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  • Announcing New Local Chapter in North Carolina!

    Hello Ladies!

    lauren_massey_williamsThe American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) is excited to announce the new local chapter in North Carolina! I am so excited to work together for years to come. For those who don’t know me, I’m Lauren Massey-Williams. I graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry of 2009. For about 7 years I practiced in Texas in just about every avenue of dentistry–public health, corporate offices and private practice. In 2018, I relocated to Shelby, NC to be closer to my family (my dad is from Charlotte) and my sister who lives in North Florida and joined a large, all female group practice. I started in dentistry in public health as a National Health Care Service Corps Scholarship recipient, so my primary focus in dentistry has always been in helping the underserved. Through the AAWD”s Smiles for Success program, I hope to increase the amount of dentistry we, as women, are able to give to those who truly need us. In addition to being president of this chapter of AAWD, I sit on the communications council for the Academy of General Dentistry, am an ambassador to the NHSC and serve on my county’s Healthcare Foundation Board.  

    This year from AAWD, our vice president, Jordan Hubbard, and I plan to grow our chapter, develop mentorship programs for female dental students, solicit discounts on dental products for our members, and so much more. Jordan lives in Southern Pines, NC and owns her own practice in Pinehurst, NC. She is a new practice owner and graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry in 2017. She is also a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and is working on her fellowship, a member of the Official Mommy Dentists in Business, and a member of the American Dental Association. She cannot wait to meet each of you and grow together.

    Finally, one thing I’m very passionate about is supporting women in small business. A friend of mine, Jennifer Snowden, owns the boutique James Ascher in Charleston and has offered us 15 percent off all purchases this season. Her sister and father are both dentists and she wanted me to personally express how much she admires all of our dedication to our careers, families and communities! To shop, click here: https://jamesascher.com/ and use the code TOOTH at checkout to receive your discount. 

    Please be safe as we start 2021, and do not hesitate to reach out to either of us at any time with ideas you may have for our chapter, questions you may be coming up with, or even just to say, “Hey!”   

    Warm Wishes,

    Lauren Massey Williams, DMD

    aawdncchapter@gmail.com

  • AAWD Student Chapter at University of Florida College of Dentistry Named 2019 Chapter of the Year

    The American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) recently named the Student Chapter at the University of Florida College of Dentistry the 2019 Chapter of the Year.

    According to the nomination, submitted by AAWD chapter faculty advisor and clinical associate professor Dr. Susan Nimmo, the UFCD chapter of AAWD began in 2005 with only 25 members and has now has grown to nearly 100 members. Nimmo states, “I am proud of UFCD’s AAWD Student Chapter, not just today, but for all the women dental students at the University of Florida, who started this chapter 15 years ago and developed it into the powerhouse student organization it is today.”

    One of the most active organizations in the College of Dentistry, the AAWD chapter hosted more than 30 community service and social events last school year. The chapter recruited alumni and successful women in dentistry to speak and inspire their members to reach their full potential, as well as serve as mentors. They also instituted tutors and big/little mentors to help with transitions year to year in dental school. Additionally, the chapter hosted multiple residency panels of women dentists and residents, who will be or are currently pursuing a career in a specialty field. The panels helped to promote the advancement in education of women dentists ranging from periodontics, orthodontics, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and pediatrics.

    The UF AAWD Student Chapter supports several volunteer organizations throughout the Gainesville, Florida, community. For Girl Scout Patch Day, local scouts are invited to our campus for a program to teach them about oral hygiene and healthy diets to earn their dental patch. Members also participated in the Guest Chef Fundraiser for Peaceful Paths, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence. At the Gainesville Rabbit Rescue, students provided care for rescued and abandoned animals. A joint service project at the Alachua County Humane Society was undertaken with Smiley Gators, UFCD’s pre-doctoral student organization for pediatric dentistry. The UFCD Super Sealant Saturday harnesses the efforts of the entire student body, as well as faculty volunteers. AAWD also hosted a women’s oral health booth to educate and support mothers about oral health for their children. Through community service programs, the UF AAWD was able to provide opportunities for all of its members.

