AOS MEMBERSHIP NEWS AOS Annual Meeting Heads to Florida: Learn & Network Together Randy Newby, DDS AOS President As I reflect on my many years (decades, LOL) as an AOS member, I am thankful for many thing––one of which is the AOS Annual Meeting. As you know due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our 2020 meeting to be held in Atlanta was cancelled. The 2021 AOS Annual Meet-ing will be held at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Hotel in Clearwater Beach, Florida on October 28-31, 2021. That is less than 6 months from now. It is not too early to be planning. Years ago as a novice orthodontic practitioner, my decision whether to attend the AOS Annual Meeting often hinged on the quality and credentials of the "headliner" speaker. We have a tremendous, featured speaker this year, Terrance J. Spahl, DDS. I originally met Dr. Spahl back in the 1980s when he and Dr. John Witzig were teaching functional orthodontics/orthope-dics in Minneapolis, MN. These two doctors authored three books (Volumes I, II and III) titled: "The Clinical Management of Basic Maxillofacial Orthopedic Appli-ances." I often refer to these books, generally when I am having an orthodontic/orthopedic consult with a patient and/or parent. In 2018, Dr. Spahl published the second printing of what I consider to be his crowning achievement: "The Clinical Management of the FJO/TMD/Migraine Continuum; An Evidence-Based Construct." This book is a summary of the dental orthopedic concepts that Dr. Spahl has developed over his professional career. He shows how to achieve great orthodontic results that are in harmony with healthy TM joints. As you know, practicing orthodontics affects the TM joints sometimes positively and sometimes nega-tively. Have you ever treated a patient to great orthodontic norms only to have them months after treatment complain about clicking, popping, limited range of motion and pain? I have. Do not let the complicated title of the book deter you from explor-ing this excellent resource. Dr. Spahl's techniques are straightforward. He goes into great depth detailing how to use the Bionator, FACT and SSV appliances effectively. Dr. Spahl is passionate about teaching dental orthopedics! When speaking to him, he told me: "I would lecture for free on Christmas Eve in Nome, Alaska if they would have me." This presenta-tion is one not to be missed! As I have gotten older, another reason I like to attend the AOS Annual Meeting is to reconnect with my fellow colleagues in person. For me, Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc... just is not the same as meeting in person. Hopefully in the USA, we will continue the path of reaching herd immunity and will be able to keep the dangerous variants at bay. I hope all of you continue to recover and prosper and look forward to seeing you in Clearwater Beach, Florida in October. Randy K. Newby D.D.S. www.orthodontics.com Spring 2021 41
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society Spring 2021: Page 41
