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Ninth District Headquarters Office - Hawthorne, NY

2025 Ninth District President

Dr. Renuka Bijoor

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3 EASY WAYS TO PAY 1 ONLINE: nysdental.org/renew 2 MAIL: Return dues stub and payment 3 PHONE: 1-800-255-2100

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Member Assistance Program (MAP)

Life comes with challenges, but your new Member Assistance Program (MAP) is here to help. This free, confidential benefit is available to you and your household, offering resources and services to support mental health, reduce stress, and make life easier.

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Welcome to the Ninth District Dental Association

The Ninth District Dental Society was formed in 1909 and renamed to the Ninth District Dental Association in 2002. We have a membership of over 1500 dentists in 5 counties: Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange and Putnam.

In its quest to serve both the public and the profession, the Ninth District embodies the highest ideals.

The mission of the 9^th District Dental Association is to serve and support its members and the public by improving the oral health of our community through Advocacy, Continuing Education and Camaraderie.

Don't Miss the 9th District Dental Association's General Meeting
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

The Westchester Manor
140 Saw Mill River Road
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Register

Mahnaz Fatahzadeh, D.M.D., M.S.D.
Completed her Oral Medicine fellowship and MSD degree at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine where she holds a faculty appointment as a professor of Oral Medicine and as an attending at the University hospital. Dr. Fatahzadeh is a diplomat of American Board of Oral Medicine and director of pre and post-doctoral oral medicine training and Oral Mucosal Diseases Clinic at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

"Orofacial Manifestations of Systemic Diseases"

Course Objectives

Oral cavity is readily accessible for inspection and a gateway for assessment of general health. In fact, many systemic conditions affecting organs far from the head and neck region could manifest in the orofacial region, sometimes prior to their diagnosis. Abnormalities detected in the orofacial region may also represent complications related to medical therapy or raise concerns about substance abuse. This program provides illustrative examples of orofacial findings associated with diagnosed or subjectively silent systemic disease, medical therapy and substance abuse. Relevant signs, symptoms, and diagnostics are reviewed and the potential role of oral health care providers in recognition, referral, follow-up and overall management is emphasized.

Meeting Exhibitors (so far): (company names are links to their websites)

After Hours Cleaning

Altfest Personal Wealth Management

BonaDent Dental Labs

DDSMatch

Epstein Practice Brokerage

Garfield Refining Company

General Refining

Komet

M&T Bank

MLMIC Insurance Company

Orion Dental Solutions

Singular Anesthesia Services

Latest News Around the Tripartite

AHRQ Issues Regulatory Update

Aug 5, 2025

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has issued its weekly regulatory update, which can be read below.

August 5, 2025 | Issue #969

In This Week's Issue: decrease in misuse of ADHD drugs; infection prevention program recruitment; new statistical brief on hypertension treatment; AI digital scribing tools

Study Identifies Trends in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medication Misuse

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) prescription stimulant misuse is associated with being under age 30, being White, and living in metropolitan areas, according to a new evidence report from AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, developed in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Researchers examined the misuse of ADHD prescription stimulant medications in adults to understand the patterns and trends in misuse and its short- and long-term health consequences. They found that 3.7 percent of young adults, ages 19 to 30, misused ADHD medications in 2023, a decrease from 7.8 percent in 2022. The primary reasons identified for misuse include the following:

To focus
To stay awake
To study better
To get high or experiment
To lose weight

Adults who misuse prescription stimulants primarily purchase or obtain them from for free from friends or family. Access the evidence report.

Join AHRQ’s Safety Program To Help Hospitals Improve CAUTI Rates

AHRQ is recruiting adult intensive care units (ICUs) and non-ICUs to participate in a free 9-month program to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infection rates in acute care hospitals. Program participants will learn how to enhance teamwork and communication, gain access to regular benchmarking reports, and receive expert consultation and tools to promote infection prevention procedures and patient safety culture. Participants will also receive free continuing education (CEU/CME) credits. Register for the first informational recruitment webinars scheduled for August 13 and 28. Space in the program is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The program will begin in February 2026. Visit the website for more details.

