2021 ODA ANNUAL SESSION RETURNS TO IN-PERSON EVENT
The 2021 ODA Annual Session featured 132 in-person and 33 virtual CE credit hours, 130 vendors and thousands of dental professionals, all in one convenient location.
“The meeting was awesome and I learned so much from the speakers to take back home!” wrote an attendee in the Annual Session survey.
More than 2,600 dental professionals registered for the 2021 ODA Annual Session, including 912 dentists.
ODA Annual Session featured many hands-on workshops, team building courses, front office courses and more.
This year’s speaker lineup featured nationally known lecturers including Dr. Uche Odiatu; Dr. Stanley Malamed; Dr. Josh Austin; Judy Bendit, RDH; and Judy Kay Mausof. This year’s event also featured 10 different workshops for dentists and staff to participate in hands-on learning after many in-person courses had been canceled during the pandemic.
“Speakers and topics were excellent this year. TMD, OSA, oral pathology are always excellent,” wrote an attendee in the Annual Session survey.
New this year, the ODA Annual Session featured two keynote speakers: best-selling author Bertice Berry, PhD, and comedian Greg Hahn.
Annual Session also featured several social events, including the New Dentist Social; Dinner with the Speakers; MATCH @ ODA Annual Session; Celebrating Women in Dentistry Honoring 2020 ODA President, Dr. Sharon Parsons and Other Female Dental Leaders; a Dental Student, Dental Resident and New Dentist Reception in the Exhibit Hall; The Callahan Celebration of Excellence; and The Bash! Celebrating 2021 ODA President Dr. David Kimberly.
The Exhibit Hall is rated by ODA Annual Session attendees as one of the top reasons they attend the meeting each year. This year’s Exhibit Hall featured 130 vendors, where attendees could comparison shop with the help of knowledgeable company representatives.
Callahan Celebration of Excellence
In conjunction with the ODA Annual Session, the Callahan Celebration of Excellence took place on Oct. 1. The celebration recognized the 2020 and 2021 Awards of Excellence winners.
The 2020 Awards of Excellence winners include:
- The Callahan Memorial Award – The late Dr. Anthony Volpe.
- Joseph P. Crowley Distinguished Dentist Award – Dr. Kenneth Clemens.
- Achievement Award – Dr. Bruce Grbach.
- Marvin Fisk Humanitarian Award – Dr. Alexander Gamber.
- Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award – Dr. Brian Gallagher.
- Access to Dental Care Program Award – The University of Cincinnati Medical Center/UC Health Dental Center and its Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency Program.
The 2021 Awards of Excellence winners include:
- The Callahan Memorial Award – Dr. Paul Casamassimo and Dr. Henry Fields.
- Joseph P. Crowley Distinguished Dentist Award – Dr. Mark Bronson and Dr. Thomas Paumier.
- Achievement Award – Dr. Michael Schaeffer.
- Marvin Fisk Humanitarian Award – Dr. Christina Kulesa.
- Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award – Dr. Richard Keefe.
- Access to Dental Care Program Award – MetroHealth Department of Dental Medicine.
The Callahan Memorial Award recipient receives a $5,000 gift via the Callahan Memorial Fund within the ODA Foundation to be donated to a charity of their choice. Casamassimo designated the gift to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) Foundation, Fields designated the gift to the Callahan Commission Fund of the ODA Foundation, and in honor of Volpe the Callahan Memorial Award Commission donated the gift to the Anthony R. Volpe, DDS, MS Endowed Scholarship Fund at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.
For more information about the award winners, visit www.oda.org.
ODA Leadership pins were awarded to the husband and wife team of Dr. Kumar Subramanian and Dr. Purnima Kumar.
Subramanian is a member of the Ohio State Dental Board who, in the early stages of the pandemic, was instrumental in coordinating efforts with the ODA, the governor’s office, the Ohio Department of Health and others to ensure that dentists maintained the ability to provide emergency dental services to their patients. He also led the efforts in developing the guidelines in Ohio to reopen dental offices. He co-presented an ODA-sponsored online CE webinar that provided guidance on how to provide safe care during the pandemic.
Kumar has also played a major role in addressing dental care issues during the COVID-19 era. As a professor at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and a member of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, her research showed that there is very little risk of spread of COVID-19 during aerosol generating procedures when dentists are following prevailing recommendations on infection control and PPE. She was also a co-presenter of the widely watched ODA online CE webinar providing guidance to ODA members on safely reopening their dental practices.
The ODA Leadership Pin recognizes members who demonstrate leadership in service to the ODA and their peers, a high level of volunteerism within the profession, and a commitment to organized dentistry. The ODA Executive Committee selects a recipient who is a positive influence in growth and development of the ODA – and who is a true role model for future leaders in organized dentistry.
The 2020 Ohio Dental Political Action Committee (ODPAC) awards were also presented at the celebration, honoring the Western Ohio Dental Society for the highest percentage of membership for a small society, the Akron Dental Society for the highest percentage of membership for a large society and the Eastern Ohio Dental Society for “Deepest Pockets for Dentistry” (highest average contribution).
Table Clinics
On Oct. 1, ODA Annual Session attendees had the opportunity to earn up to two hours of free CE by attending Table Clinics. The presentations covered a wide variety of topics, and a panel of judges rated each of them.
This year’s winners are:
- Best of show – Dr. Maisie Tolzmann.
- Auxiliary – Faith Holden, Victoria Hoerig Lohr, Hailee Hartmann.
- Second Place Auxiliary –Ranya Bousfiha, Yasmin Mohammad, Hanan Omar.
- First Place Dental Resident – Dr. Brandon Astin and Dr. Zoya Shaikh.
ODA Virtual Annual Session
Although the in-person event has ended, dentists and team members can log in to the ODA Virtual Annual Session at their convenience until Dec. 31 to earn up to 33 hours of CE through 18 courses and visit the Virtual Exhibit Hall.
Don’t miss this opportunity for convenient and affordable CE to complete your CE requirements to renew your license. Register and access virtual courses at www.oda.org/events-ce/annual-session-2021/.
Download CE slips and course handouts
Obtain CE credit verification and download handouts for courses attended at the 2021 ODA Annual Session by visiting https://www.prereg.net/2021/oda/.
To access CE certificates, click the “proceed to CE dashboard” button shown at the top of the screen.
To access course handouts, links are posted on the account summary page, which is the first page shown after you log in.
Save the date
The 2022 ODA Annual Session will be Sept. 15-17, 2022, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Hilton Columbus Downtown Hotel. Watch the ODA Today, www.oda.org and NewsBites for more details.
