The CDA Family
CDA's new president outlines his goals for the upcoming year.

David O. McKay said, "Man's greatest success lies within the walls of his own home." One might ask, why are families so important? Answers would indicate that their importance lies in the fact that they are a place where our basic needs are met, such as food, clothing and shelter; and are a school to teach us our social skills and character in preparation for life. Families are our support team. They provide a place where we can share our joy and sorrow and even receive correction. Families connect the past with the future, from parents to children. They are a way to pass values, and history, forward.

CDA is, in a sense, the dentist's family as it mirrors the attributes of the family. I want to talk about our CDA family. First, with a report about the leadership - or the parents - of this CDA family, it must be remembered that families aren't always perfect. The term "dysfunctional" has occasionally been applied to the word family. The CDA family has also endured a time of dysfunction.

I cannot begin to sufficiently compliment and thank Dr. Sekiguchi. He sacrificed much by stepping into the void left by the exodus of the past two executive directors as our interim executive director. During the time of tumult and dysfunction he skillfully applied a tourniquet that kept CDA alive. Much like a death in the family, the absence of a CEO brought us great dysfunction. Dr. Sekiguchi's conscientiousness and tireless effort made the difference between survival and collapse.

Dr. Lange has led this organization with strong, open and honest communication - and positive vision. With his caring strength he began the recovery process for our association. His only motive has been guaranteeing the survival of the California Dental Association.

Other leaders of this CDA family, as parent figures, deserve comment. President-elect Dr. Farnsworth is open and frank, intelligent and quick. He is usually the one who prepares the exact wording on resolutions during our Executive Committee deliberations. You can be confident that he will serve you well as your president next year.

Vice President Dr. Broussard is determined, driven by an almost unbelievable passion, to see that the members understand what leaders are trying to accomplish in their behalf. He insists that the chosen leaders strive to meet the needs of our members.

Dr. Chan, our Treasurer, employs a thoughtful, probing style. He blows the dust away and examines the details. He has even supplanted the great Sekiguchi as the most prolific e-mailer on the Earth -- and that is a Guinness Book achievement.

House Speaker Dr. Sig Abelson is this association's parliamentarian and a true gentleman of class. He offers his correction gently and with humor, and is never offensive. He patiently explains how things should be done, acting always as a man of reason. He is a jewel in the CDA crown.

Editor Dr. Conley is a repository of collected wisdom. The experience he gained in 15 years with our award-winning publication makes him the consummate observer of the present and an accurate prophet of the future. We are fortunate that he shares his observations with us in our Journal each month.

Dr. Kalebjian, our incoming secretary, is new to this Executive Committee, yet we have worked with him on numerous other committees. We know he will be an asset to this organization, which he values highly. His commitment and dedication are apparent.

The volunteer members who sit on the Board of Trustees and serve on councils and committees, and who make up subsidiary boards, truly come to represent you. I am honored to be able to work with these honest, hard-working, outstanding people.

Your subsidiary staff have utilized their strengths during our time of crisis to willingly support CDA goals. They did not let down. They have earned our absolute trust and respect! We must continue to hang together with them, or, as it has been said, "we will be hung separately."

Your holding company is revitalized. They are growing the teeth required by this leadership assignment. They understand their role, which is to bring harmony and fairness to the companies of the California Dental Association while representing the best interest of the CDA members.

The addition of Tim Comstock as executive director has been therapeutic. He is hard-working, approachable, forthright and, of great importance, he loves his job. We will see CDA thrive under his watch.

To the CDA staff I must say that I regret the distress that they suffered during the year-and-a-half transition. It seemed as though one land mine after another exploded, claiming many regrettable casualties. The volunteers and staff have learned how best to fill voids and how to work around and through battle zones. It is because of the excellent work of staff we have survived. We are all stronger because of what we learned during those experiences. Of the staff, it might be said that there may be better people somewhere, but I'm afraid that if they do exist, it would be in heaven and not accessible to mortals. Our staff ranks among my heroines and heros.

