it all figured out immediately. We feel like we are supposed to have the “long term job” lined up right after graduation. Or clinically, we expect ourselves to jump right into every complex case we encounter without question. I think that is a challenge for new dentists—recognizing there is plenty of time to figure it all out and being open to asking for help. I think we need to give ourselves a break and realize we don’t have to have all the answers right away.

What’s your favorite (all time or current) hobby/past time, food, travel destination, book, movie? One of my favorite things about being a dentist is the amount of free time I have outside of work. While I have so many things I enjoy doing, I would have to say my favorite current hobby is cooking with my husband. I have come a long way from the microwave dinner habit I had in dental school! My favorite food is pizza, especially Shakespeare’s Pizza in Columbia, Mo. We try to get it every time we are there! The travel destination I have enjoyed most in my life thus far has probably been Napa Valley. My favorite book is The Art and Science of Operative Dentistry. Just kidding! But honestly, I’m not a big reader and when I do read, it usually is something related to dentistry. My all-time favorite movie has to be “Father of the Bride.” Every time I see it on TV, I end up stopping and watching the entire thing!

Distinguished Service DR. MARK ZUST

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to a member with a long history of exemplary service and dedication to the dental profession and organized dentistry.

Dr. Mark Zust, a general dentist in St. Peter’s, Mo., was honored with the 2016 MDA Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Zust has steadfastly served the dental profession in numerous ways during his 42 years of practice. Most recently this was exemplified by his service as Trustee for the ADA Sixth District. His four-year term ended at the ADA House of Delegates this past October.

Just a few of Dr. Zust’s numerous professional activities include former president of the Greater St. Louis Dental Society; former director of Give Kids a Smile St. Louis; past president of the MDA and former speaker of its House of Delegates; and, former president of Missouri Dental Insurance Services. Coincidentally, MDIS, a wholly-owned insurance subsidiary of the MDA, celebrated its 25-year anniversary at the 2016 MDA House of Delegates. Dr. Zust was instrumental in the research for and creation of the insurance subsidiary, which has suc- cessfully returned almost $3 million in non-dues revenue to the MDA. He has twice been named the MDA Dentist of the Year and is a fellow in the American and International Colleges of Dentistry, the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the Academy of Dentistry International.

Dr. Zust received his DDS from UMKC in 1974 and has maintained a private practice since in St. Peters. He and his wife, Phyllis, enjoy their four adult children and seven grandchildren. Dr. Zust also is a pilot and a member of the Flying Dentists Association.

You’re curriculum vitae is extensive! Among the various dental activi- ties that span your career, tell us some of the experiences that have been the most rewarding and why? When I receive an award like this, I always think in terms of being recognized by my peers for doing what I truly love to do. It just doesn’t get any better than that! When I served as Speaker of the House for MDA, I found it especially rewarding to be able to recognize other dentists when it was my honor to present their awards to them. Of course, the most rewarding has been watching our daughter Dr. Danielle Riordan take her place in organized dentistry. We have never pushed her to volunteer; perhaps she has seen the sense of pride that I have for what I do. In her brief (so far) career she has already served on the boards of GKAS, GSLDS and the MDA. She has already obtained fellowship in both the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists. I will relay one of my favorite stories to show her early start. On my last day as Speaker of the MDA House, I called attention to the fact that Dr. Riordan attended her first organized dentistry meeting when she accompanied us to a meeting when she was six weeks old. Then I took pride in introducing her to the House while she was holding her daughter Grace who was six days old!

You’ve participated in a variety of ways in the organization—most recently as the Sixth District Trustee to the ADA Board. What has surprised you most about this role? As an ADA Trustee, what have you found to be invaluable to the dental profession that occurs on a more micro-level that the average dues-paying member may not realize? Maybe not the most surprising, but certainly the most important, would be the unbelievable dedication to the good of the profession that each member of the ADA Board of Trustees brings to the table. It is incredible the wealth of knowledge and experience that the trustees and officers bring to the ADA. From the first day, I was treated with respect by my fellow members of the Board and by the staff. The most surprising to me was the attitude of the staff. It is really evident that each staff member is really engaged in moving the profession forward. Like the MDA’s staff, it is evident that to each one it is much more than a job.

Of all your activities—dental, civic, personal—what current activity in your life are you most excited about being a part of and why? Not sur- prisingly, I am truly excited to be part of the lives of our grandchildren. I can vividly remember speaking to my patients, telling them that I was really looking forward to having grandchildren. It doesn’t seem that long ago and now we are proud to have seven! Phyllis and I really enjoy spending time with our children and grandchildren, and we equally enjoy sharing stories about them with our friends.

Do you feel like your leadership career is coming to a close? Do you plan to “retire” from leadership roles? Is there still something you’d like to be involved in or see accomplished within the Association (at the local, state and/or national level) that you feel hasn’t come to fruition? I really doubt that I will ever stop being involved in organized dentistry, but I do realize that I need to make room for others to make their place in the tripartite. As my term as trustee was coming to a close, the presi- dent elect of the ADA told me that I needed to make sure that I was a member of the ADA House so that he could appoint me to an ADA task force. I let him know that I would not do that, because in doing so I would be taking the place of another volunteer dentist. Interestingly enough, he brought a resolution to the ADA Board to reconstitute the task force without the requirement to be a member of the House.

36 focus | NOV/DEC 2016 | ISSUE 6