The Explorer Winter 2018 2019WExplorer | Page 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Pilseong Kim, DDS Dear Members, It is my great honor to serve as a president of LADS for 2019. I will try my best to fill the shoes of LADS’ past leaders. There will be many programs that LADS will explore for our members in 2019, even as we continue to improve and execute the regular programs we have been doing over the years. LADS will continue to do small study groups for our different communities, but will also develop a new mini- residency program in implant, periodontics, and endodontics for new dentists motivated to improve their techniques. These mini-residencies will be taught by corresponding specialists to provide comprehensive didactic and hands-on training to a small group of up-and-coming dentists. Our targeted participants will be new graduates but includes any dentist who has been practicing less than five years. LADS would also like to involve more of its members in CE instruction. That’s Brittney Barrow, DDS General Practice Address Pending Jaewoo Cho, DDS General Practice Address Pending Harley Grandin, DDS General Practice Address Pending Carolina Gutierrez-Valdez, DMD General Practice Address Pending Los Angeles Dental Society Explorer why we will be incorporating 10 supplemental study group sessions led by LADS members covering various topics. It is our hope that we will be able to see some standout lecturers and invite to speak at LADS’ regularly scheduled CE programs. I would also like to raise more awareness for LADS within our community and internationally. This will be the fifth year that we have hosted Pre-Dental Prep, our summer dental outreach program for pre-dental students in LA. It has been one of the best programs in the community for promoting our profession, so I hope more of you will consider opening up your practices and providing shadowing opportunities to a few future dentists. At the same time, I am working to build inroads into Asia through the Seoul Dental Association and Korean Dental Association. In May, the Asian Pacific Dental Congress of 2019 will be hosted in Seoul, Korea. LADS has been invited to represent US dentists. Any member attending the Congress will receive up to 10 ADA CERP units. So keep an eye out these next few months as more information becomes available about the Congress! Finally, LADS is hosting a full CE day on Sunday, September 22, for all LA- area dentists. We will be working with other components and ethnic dental societies to make this worth your while, but more importantly, it is a gift to all ADA members. As long as you are a member, this event is free for you! Mark your calendar! These are simply a few examples of what LADS has in store in 2019. Our goal for all our programs has always been to keep it member-focused. I hope you’ll find 2019 full of benefits and additional value for your membership. It will be a really busy year for LADS, but I hope we can have a lot of fun together along the way. Thank you. 䡲 Bonnie Krystal, DDS General Practice 1803 Sunset Blvd Suite A Los Angeles, CA 90026 Victoria Naiman, DDS General Practice 321 North Larchmont Blvd Suite 1010 Los Angeles, CA 90004 Rebecca Lim, DDS Orthodontics Address Pending Jennifer Nguyen, DMD General Practice 888 South Figueroa Street Suite 750 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Marine Martirosyan, DDS General Practice 532 West Glenoaks Blvd Glendale, CA 91202 Amir Mossadegh, DDS General Practice 3680 East Imperial Hwy Suite 100 Lynwood, CA 90262 Saewon Oh, DDS General Practice 7218 Pacific Blvd Huntington Park, CA 90255 Emily Parsons, DDS General Practice Address Pending Connie Pasco, DMD General Practice Address Pending Nicholas Ruhrkraut, DDS General Practice 7865 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90046 Madeline Sariei, DDS General Practice Address Pending