    Other events the chapter hosted include socials, painting parties, a “Friends-giving” Dinner, pottery parties, and a “GALentine’s” social, which brought members together to share unique experiences. Their chapter also placed an emphasis on improving the mental and physical health of their members through events and socials, such as Yoga in the Park, Friday Pamper Night, Pool Social, and Finals Week Sheet Masks.

    Throughout the year, many chapter members were active in oral health research targeting women’s issues. Lauren Arguelles (Class of 2020) and Emily Waikem (Class of 2021) have been working on a retrospective caries risk assessment project that details the different parameters in which the college measures and assesses caries risk. One of the factors of importance is gender and is signified as an important differentiating factor. Arguelles and Waikem received grants to present the findings of their research in Vancouver in June 2019.

    Additionally, Emma Domingoes (Class of 2019) worked on a retrospective analysis to characterize the clinical and epidemiological features of vesiculoulcerative conditions with emphasis on potential associations with other medical conditions such cancer, arthritis and hypothyroidism, which literature supports affect more women than men. Domingoes won a grant in 2018 to present her research at the International Association for Dental research in London, England.

    “As the faculty advisor,” Nimmo states, “I am inspired by these dedicated young women, who are not only passionate about Dentistry but also support each other through the trials of dental education. If there is a ‘secret’ to cultivating a successful chapter, I mostly stay ‘out of the way’; the officers and executive board select their own projects and goals. Their success is their own.”

    At the time of the nomination, the University of Florida College of Dentistry’s AAWD Chapter officers were Lauren Arguelles, president; Amanda Panousis, vice president; Morgan Kubis, vice president; Jessica Brewer, secretary; and Kelly Calderon, treasurer.

    AAWD President Dr. Brittany Bergeron states, “We had many competitive applications this year; however, this chapter’s nomination stood out to the committee as being exceptional. I am so proud of the UF Chapter. They have grown so much over the past few years and truly become an inspiration for other student chapters within our organization. I look forward to seeing how they continue to develop in the years to come!”

    The University of Florida College of Dentistry’s AAWD Chapter will be recognized September 28, 2019, during the organization’s annual conference, in Phoenix, Arizona. More information on the conference can be found at https://www.aawd.org/2019-aawd-conference/.

    About AAWD

    Founded in 1893, the goal of the American Association of Women Dentists is to serve as the leading resource for advancing, connecting and enriching the lives of women dentists. AAWD offers a variety of programs and services that benefit the unique needs of women dentists. For more information, visit our website at https://www.aawd.org or call 800-920-2293.

  • Announcing New AAWD Chapter in South Florida

    Announcing New AAWD Chapter in South Florida

     

  • AAWD at the University of Florida

    AAWD at the University of Florida
    President: Michelle Thomas, Class of 2017
    University of Florida AAWD Women at our Annual Initiation Dinner 

    It has been an incredibly productive school year thus far for the ladies of the University of Florida Chapter of AAWD full of socials, community service, networking, fundraising, recognition, and travel.

    Our initiation dinner was the largest it has ever been to date, resulting in the doubling of our membership for 2016. Our increase in membership has made our organization one of the strongest and most well known on the UF Dental campus and we couldn’t be more excited about our progress. Despite the increase, we are so thankful to have been able to continue working with Patterson Dental who sponsors our Pearls of Wisdom Dinner where all members were welcomed to partake in a delicious 3-course meal while learning about aspects of dentistry we don’t typically touch on in the classroom. During the dinner we were given the opportunity to pick the brain of a local woman dentist as well. This year we also worked with Patterson to begin a new upper- classman study club to further delve into topics of business, associateships, and more.

    For the second year, we hosted our Girl Scout Patch program developed last year by current president, Michelle Thomas, for the local girl scouts of our area. During the program, members work with girl scouts to help them learn about proper oral hygiene, what to expect from a trip to the dentist, basic tooth anatomy, and nutrition all while earning a fun dental health patch. The program is a blast for all involved and we are excited not only to continue this in the future but to share the program with other chapters very soon.

