The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) elected Keith V. Krell, DDS, MS, MA, its new president during its annual meeting, held April 10 to April 13 in Montreal. Krell is a Diplomate and a past director and past president of the American Board of Endodontics. He also is a past president of the Foundation for Endodontics and is now a Foundation Trustee.
Krell earned his DDS and MS degrees from the University of Iowa in 1981 and 1983. He also received his MA in sociology-anthropology in 1975 from the United States International University in San Diego.
An endodontist for 38 years, he was in private practice in West Des Moines, Iowa, for 29 years before retiring on December 31, 2017. He currently teaches at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry’s Department of Endodontics. Krell officially assumed the presidency during the AAE’s General Assembly and will serve for one year.
“I am honored to have been selected by my colleagues to lead our specialty into the next year as president,” said Krell. “Endodontics has a rich history and a bright future. I am confident that by working with our respective board and members, we will accomplish great things and promote solutions to further strengthen our specialty and benefit our patients.”
The AAE also selected other officers and incoming members of its board of directors during the annual meeting.
Alan S. Law, DDS, PhD, will serve as vice president. He has published several articles in scientific and clinical journals and is in full-time practice in the Twin Cities with the Dental Specialists, a multi-specialty dental practice. He also is an adjunct associate professor in the Division of Endodontics at the University of Minnesota.
Craig S. Hirschberg, DDS, will serve as secretary, He is the chair of the Department of Endodontics at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. He received his bachelor of science degree from the University of Cincinnati and pursued his dental education at the New York University College of Dentistry, where he earned his DDS in 1980.
Paul A. Falcon, DMD, MS, will represent District II. He earned a certificate in endodontics in 1983 from the New Jersey Dental School, now Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. He maintains a part-time private practice limited to endodontics and is director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Endodontics at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.
Michael J. Mintz, DDS, will represent District IV. He is an active member of many dental groups and societies. Also, he is an assistant professor of endodontics at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry. He currently practices in Illinois and Indiana. He attended the Indiana University School of Dentistry and received his DDS in 1986.
Bradley H. Gettleman, DDS, MS, will represent District V. He earned his dental degree from the University of Missouri in Kansas City. Also, he finished his master’s degree and endodontic residency at the University of Minnesota. He has published numerous articles on endodontic therapy and has a private practice in Arizona.
Kirk A. Coury, DDS, MS, will represent District V. He was the first endodontist in the Panhandle area of Texas when he opened his practice in Amarillo in 1990. In 1996, he and his partner Dr. James Douthitt formed Amarillo Endodontics. He is active in all levels of organized dentistry and currently serves as treasurer of the Foundation for Endodontics.
Kenneth B. Wiltbank, DMD, will represent District VI. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics. Also, he is a member of and volunteers with the American Association of Endodontists as a representative to the ADA’s Codes Maintenance Committee and to the American Association of Dental Consultants.
The meeting also featured 150 educational opportunities with topics ranging from responsible pain management in the opioid crisis to chronic sinus infections and their possible correlations to root canal treatment. Futurist Mike Walsh provided the keynote address on the challenges that businesses face in the 21st century and how the medical community can overcome similar obstacles.
At the direction of the AAE’s board, the organization also revised its Implant Position Statement, which was originally developed in 2007. In its revision, the AAE underscored the importance of saving one’s natural teeth over the mentality of “extract and replace.”
AAE members and other meeting attendees also raised more than $1,100 to benefit the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, whose mission is to inspire and mobile the community to support innovation in research, teaching, and care at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the pediatric teaching facility for McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine.
During the annual President’s Breakfast, past president Patrick E. Taylor, DDS, discussed the AAE’s accomplishments. He also presented Rick S. Schwartz, DDS, with the AAE’s President’s Award for his continued enhancement of knowledge and skills to the endodontic specialty and dental community.
“Our various leaders, members, and association staff have won numerous prestigious awards, launched a comprehensive new ad campaign, and published dozens of articles featured in medical journals and the press,” said Taylor. “I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to a bright future under Dr. Krell’s stewardship.”
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