Category: ODA Today

There is a saying, "Timing is everything." This saying keeps popping into my head when I reflect on this past year. It probably was not the best year, timing-wise, to be president of the ODA. I certainly did not appreciate all that I was about to encounter when I signed up! However, I feel that organized dentistry, the ODA and ADA in particular, ... [continue reading]

One of my favorite aspects of the ODA is the events that we hold for our member dentists. For example, the ODA’s annual Day at the Statehouse is an extremely important and valuable event. Dentistry is a wonderful profession, but it is also a heavily regulated profession. Our Day at the Statehouse provides an opportunity for dentists from ... [continue reading]

Way back in February, before the COVID-19 pandemic, during a time that was not as crazy as now, I wrote an article about patients requesting to film in a dental office. At the time this was something that I had not given much thought to because it seemed to be somewhat of an obscure question. Fast forward a few months and dentistry looks much ... [continue reading]

More attention is being given to dentists having a separate charge for personal protective equipment (PPE) or infection control from a variety of sources, many of which are not keen about the idea of dentists levying this charge on their patients. Those weighing in on the idea range from dentists to patients to insurance companies to state ... [continue reading]

The internet age has given us instant access to everything that is known. We have the ability to ask questions and receive answers to matters both monumental and trivial. All discoveries since the dawn of time are available for our perusal. So why do we seem to be descending into tribal mysticism and closely held beliefs that would be more at ... [continue reading]

During this COVID quarantine, I have had a family strategy for grocery shopping. Because I have a large family of six, I still felt the need to go to the grocery store and do bulk shopping every six weeks to avoid any unnecessary exposure. I would wake up at 5:30 a.m. and make my way to the large Giant Eagle in Brecksville by 6 a.m. to be one of ... [continue reading]

The ODA Foundation is conducting a mini raffle in 2020 that would reward one member with their 2021 tripartite dues, up to $1,500. The participants in the mini raffle will automatically include any member who has contributed to the Foundation at the Humanitarian level ($170) or above during the time frame of Nov. 1, 2019 to Oct. 31, ... [continue reading]

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently appointed Dr. Paul M. Kelley to the Ohio State Dental Board. Kelley is a general dentist in the Waverly/Piketon and is actively involved in administering dental examinations through CDCA.  He is a member of the Ohio Dental ... [continue reading]

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is reporting that registrants are receiving telephone calls and emails by criminals identifying themselves as DEA employees or other law enforcement personnel. In an attempt to create the illusion that these criminals are DEA employees, they have masked their telephone number on caller id with a phone ... [continue reading]

Dental offices that either require the use of respirators such as N95 masks or make their use optional must create an OSHA Respiratory Protection Program. The Ohio Dental Association has developed a sample OSHA Respiratory Protection Program for dental offices as part of our regulatory compliance guide. For more information about the OSHA ... [continue reading]