Dr. Pruett: Another example was at the Baylor College of
Dentistry 50 Year reunion. Watching these older gentlemen sitting at a table and sharing their life stories and their practice
stories was engaging, and a testament to a lifelong passion of
helping people.
Q: The ADA Tripartite has intangible benefits such as organizing
volunteer activities. Are these important to you?
Dr. Fowler: It gives me a chance to give back to the community
and to the profession. Things like TMOM and mentoring programs are examples. The interesting thing about the April
TMOM in Mesquite was the staff members of offices and of the
local societies putting on the event – the staffers were not getting paid, but they were all there. Furthermore, being part of
the Recruitment and Retention of 4th District has given me a
chance to brainstorm on how to give back. An example would
be the 4th District’s “Tour de Fourth” where we picked up 126
dental students in limos and took them to a few dental offices.
Dr. Pruett: Another cool thing was a dental school program
called Great Expectations. The program is for D1 students who
get to view dentists and dentistry away from the school. Serving
as a mentor in the program allowed me to do the same as a D4.
None of that would have been possible without practicing dentists who are involved in organized dentistry and taking an
interest in me as a future colleague and professional.
Q: Do you view CE as an integral part of ADA Tripartite membership?
Dr. Pruett: First of all, for a young dentist, we get free CE with a
free meal at Society meetings! Another benefit is that the larger
societies can bring in well-respected lecturers for a price that
most of us could never afford.
Q: You both seem proud to be a member of the ADA/TDA Tripartite.
Why is that?
Dr. Fowler: I am prou