    In order to recognize the dental achievements met this year by all of our members, we started a new initiative called “milestone gifts.” We identified major milestones met each year by our members: the first operative psycho- motor for the D1s, Boards Part 1 for D2s, White Coat for D3s, and Graduation for D4s. Upon each milestone, the members are given a small gift. For example, D2s were given good luck “boards bows” – a hair bow to be worn for good luck, where as D3s were given wire hangers that spelled white coat to commemorate the achievement. As dental students, we all know the level of hard work required and believe these small tokens not only further unify us as an
    organization, but keep us smiling during some of the harder times in dental school.

    Finally, for the first time ever UF AAWD was able to send members to this year’s AAWD Annual Meeting which took place in Washington D.C.. We sent 4 women – Michelle Thomas, our president, Annie Siassipour, our vice president, Rosa Wu, our historian, and Gina Nicoloso, a general member. We feel so fortunate to have been welcomed not only to the student portion of the meeting but to the dental portion as well, teeming with CE and networking opportunities. We had a blast meeting student leaders from other school chapters as well as some very strong and inspiring female dentists. In addition to the AAWD events we were all able to attend some ADA CE, the New Dentist reception, and explore our Nation’s Capital. We can not thank AAWD and the University of Florida College of Dentistry enough for opening up this opportunity to us and we are looking forward to making this a long-standing tradition.

    As a growing chapter, we are so excited to have been able to uphold old traditions while creating new ones along the way and can’t wait for what the second half of the school year will bring!

  • AAWD at the University of California San Francisco

    AAWD at the University of California San Francisco
    President: Lili Szabo, Class of 2017

    ucsfAAWD at the University of California San Francisco had an exciting fall quarter! The chapter kicked off the quarter by attending the annual AAWD session in Washington, DC. President, Lili Szabo and Vice president, Brittany Vacura spent three days in Washington, DC. attending the AAWD student session, several CE courses and exploring the city. The board members had a great time networking with other students and AAWD members and getting to learn from other student chapters across the country.

    Back in San Francisco the chapter hosted a lunch and learn for school of dentistry students. Dr. Gwen Essex, a UCSF School of Dentistry faculty member spoke at the lunch and learn about her experience being a woman in a predominantly male profession and the importance of advocating for each other. Dr. Essex shared a powerful message about collegiality and teamwork.

    In October the chapter participated in an event in San Francisco that encourages middle school aged girls to pursue careers in science and math. Chapter board members lead a 70 min interactive session for attendees that taught them about what it is like to be a dentist, the role science plays in dentistry and how to pursue a career in dentistry. The girls got the opportunity to learn about tooth morphology and participate in a tooth identification game, as well as place a composite restoration in a plastic tooth. Attendees remarked that they enjoyed the session
    and some of them even said that they were now interested in pursuing a career in dentistry. In December the chapter raised money by coordinating a white coat embroidery fundraiser. The chapter collected white coats and scrub tops from students and faculty to be embroidered with their names.

    The chapter is planning some exciting events for the new year, including a valentines day party for members, a dinner and learn with current female faculty and an outreach event with SafeHouse San Francisco to provide  the program’s residents with oral heath education. The UCSF chapter is looking forward to an active and rewarding
    new year.

  • OAWD’s Annual Winter Party

    OKLAHOMA ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN DENTISTS
    Submitted by Dr. Mary Martin

    oklahoma-2The OAWD met Friday evening, January 15, 2016, at the home of Dr. Sara Spurlock for their Annual Winter Party. The meeting was well attended, especially by students from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry.
    President Jennifer Jenkins welcomed everyone, made announcements of upcoming events and highlighted the Silent Auction. Monies from this year’s Auction will be donated to Good Shepherd Ministries Dental Clinic.
    Everyone had a great time and loved seeing how the house built in 1929 was transformed into a beautiful modern home while maintaining the elegant architecture of the twenties.

     

    oklahoma-1

  • Paint it Forward hosted by AAWD Chapter

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]AAWD at the Medical University of South Carolina
    President: Laura Varadi, Class of 2017

    uscOn December 3rd, 2015 the Medical University of South Carolina’s chapter of AAWD hosted a Paint it Forward event to support Smiles for Success and the North Charleston Free Dental clinic, our local philanthropy. Members from the chapter were lead by an artist to paint a portrait of Rainbow Row, an historic landmark in Charleston.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]