Department of Periodontology Holds Alumni Reception at AAP Annual Meeting
On Sunday, September 10, 2017, the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Department of Periodontology held its annual Periodontal Alumni Reception at the Westin Boston Waterfront in Boston, Massachusetts. The reception, which was hosted by Dean and Mrs. Jeffrey W. Hutter and Dr. Serge Dibart, Chair and Professor of the Department of Periodontology, is held every year during the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) Annual Meeting. The 103rd meeting took place from September 9 – 12, 2017. Approximately 110 alumni, corporate guests, residents, and faculty members attended the reception, which exceeded all participation expectations and set a new record for attendance.
Dean Hutter opened the festivities by welcoming everyone to the reception and back to the city of Boston, their dental home. “I am so very pleased and proud to see such an excellent turn out for this evening’s alumni reception held during the 2017 Annual Session of the American Academy of Periodontology.” While projecting images of the exterior and interior spaces, he also gave an update as to the state of the GSDM Addition and Renovation project, set to commence in January 2018.
Dean Hutter then welcomed Dr. Serge Dibart to the podium to update the alumni on the state of the Periodontology program at GSDM. Some of the highlights he mentioned included; the surge in applications to the postdoctoral program; the addition of two periodontology professors; the strong presence of GSDM residents at the AAP Poster Session held during the conference; and lastly, the latest developments with the Zanni Scholarship. The scholarship was named after the late Dr. Oreste (Russ) Zanni PERIO 76—former Clinical Associate Professor in, Periodontology and Director of the Postdoctoral Periodontology Patient Treatment Center—for his generous bequest of $3.5 million, which provides endowment of a full scholarship in Dr. Zanni’s name for a resident enrolled in the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Periodontics.
Dr. Dibart urged the alumni in attendance to return to GSDM. “I encourage all of our alumni to return to the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Department of Periodontology,” said Dr. Dibart. “The department could not accomplish all it does without the tireless support of our fantastic alumni network.”
GSDM was also very active throughout the AAP Annual Session, as Dr. Dibart gave a sold-out course, eleven residents participated in the poster session, and an alumnus presented at the poster session.
Dr. Dibart’s presentation, titled, “Surgically Facilitated Orthodontic Therapy with Piezocision,” was held on Saturday, September 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The course aimed to help attendees grasp the biological basis and indications of Piezocision™, use Piezocision™ to expand the scope of their practices, and adopt the surgical technique by practicing on a pig’s jaw model.
Eleven Periodontology residents were selected to participate in the Research Poster Presentations. Their photos can be found via the link below.
Photos from the alumni reception and poster presentations can be found on Flickr and Facebook.