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Award Recipients - 2005

ALD Distinguished Service Award Presented to Dr. Joel White

At the 12th ALD Annual Session held April 6-9, 2005, in New Orleans, Dr. David Roshkind, 1997 ALD President and Master of Ceremonies 2005, presented the ALD Distinguished Service Award to Joel M. White, DDS, MS, a renowned dental educator who has served the Academy of Laser Dentistry since it’s inception in 1993. This award is not granted every year, but is reserved for those times and those individuals whose contributions to education, to research, and to ALD are so significant that an extraordinary form of recognition is needed.

In presenting the award, Dr. Roshkind reflected on both Dr. White’s professional accomplishments and the early years working together as founders of the Academy of Laser Dentistry. “There is a member among us who is not only dedicated to serving the Academy but is dedicated to the goals of the Academy, to education, to research, to clinical applications, to reaching out to all of us as students of laser dentistry and helping us to understand the how and why of what we do” said Dr. Roshkind. “A member who has served in almost every capacity in the Academy from committee member to board of directors to officer. He has lectured, published, and influenced laser dentistry around the world. He is a member who clearly envisioned how important the role of educational standards is to the Academy and how important the Academy is to establishing and guarding these standards”.

Joel M. White, D.D.S., M.S., is a Professor in the Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering and John C. Greene Chair in Primary Care Dentistry in the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco. He was Chair of the Division of Clinical General Dentistry in the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences for seven years and is a former chair of the Division of Comprehensive Care serving for 3 years in the Department of Restorative Dentistry. Dr. White is the Chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) committee for safe use of lasers in health care facilities.

Since 1989, the focus of Dr. White’s research work has been in defining dental laser applications and investigating their safety and efficacy leading to many of the current 22 indications for use. In 1993, Dr. White was the principle author of the Curriculum Guidelines and Standards for Dental Laser Education, the accepted worldwide standard. He has received several honors and recognition awards and in 1993 he received the Academy’s T.H. Maiman Award for excellence in dental laser research.

Since that time he has published many articles and reviews dealing with lasers in dentistry, from a total of over 200 scientific papers and abstracts that he has authored or co-authored and presented during international, national and regional dental conferences. He has been a reviewer for ten different scientific journals that publish research on laser use in dentistry and medicine including Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, Scanning Microscopy, Journal of Dental Research, Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery, Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, Journal of Biomedical Optics and he currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the Academy of Laser Dentistry. Dr. White is also a scientific reviewer for the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Dr. White is an active member of organizations including the American Dental Education Association, both the American and International Association for Dental Research, the ADA’s International Association of Student Clinicians, and Laser Institute of America, American Dental Association, among many others. He devotes time to public service through a variety of local, state and regional programs.
Dr. White led the Academy of Laser Dentistry as president 2002-3 and was an active member of the executive committee for 6 years beginning in 1998. He served as chair of various committees including Strategic Planning 2003, 2002 Annual Conference and has been a member of the Education and Research, Certification Committees and Finance committees since the Academy’s inception in 1993.

“Through all his educational and professional accomplishments, Dr. White has clearly shown himself to be a scholar, an agent of positive change, and a wonderful ambassador for the Academy of Laser Dentistry,” said President Steven Parker. “His impact on dental education and research will be longstanding.”

The Academy’s Distinguished Service Award presented for outstanding commitment and contribution to the Academy was previously presented Dr. Stewart Rosenberg in 1993; Dr. Scott Brundrett in 1995; Mr. John Sulewski in 1996; University of California, San Francisco in 1997; Dr. David M. Roshkind in 1998; Dr. Alan J. Goldstein in 1999; Dr. William Siminovsky in 2000; Dr. Stuart Coleton in 2002; and Dr Donald Patthoff in 2003; and Dr. Tony Hewlett in 2004.

The President’s Award

The President’s Award was presented to Dr. Janet Hatcher Rice in appreciation of her devoted leadership as president during 2004.

Dr. Janet Hatcher Rice maintains a private dental practice in Bristol, Tennessee and has been using lasers since 1993. She completed her Advanced Proficiency and the Educator levels of the Laser Certification Program. Dr. Rice is currently serving on the Executive Board of the Academy of Laser Dentistry as immediate past-president. She is a past president of the American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) and has also served for four years on the American Dental Association’s Council on Communications.

ALD Announces First Honorary Member of ALD

The Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD) is proud to announce its first Honorary Member: Dr. John D.B. Featherstone, Professor and Chair of the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). President Dr. Steven Parker announced the honor as one of his first endeavors as president at the 12th ALD Annual Session held April 6-9, 2005, in New Orleans. “In a variety of exceptional ways Dr. Featherstone’s impact on the evolution of dentistry through science has an overwhelmingly positive effect on the work that we do every day as clinicians. It is with pride and privilege that we welcome John as the Academy’s first honorary member,” said Dr. Parker.

Dr. Featherstone’s research over the past 30 years has covered several aspects of cariology (study of tooth decay) including fluoride mechanisms of action, caries risk assessment, de- and remineralization of the teeth, apatite chemistry, salivary dysfunction, caries (tooth decay) prevention, and laser effects on dental hard tissues with emphasis on caries prevention and early caries removal. He is the Leland and Gladys Barber Distinguished Professor of Dentistry at UCSF. He was the year 2000 recipient of the International Association for Dental Research distinguished scientist award for research in dental caries, and the T.H. Maiman award for excellence in dental laser research from the Academy of Laser Dentistry in 2002. The European Caries Research Organization awarded him the Zsolnai Prize in 2002 for his lifelong contributions to caries research. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Congress of Microdentistry in 2003.

Dr. Featherstone started working on laser interactions with hard tissues in 1981 in collaboration with investigators at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester, NY. Since that time he has published over 60 articles, reviews and chapters dealing with lasers in dentistry and medicine, from a total of over 200 scientific papers and chapters that he has authored or co-authored. He is on the editorial board of the international journal “Medical Laser Application” and was guest editor for an issue of that journal devoted entirely to lasers in dentistry. He is a reviewer for several journals that publish research on laser use in dentistry and medicine. Dr. Featherstone was one of the founders of the “Lasers in Dentistry” program at the annual SPIE meetings, dating back to 1992 and was the co-chair and chair of that program for 7 years. Within the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at UCSF, there are several investigators who do research ranging from basic laser/tissue interactions through clinical trials to practicing laser dentistry.

Dr. Featherstone is an active member of several international scientific organizations including the International Association for Dental Research; the American Chemical Society; and the European Organization for Caries Research. He is principal investigator on one major research grant funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and co-investigator on three others. He serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals and is on three editorial boards.

An honorary member is an individual who has been recognized by the ALD Board of Directors for contributions to the Academy and to dentistry. An honorary member is not eligible to hold office or vote, nor shall they be required to pay dues.

Past Award Recipients

• 2005 Awards
• 2004 Awards
• 2003 Awards
• 2002 Awards

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