Arthur Melendez:  Arthur is the Senior Compliance Officer with Make Compliance Simple.  He entered the dental field in 1989 as the Legislative/Government Relations Secretary for the CDA.  In the past five years (2018) Arthur had an emphasis on healthcare regulations compliance. Certifications earned include: Certified Grant Writer (Healthcare) (AGWA); Certified CPR/BLS/First Aid Instructor (AHA); Certified OSHA 5119 - Cal/OSHA Standards for General Industry; Certified Cal/OSHA 30-Hour Construction Safety and Health; Certified Toastmaster; Certified Life Coach.

Gary Burton, CDT, received his degree in applied sciences from TSTC Waco in 1981. Gary has owned his own dental laboratory as well as worked for Calcitek for 8 years, Astratech/DENTSPLY for 18 years, and is presently employed with Zest Dental Solutions. He has over 1000 hours of continuing education.  

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Dr. Ralan Wong is a 5th generation San Franciscan and a 3rd generation alumnus from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry. Dr. Wong helped us in understanding pulp pathosis and its relation to dental pain as well as the treatment and management options of the acute dental emergency patient. 

Fazel Mostashari shared valuable insight into the tax situation dentists are facing in the COVID-19 Era. 

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Dr. Anderson graduated from the University of the Pacific Arthur A Dugoni School of Dentistry, completed a GPR at USC and then practiced dentistry in San Diego for 19 years. His personal investment success allowed him to retire from dentistry at the age of 43. He became Treasurer of the National Academy of General Dentistry, where he dramatically turned around the fortunes of the AGD portfolio, increasing the Academy’s reserves from $2.2 million to $6.4 million in two years. 

Dr. Ziv Simon is a periodontist practicing in Beverly Hills. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. He teaches surgery at USC. Dr. Simon is a creator of SurgicalMaster®, a global education platform that teaches dentists how to excel in surgery and enjoy growth and fullfillment.

Dr. Albers is an award-winning, internationally recognized dentist in the field of cosmetic and restorative dentistry. He shared tips for dental situations guaranteed to arise in the modern dental practice. 

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Dr Craig Pettingill from UCSF lectured for 4 hours via Zoom on both Sleep Apnea and TMD appliances. He reviewed the importance of patient evaluation and oral appliance selection for sleep apnea. He also discussed TMD diagnosis and treatment planning, as well as appliance selection and maintenance.

Dr. Stephen E. Lockwood graduated from UC Irvine before attending Oral Roberts University, School of Dentistry.  After earning his DMD (’84) he entered a one-year GPR program at Loma Linda VA Hospital. After a three-year associateship he opened his private practice in La Jolla, CA (’89) where he currently practices comprehensive dentistry with an emphasis in Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontics, and Implant Dentistry. 

Ms. Goldman, a native Northern Californian, specializes in defending dentists, specialists, and other doctors and small to mid-size employers, in the areas of business and employment law.  Ms. Goldman had a very informative session reviewing for us the Dental Practice Act.

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Dr. Giroux shared valuable information on how Covid-19 has affected dental practice transitions. 

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Dr. Ashley Clark from University of Kentucky lectured for 2 hours on Epithelial Pathology, from recognizing common lesions to determining whether to biopsy, and how to follow-up with patients who have been diagnosed with epithelial lesions. 

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