I am also appreciative of the solid comforting support and wisdom of the spouses. They bring color and warmth to an otherwise bleak landscape.

How lucky this organization is to have such intelligent, free-thinking members and staff. From such a group there will always be differences in approach to the variety of problems that we face. By carefully studying the fertile field of thoughts, we can plant and harvest something that will benefit and enrich us all.

Finances are important to the security of any family. During these past two years an army of unusual expenses has devoured much of our reserves. The growth of our very generous subsidiary has not kept pace with our ravenous appetite. We will have to very carefully budget. The budget presented reflects some significant program cuts and many other economies. However there are a few projects among our long-range goals that we must fund completely.

* The internal organizational review or audit. To conserve operating costs we need to find smarter ways to do business and to operate a leaner, more streamlined organization. We have begun this process. We have reorganized the Communications Committee so that it will intertwine with all of our councils and committees and draw from them a priority consensus. They will then focus with condensed energy on those specific needs. We are calling upon you to place The Dentists Company Insurance Services in a similar category as the other endorsed marketplace products of The Dentists Company and The Dentists Insurance Company. No other subsidiary has the luxury of Council oversight. I am sure many other areas will be brought to our attention by this organizational audit.

* Legislative issues. Money spent in this arena is like putting savings into a future account.

* Technology enhancements. These are only necessary if we intend to do business in the new millennium.

* The state-wide fluoridation campaign. We owe this campaign to our patients and the children of California.

I've talked about the leadership - the parents of the CDA family. Now I would like to talk about the members of the family, the dentists. They fall into four categories, each favoring a different interpretation of what CDA means.

1. To some, CDA means "Clinically Dead, Almost." There are two sub-groups in this category: Those who hold most tenaciously to this first sub-group are probably beyond resuscitation. The ones I'm talking about have no heart or conscience. Fortunately, these are very few in number but they are the ones who do the greatest damage to the reputation of dentistry. These are the ones who fraudulently bill insurance companies, claiming payment for treatment that has not been rendered. These are they who grossly overtreat mouths that are without decay or pathology. These are they, who without proper communication with their patient, undertreat them because programs are underfunded.

Ethics was easily defined in the old days. Good guys wore the white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. Clergy and police were always your friend in those good old days. Deals were struck by a handshake and honored because one had given his word. My, how times have changed. Today, the good guys of yesteryear are often portrayed in Hollywood as hypocrites, fallen leaders and cops on the take. Legal negotiations require reams of paper and a choir of attorneys. Deals and contracts are broken on a whim of convenience or inconvenience. It is hard to see the color of the hat today; maybe that is because no one wears them any more. Dentistry's white hat would likely be splattered because of the actions of these very few amoral dentists. True ethics is more than an arbitrary advertisement rule and one should not be considered unethical because one participates in managed care, managed service, capitation or any other mode of practice. Ethical dentists are honest and truthful. Ethics are established by trying to serve each patient as we would want to be served - by doing the right thing, even when no on is watching. Our practices should never be driven by greed. Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." To those in this category I would suggest that they get a life.

Of far greater value in this category of "clinically dead, almost," are dentists who don't belong to our association. They don't seem to understand that 85 percent of what CDA does benefits all dentists and their patients, not just CDA dentists. This association saves both patients and doctors, members and nonmembers, thousands of dollars, with relief from onerous tasks, fees and endless duties prescribed without science by federal and state agencies. I'm sure that nonmembers don't realize this fact or they would want to pay their fair share and join. We need to resuscitate these nonmember dentists. Be mentors to them and welcome them home.

