MEMBERS New Members
The MDA welcomes these new/renewed members (to November 15):
CENTRAL Megan Thomas, Columbia (UMKC 08) Joseph Vaughn, Sedalia (UT Houston 19)
GREATER KANSAS CITY Kyle Gardner, Kansas City (UMKC 22) Michael Gipson, Kansas City (Meharry Med Coll 22) Brandon Golub, Kansas City (Univ of the Pacific 21) Brandon Knapp, Kansas City (Univ of UT 21) Samantha Mayes, Clinton (UMKC 19) Shannon McCaul, Kansas City (UMKC 22) Benjamin Olson, Kansas City (Univ of IA 22) Jahn Roedemeier, Kansas City (UMKC 79) Stephanie Shelby, Kansas City (LECOM 19) Nicholas Smith, Independence (UMKC 22) Matthew Wendahl, Independence (Univ of Pittsburgh 13)
GREATER ST LOUIS Mahsa Astani, St. Peters (Texas A&M Univ 22) Aesha Bhatt, St. Louis (Marquette Univ 22) Michele Brown, St. Louis (SIU 21) Alfredo Calderon, St. Louis (Univ of MD 08) Shaina Day, O’Fallon (SIU 17) Erin Fraundorf, St. Louis (Univ of Louisville 16) John Hatton, St. Louis (SIU 82) Eugenia Kardaris, Chesterfield (Loyola Univ 91) Alicia Kim, St. Louis (Tufts Univ 20) Luis Martinez Ortiz, St. Louis (Univ of Puerto Rico 21) Shaunak Pal, St. Louis (SIU 22) Jake Pariani, Chesterfield (SIU 22) Kelsey Smith, St. Peters (UMKC 16) Logan Smith, St. Louis (Univ of CO 22) Jamie Terrill, St. Louis (SIU 20) Susana Torres-Short, St. Louis (Univ of Puerto Rico 20)
SOUTHEAST Parker Zelasko, Farmington (SIU 21)
SOUTHWEST Melissa Triplett, Joplin (Baylor 99)
GREATER SPRINGFIELD Jacob Simmons, Springfield (ATSU-MOSDOH 22)
Deceased Members
The MDA expresses its condolences for these deceased members (to November 15):
GREATER ST LOUIS Robert Levy, St. Louis (Washington Univ 81) died September 16, 2022
Ronald Schoolman, St. Louis (UMKC 75) died November 1, 2022
The ADA, through resources available to the profession, is reminding dentists to follow established recommendations and make sure protocols are being followed for patient safety. In the alert, the CDC reported it is currently investigating a March 2022 cluster of suspected nontuberculous Mycobacteria infections in children at an undisclosed loca- tion. The CDC noted that in 2015 and 2016, children who had received pulpotomies at pediatric dental clinics in Georgia and California experienced nontuberculous Mycobac- teria infections after an investigation confirmed high levels of the bacteria in the clinics’ dental treatment water supplies. The CDC said that while infections are rare, dental waterlines are susceptible to developing biofilms due to the “long, small-diameter tubing and low flow rates used in dentistry and the frequent periods of stagnation.” The CDC’s health advisory contains recommendations and a list of resources for dental personnel to visit to learn more information. Access the CDC Health Alert at
bit.ly/3gsfYnJ and CDC Dental Unit Water Quality recommendations at
bit.ly/3EKBM6v.
Safe Dental Waterlines A
CDC Health Alert Highlights Importance of Maintaining, Monitoring
n October 31 health alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concerning infections tied to contaminated dental waterlines provides an op- portunity for dental teams to review already strong infection control practices.
In addition to these resources, Dr. Jackie Miller, Dental Director, Missouri Office of Den- tal Health, recommended a Dental Unit Waterline Toolkit from the Nebraska Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program to help dental providers understand the need and basics of an effective water management plan for their facility. The toolkit includes: 1) A document on recognizing dental unit equipment; 2) A document on the risks of dental unit waterlines and why it is important to create an effective mainte- nance, testing and monitoring plan; and, 3) A document with the basics on best practice for maintenance, testing and monitoring dental unit waterlines that can be used to develop a policy and protocol for dental water quality. You can find this toolkit on the Nebraska ICAP Dental Resource Page (scroll down to the Dental Unit Water Quality section) at
bit.ly/3TW9rzB.
Finally, the ADA Store released in July The ADA Practical Guide to Effective Infection Prevention and Control, Fifth Edi- tion, the first update of this manual since the COVID-19 pan- demic. This revised edition features new chapters on dental water quality and synthesizes the most current science-based recommendations for infection prevention and control in dental settings. It also includes a self-assessment checklist of current infection control practices and review questions to reinforce important concepts. Learn more at
bit.ly/3Or2jtC.
ISSUE 6 | NOV/DEC 2022 | focus 15
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