personally connect with everyone in the room, including alumni, graduates of the Loyola School of Dentistry and dental school graduates from around the country.

Members of the Louisiana Legislature also attended three of the meetings. “Policymakers are under a lot of pressure to cut back funding. It’s our job to put a face on dentistry, to remind them of the essential role we play in providing health care.”

Each event has been a kind of homecoming. Many alumni went to school with Dr. Gremillion. Many others have known him from his long involvement in organized dentistry and as an instructor in continuing education. Dr. Gremillion’s next trip will be back to Shreveport on October 30 to present an all-day continuing education course. He will also travel to Lake Charles to present at the Southwest Dental District meeting on March 18, 2010.

Continuing to Learn

After a brief conversation with Dr. Gremillion, one thing you learn quickly is his firm belief in continuing one’s education after graduation. He is one of 2,015 dentists nationwide with the active designation of “masters” awarded by the Academy of General Dentistry, which requires the completion of 1,100 hours of continuing education. He achieved this distinction in 1995.

Dean Henry Gremillion, second from right, at the September 17th meeting of the Northeast District Dental Association in Monroe. From left are J. Lamar Johnston, DDS ’83, H. Lance Donald, Endodontics ’95, State Senator Francis Thompson, Representative Hollis Downs and Representative Frank Hoffman.

Over the years, Dr. Gremillion has given continuing education courses offered by the highly respected LSU Continuing Dental Education (CE) Program. The CE infrastructure at the dental school includes a “hands on” bench-top lab that accommodates 30 participants. Next year, distance learning equipment in one of the newly renovated auditoriums will be used to transmit classes live to other cities in Louisiana.

History will be made in 2010 when courses are held in seven Louisiana cities: Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport. Between 53 and 60 courses will be presented. Of this total there will be three courses in Shreveport, a series of courses for general dentists in Baton Rouge and a radiology course in New Orleans and Baton Rouge for dental assistants. Plans are in development to offer a two-day forensics course in New Orleans. Thirteen EDDA courses will be offered, including six in New Orleans, four in Baton Rouge and three in Lafayette.

Dr. Gremillion will be course director and presenter for three new courses on Temporomandibular Disorders, Head and Neck Anatomy and Orofacial Pain.

“Being a dentist means a lifelong commitment to top quality patient care,” said Dr. Gremillion. “That means a lifelong commitment to learning.”

A complete listing of CE courses can be found at www.lsusdce.org.