Alumni Day to Focus on Rich Resources of Faculty

The six continuing education courses that are the centerpiece of the 2011 Alumni Day on September 23 will be presented by members of the LSUSD faculty. The objective of the program is to highlight the rich resources available to the Louisiana dental community through the dental school.

Dr. Likith Reddy

"Obstructive Sleep Apnea", a condition that affects as many as 15% of Americans over the age of 50, will be presented by Likith V. Reddy, DDS, MD, FACS. He is head of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and director of hospital dentistry at LSU Interim Hospital. The course will help clinicians understand the systemic and oral health implications of sleep disturbances as well as the surgical and dental management of the condition.

"How to Identify Common Pathology Cases" is the title of the presentation by Kitrina Cordell, DDS, MS, associate professor in the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. The course will review the 20 lesions most frequently encountered in day-to-day dentistry. The review will include clinical descriptions, differential diagnoses and treatment recommendations.

Dr. Kitrina Cordell

For the tech-savvy, a team comprised of Marco Brindis, DDS, MS, Jonathan Esquivel, DDS, and Julio Zavala, MCDT, will demonstrate how dental care can be improved with the latest communication technologies. The course will provide a detailed orientation on Skype, the iPad, smart phones, the Internet and photography software.

Gabriel Hernandez, DDS, will describe how the General Practice Residency (GPR) can complement general dentistry by providing care for medically compromised patients and those with special needs. He will discuss issues such as sedation and hospital dentistry. Dr. Hernandez is assistant director of the GPR program based at LSU Interim Hospital in New Orleans.

Three members of the LSUSD faculty, Sherrod Quin, DDS, Suezan C. McCormick, DDS, and James P. Tomaszewski, DDS, will present a session on the teaching of comprehensive dentistry.

A course on Expanded Duty Dental Assistant will be offered for dental assistants. Attendees will learn how to become certified dental assistants and which procedures are authorized for each level of training.

A seventh course, "Marketing Without Advertising", will be presented by Belinda Bryant, a dental practice management consultant. She will discuss how to develop referrals from satisfied patients into a successful dental practice.

Lead sponsors for Alumni Day are Accupal and BioHorizons. Co-sponsor funding is provided by Delta Dental Insurance Company and Kool Smiles. Table sponsors are Benco Dental; Fader Financial; Campus Federal Credit Union; GlaxoSmithKline; LAMMICO; Patterson Dental Supply, Inc.; Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Orascoptic; ADS South, LLC; P&G Crest/Oral B (P&G Professional Oral Health); Coltene Whaledent; Sultan Healthcare; and Integra-Miltex.