The Academy of General Dentistry has been working closely with the individual State Boards of Dentistry to accept the AGD CE Transcript as proof of meeting CE requirements to maintain licensure. I am happy to announce that it in NJ, as well as most other states, the AGD CE transcript is now accepted as proof of CE attendance for license renewals. It is important to check your CE transcript at www.agd.org regularly to be certain that all of your approved courses are reflected accurately. Furthermore, it is still recommended that you keep a record of those courses you have attended.

It is important to realize that in order for the State Board to fully accept the AGD transcript as proof of attendance at courses, the AGD must maintain actual documentation of course attendance. Self-reported CE is not considered verified and therefore not eligible for acceptance by many licensing boards. Based on this information, the AGD will be discontinuing online submission of CE by members, effective Jan. 1, 2008. In addition, in 2005, the AGD mandated that all PACE providers submit CE information on behalf of members who attend one of their courses.

In other news, I recently sent a letter to all NJAGD dentists regarding the passage of the Amalgam Recycling regulation. This regulation requires that most dental facilities (with some exceptions) implement Best Management Practices for amalgam handling within one year (Oct 1, 2008) and to install an amalgam separator within two years (Oct 1, 2009).

In anticipation of this regulation, NJAGD has developed an exclusive program for its members with Dental Recycling North America, Inc (DRNA), the nationally endorsed waste management vendor of the AGD. We have arranged for a special promotion only available to NJAGD members... for a limited time NJAGD members who purchase the DRNA amalgam separator equipment can receive a special discount on a 3 year maintenance service. This offer expires Feb. 29, 2008.

Lastly, we are looking forward to the DeFonce Memorial Lecture this year on Friday, January 25 in Mount Laurel with Dr. Mark Murphy from the Pankey Institute. He will be presenting “7 Habits of Highly Effective Dental Teams.” This will be an excellent course for the whole dental team. See www.njagd.org for more details and registration.

The entire NJAGD Board and myself wish you a happy, healthy, and rewarding holiday season that continues into the new year!

Joseph Sandberg DMD,MAGD
President, NJAGD