Wisconsin Dental Association: 12 individuals, four groups recognized for service to dentistry, public oral health

CONTACT: Carol S. Weber, APR, Director of Public Relations

PHONE: 414-755-4108 (direct)

E-MAIL: cweber@wda.org

Green Bay’s Dr. James Van Miller earns lifetime achievement honor

WEST ALLIS, WIS., Nov. 13, 2009 – Green Bay resident and pediatric dentist Dr. James L. Van Miller is the 2009 Wisconsin Dental Association Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in recognition of the significant amount of time, energy and expertise he has given to organized dentistry throughout his career. It is the WDA’s highest honor.

Van Miller joins 11 other individuals and representatives of four groups in receiving 2009 Pyramids of Pride from the 2,900-member statewide dental organization during a special banquet at the Holiday Inn in Stevens Point at 7:30 tonight. Van Miller has been a pediatric dentist for 37 years. During that time, he has been involved at the international, national, state, regional and local levels of the dental profession. He has held leadership posts with the International College of Dentists, American Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. He is a past-president of the Wisconsin Society of Pediatric Dentists.

A WDA past-president, Van Miller also served as speaker of the organization’s House of Delegates and was a trustee from its Northeast Region 2. Locally, Van Miller served on the Brown Door Kewaunee Dental Society board. As a member of the group’s Professional Relations Committee, he helped area employers make informed decisions about dental benefits by educating them about dental products and procedures.

He earned his dental degree and certification in pediatric dentistry from Marquette University School of Dentistry in the early 1970s and continues to be active with the school’s Advisory Committee.

Van Miller is committed to improving dental access in Wisconsin. He regularly contacts state legislators and provides charitable care through a variety of programs.

Community Outreach Awards for exceptional public service are awarded to four individuals and one group, including retired dentist and Oshkosh resident Dr. William Hammond. Hammond is a long-time volunteer at the Tri-County Community Dental Clinic in Appleton. A founding member of the Steering Committee, he treats patients and mentors MUSOD dental students three to four days per month at TCCDC.

Dr. Randall Moseng is an Onalaska resident and general dentist practicing in the Wisconsin communities of Holmen and La Crosse. As chair and treasurer of Citizens for Better Dental Health in Holmen, Moseng spearheaded efforts to get a local public water fluoridation referendum passed and bring fluoride’s oral health benefits to 7,000-plus residents.

State Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine) has worked diligently with legislative colleagues and WDA dentists to improve dental access for Medicaid patients since his 2006 election to the Legislature. A member of the Joint Committee on Finance, Mason helps keep dental access a priority despite the current economy.

Sister Jeanne Rusch, RDH is the retired director of St. Joseph’s Medical and Dental Clinic in Waukesha. For more than a decade, she served Waukesha County residents as clinic director and a dental hygiene instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

The Sheboygan County Dental Access Committee provides dental care to low-income residents through coordination and cooperation with multiple government and nonprofit agencies, the Sheboygan County Dental Society and local dentists. Some of the group’s successes include Seal-A-Smile and fluoride varnish programs at Head Start sites and a 2009 Give Kids A Smile dental access day that delivered $80,000 in charitable care to children in need.

Julie Wilk, resident of Erin, is this year’s Dental Care for Older Persons Award recipient. Wilk was a WDA Foundation’s Donated Dental Services program coordinator from 1998 – 2009. She was instrumental in recruiting 530 volunteer dentists and 120 dental labs to donate more than $5 million in charitable care to 2,000-plus patients unable to afford care due to financial hardship related to age, permanent disability or a medically-compromising condition during that time.

WKBT-TV 8 of La Crosse has earned a Media Awareness Award for its accurate, well-balanced and substantial coverage of the WDA’s first Mission of Mercy last June. The station’s many stories helped raise public awareness of the difficulty low-income adults and children face in accessing dental care.

The 2009 Media Relations Award goes to Milwaukee general dentist and South Milwaukee resident Dr. Michael Costello. As a WDA spokesperson, he uses mass communications to help raise awareness about dental access, the role of patients in choosing restoration materials and proper disposal of dental waste.

Mondovi resident and Midwest Dental CEO Dr. Jeffrey Moos is the Outstanding Leadership in Mentoring Award recipient. He has participated in the WDA – MUSOD – Pierre Fauchard Academy Mentor Program since 1994 and has developed many resources to help young dentists advance their careers.

Dr. Eric teDuits, a pediatric dentist living and working in Fitchburg, is this year’s Political Action Award honoree for his commitment to educating state and national lawmakers in both political parties on dental Medicaid access issues. Three individuals and two project groups are receiving WDA President’s Awards of Honor for contributions and activities that reflect great credit on the dental profession.

Dr. Ezedin Sadeghi, MUSOD associate professor of dental surgical sciences and oral pathology, has authored case studies published in the WDA Journal since March 2001 demonstrating a deep commitment to helping dental colleagues build their knowledge base through the sharing of clinical information. A Milwaukee resident, Sadeghi’s 100th case study appeared in the October 2009 issue.

Prior to retiring from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Madison, C. Randy Case worked to build a collaborative relationship with the WDA and member dentists to proactively address amalgam waste disposal and reduction of mercury contamination in wastewater treatment facility effluent.

Mary Kay Orr, president of the Brown County Oral Health Partnership in Green Bay, volunteered countless hours during the last four years while helping establish this nonprofit service. OHP’s success in providing preventive and restorative dental care to uninsured children through a portable dental clinic that travels to public schools and other community locations has made it a national public health model.

The WDA Dental Home Initiative establishes a standard of care for patients as young as 1-year while providing practice-building benefits for member dentists. Recognized for their contributions to this project are Neenah general dentist and Menasha resident Dr. Steve Stoll, West Allis pediatric dentist and New Berlin resident Dr. Cliff Hartmann, Group One Marketing president and Menomonee Falls resident Rick Brandtjen and Wauwatosa resident and WDA Director of Public Relations Carol Weber.

After 18 months of planning, the WDA and WDA Foundation’s first Mission of Mercy saw 903 volunteers deliver more than $850,000 in dental care to some 1,500 patients during two days last June in La Crosse. Instrumental in organizing this inaugural, large-scale charitable dental event were Waukesha general dentist and resident Dr. Eugene Shoemaker, Brookfield general dentist and resident Dr. James Morgenroth, La Crosse oral surgeon Dr. Timothy Durtsche and his wife Susan Durtsche and Colgate resident and WDA Director of Member Services Lani Becker.

The Wisconsin Dental Association was established in 1870. With more than 2,900 members statewide, the WDA represents 83 percent of all licensed, practicing dentists in Wisconsin. WDA members are committed to promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care. The WDA is headquartered in West Allis and has a legislative office in Madison. It is one of 53 constituent (state-territorial) dental societies of the American Dental Association – the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. For more information on the WDA, call 414-276-4520 or visit http://www.wda.org.