2. To some, CDA means "Confused, Depressed and Anxious." There is much external intervention in our practices by insurance companies, regulatory agencies and legislators. I personally have felt all those emotions - confusion, depression and anxiety. Your CDA has learned that we will not accept these infringements and torments without a fight. CDA fights for you in all arenas with very skilled people. We win a lot of our battles, but not all. Sometimes we are forced to compromise. Occasionally we are defeated. But CDA is representing you extremely well in fighting your battles. We are trying, as they say in scouting, "to be prepared." It has been said that if you are prepared, you have no need for confusion, depression or anxiety. CDA is trying to help keep you prepared so these outside influences will minimally affect you. CDA also helps to provide you with the knowledge you need to make intelligent judgements.

3. The third group of our CDA family is "Critical, Demanding and Angry." They are upset about the compromises and the losses CDA suffers. Remember, it is impossible to always get your way - my wife convinced me of that fact very early in our relationship. We need to avoid damaging infighting. We should learn to handle difference without using belittling or destructive commentary. CDA will benefit from a variety of viewpoints, but great damage will be done to this organization if those differences are tied to personal attacks. One statement that used to make me feel critical, defensive and angry was the statement made by some of our previous leaders. They said that "CDA (Parent Organization) must be supported even if what CDA does, or wants to do, goes against your local society's wishes." That is wrong. If the local constituency cannot be convinced that the chosen direction of the Board of Trustees or Executive Committee is right, then perhaps the board and Executive Committee is wrong. At the last House of Delegates there was a vote by this House to discontinue a project. A dental friend, who liked the project very much and didn't want it stopped, said to me, "Why does Executive Committee let the House of Delegates get away with that stuff? It's like the tail wagging the dog." The truth of the matter is that Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees is the tail and the dog is this House. You represent the voice of the membership. You determine just what the wag should be and we will wag to your bark. Leadership and membership must be more cooperative and trusting. The present Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee know that if we are going to enjoy success we must convince the membership of the value of an issue or program. We cannot force-feed our chosen diet. We need to get you the information so that you can be well informed and then we will make the right decisions together. Your leadership is in place to serve you. To properly do that we must listen to the membership. We are listening!!! Once a consensus has been reached by the majority, it is time for the minority to join together with unity and move forward. There are other battles to fight.

4. Today, CDA means "Capable, Dynamic and Accelerated." Our House of Delegates is a fair representation of that part of our dental family that is capable, dynamic and accelerated. Please continue to increase your understanding of the many issues and problems that we face and continue to participate as part of organized dentistry. There is a great need for leadership, and I say reluctantly from the vantage point of my age, we need more youthful, enthusiastic and vital leadership - those who will stay awake during all of the meeting.

CDA enjoys a rich, ethnic diversity. Ethnicity is seen in the faces of your Executive Committee. We symbolize your faces, yet there is great unity in the leadership, regardless of our race, creed, or religion. It must continue to be that way because that is the American way.

Please accept these three final challenges and pass them along to your societies and fellow dentists.

1. Encourage active membership in your association. Develop mentoring programs. Local leadership and all active members should reach out to new graduates, nonmember dentists and those less active in the society, and invite their participation. Welcome them back home, into the family. CDA is the voice of dentistry. With policies of inclusion we will be heard with greater force, clarity and authority.

2. We must be kinder and less critical regarding the work of our colleagues. We all have a few cases that fail; there is no crime in that. I've certainly had my share of failures. When that happens, we must be truthful in explaining existing needs to our patients. We can do that without criticizing the work of others. We must all work together to help our patients, as colleagues, in a spirit of cooperation. We should avoid the contention of competition.

3. Make every effort to exemplify integrity in dentistry. The one thing that should never fail is our honesty with our patients and the integrity of our practice. Integrity and the ethics are a great solvent and do more to remove black splatters from white hats than any advertising program.

Again, thank you for the honor and privilege of representing you. I thank you for your efforts to so willingly contribute your time, talent and resources to the cause of dentistry. I would humbly ask that our loving Father in Heaven watch over our profession and assist us in our efforts to benefit the oral health of mankind and to become beacons of integrity for the communities in which we live. And finally, that He will help us to find success within the walls of our CDA home. Thank you!