Fall 2019 Newswire

Letter from our President

Hello fellow dental hygienists,

Happy fall! I hope this newswire finds you well. I would like to begin by telling you, what a pleasure it has been serving as your president! The year has gone by fast with so much accomplished, thanks to all of you and your advocacy to your legislators in Lansing. As you all know, the Dental Therapy (DT) bill passed at the end of 2018. The Board of Dentistry and the MDHA leadership along with special input from Ann Lynch of the ADHA, have been diligent putting the final touches on the bill. A special Thank You to ADHA and Ann Lynch for her many trips to Michigan advocating at our state capital during the DT hearings and the countless follow-up conference calls finalizing the language of the bill. Also, a special thank you to the dental hygienists that sit on the Board of Dentistry; Cheryl Bentley, Kathleen Inman and our newest member, Martha Lynn Morgan, for all of your communications and support finalizing the details to our new dental work force member of the dental team, the Dental Therapist. According to Ann Lynch, “Michigan has the best dental therapy bill in the nation.”

Representative Scott VanSingel’s House Bill 4223 or the Pre-K Oral Assessment bill continues to gain traction on the hill. As of August 20, 2019, the bill is moving forward and has been referred to the Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee. Just to recap, this legislation would require all children entering kindergarten to have a dental assessment in addition to their hearing and vision exams. Vision and hearing screenings have been a part of the public health code for 70 years. There are many stakeholders vested in this bill as well; Michigan Dental Association, Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principal Association, Michigan Primary Care Association, Delta Dental of Michigan and Michigan Association for Local Public Health just to name a few. I am very optimistic that this bill will pass by the years’ end.

This year the ADHA Annual Session was held in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 21-25. Many Michiganders attended this meeting to networking, attend classes, and participate at the House of Delegation meetings. I had the honor of sitting on a resolution committee with hygienists from Washington, Connecticut, and Texas. This was an amazing experience and I recommend, if given the opportunity to serve in this capacity, to do so. Save the date for the 2020 ADHA Annual Session in New Orleans June 12-16th.

MDHA membership has struggled in the past and this year was no exception. This year we have retained most members, however we are eager to better understand how to retain member and how to gain new members. Please feel free to contact any of the board members if you have suggestions.

ADHA update, beginning 2020, ADHA has moved all members to the winter-billing cycle, which begins in January. For those who used to renew your membership in the summer, you will be pro-rated and will begin your renewal in the winter cycle. If anyone has any questions regarding your membership please, contact ADHA membership services at (312) 440-8900 or email them at membership.services@adha.net

This year’s MDHA House of Delegates meeting will be held at the Hilton DoubleTree in Grand Rapids October 18-20th. The Continuing Education this year will feature Michael Stack, an Exercise Physiologist, talking about “Essential Self Care for the Dental Hygienist” and finish up with Dr. Margarita Fontana in the afternoon discussing on “Update on Current Recommendations for Non-Restorative Management of Caries Lesions, With a Focus on Silver Diamine Fluoride.” Register here: https://www.mdhatoday.org/event/mdha-house-of-delegates-2019/ Hope to see you there!

In closing, I would like to thank all of you for your support to MDHA. Without your support this professional organization would not exists. MDHA is the backbone of dental hygiene in Michigan; without it, we would not have protection of our scope of practice or the ability to expand it.

Warm regards,

Becky Domagalski RDH BSDH