Conferences- Not just for MBAs

Chicago River

Greetings spring break fans! That time of year is upon us again, where everyone is off to sunny beaches or steep and deep slopes! Here’s a short reflection from my final weekend of my D3 spring break.

Chicago is host to many things, the Chicago Board of Trade, Michigan Avenue, the Cubs, the list goes on and on, and more importantly, hosting many professional conferences. This past weekend I was one of six fellow D3 students who were selected to attend this year’s 54^th annual Midwest Society of Periodontology conference held at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel, right on the river. After arriving on Friday, we checked into our hotel, grabbed some food and quickly caught up on spring break stories with my fellow classmates. Saturday morning began with attending the Graduate Student Forum research competition, in which three individuals were selected from approximately 15 applicants to present a short PowerPoint describing some of their current research, one of which was our own Dr. Angie Lee, who was selected as the winner! Congrats Dr. Lee!

This year’s speakers included Dr. Paul Rosen, private practice in Yardley, PA and spoke on the topics “Should We Be Saving Teeth or Placing Dental Implants?” and “Regenerative Algorithms for Meeting Today’s Challenges.” Sunday’s keynote speaker was U of M’s Dr. Hom-Lay Wang, who spoke on “Implant Complications: Classification, Prevention and Management.” Dr. Wang spoke at length about the esthetic, biologic and biomechanical complications that can affect the success or failure of an implant. Attending such a comprehensive lecture concerning what to prepare for and expect when treating implant complications that arise on a short and long term basis. All of the topics were very motivating and inspiring! Both speakers were excellent, and it was very interesting to hear about a wide variety of topics affecting the field of Periodontology today! During the intermissions, we undergraduate students had a chance to chat with residents, private practitioners, and product representatives.

Gaining exposure to specialties is often a challenging yet important piece of education when trying to decide what area of concentration you possibly would pursue. By attending annual meetings dental students have the opportunity to learn what are the current trends and topics affecting these specialties today and get to listen and speak with innovators and leaders in the field first hand. After attending this conference, I am very proud to say I am a student of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, learning from some of the leaders and best!

-Steve Davis, a D3, is busy getting in shape for road biking season, dusting off the fly rod, currently reading “The Living Great Lakes” by Jerry Dennis and appreciates the quote “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.” -Warren Miller