Gaps in High Blood Pressure Treatment Highlighted in New Statistical Brief

In 2021–22, 90.5 million adults had diagnosed or treated high blood pressure. A new statistical brief from AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey shows that 74.5 percent of adults diagnosed with or treated for high blood pressure received medications, but only 56.5 percent also had related medical visits. Another 18.0 percent received medications but had no visits, and 15.1 percent had no medical treatment at all. The findings suggest potential issues with followup care and access, particularly for nonelderly adults. Explore the statistical brief for insights on treatment patterns by age, income, and insurance status, and learn where gaps in care remain.

Methods Emerge for Evaluating AI Documentation Tools

AI-powered ambient digital scribing (ADS) tools can reduce documentation burdens and give clinicians more time to focus on patient care. Two recent AHRQ-funded studies offer practical methods for evaluating these tools to ensure they’re integrated safely and effectively into clinical workflows.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association demonstrated the use of simulation testing to compare two ADS tools. Researchers analyzed transcripts from 11 real patient encounters and found that notes generated by one model took significantly longer to edit and contained more errors in text placement and additions—though it had fewer omissions. The findings suggest simulation testing can help clinicians identify which ADS tools best meet their needs. Access the abstract.
A study in NPJ Digital Medicine introduced a structured framework—SCRIBE (simulation, computational metrics, reviewer assessment, and intelligence evaluation)—for assessing ADS tools. Researchers developed their own ADS tool and tested it on recordings from 40 clinical visits. The framework identified strengths such as clarity and completeness, and flagged challenges including transcription errors, unlikely case scenarios, and possible demographic bias. The authors note that SCRIBE may offer a scalable, resource-conscious way to evaluate ADS tools. Access the article.

Register for Upcoming Webinars

August 6, 3:30–5 p.m. ET: AHRQ Academy: Charting the Future of Integrated Behavioral Health: Perspectives from the Field
AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CAUTI Informational Webinar

August 13, 2:30–3 p.m. ET
August 28, 1:30–2 p.m. ET

AHRQ Stats: Prevalence of Heart Disease Treatment by Age

Adults aged 65 and older were most likely to receive treatment for heart disease in 2022, with 22.8 percent having treatment. Only 6.0 percent of adults aged 45 to 64 and 1.4 percent of those aged 18 to 44 had treatment that year. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #562, Healthcare Expenditures for Heart Disease among Adults Aged 18 and Older in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2022.)

New Research and Evidence

Rapid Evidence Product: Misuse of ADHD Prescription Stimulants in Adults
Systematic Review (draft open for comment through August 7): The Performance of Fusion Procedures for Degenerative Disease of the Lumbar Spine
Systematic Review (draft open for comment through August 15): Medical Care for Adults With Down Syndrome
Systematic Review (draft open for comment through August 29): Primary Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer
Systematic Review (draft open for comment through September 2): Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Outcomes for hospitals participating in more- and less-mature ACOs. Chukmaitov A, Harless DW, Muhlestein DB. Am J Manag Care. 2025 Jun;31(Spec. No. 6):sp322-36. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Initial real-world pilot of the MedMorph reference architecture: hepatitis C surveillance and research. Michaels M, Botts NE, Hassell S, et al. Appl Clin Inform. 2025 Mar;16(2):234-44. Epub 2025 Mar 12. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Building a public-private partnership to confront the emergency department boarding crisis. Michael SS, Bruna S, Sessums LL. Health Aff Sch. 2025 Apr;3(4):qxaf014. Epub 2025 Apr 2. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Antibiotic stewardship in the neonatal intensive care unit. Flannery DD, Coggins SA, Medoro AK. J Intensive Care Med. 2025 Aug;40(8):862-75. Epub 2024 Jun 5. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Economic evaluations of worksite health centers: a systematic review. Jiang H, Schwirtlich T, Beestrum M, et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2025 Apr;67(4):229-34. Epub 2024 Dec 10. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Preventing and managing tracheostomy-related emergencies in the radiology suite: best practices for safety and preparedness. Morris LL, Brenner MJ, Williams RL, et al. J Radiol Nurs. 2025 Jun;44(2):150-60. Epub 2025 Jun 3. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Guiding Clostridioides difficile infection prevention efforts in a hospital setting with AI. Tang S, Shepard S, Clark R, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jun 2;8(6):e2515213. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Multicomponent deimplementation strategy to reduce low-value preoperative testing. Antunez AG, Kazemi RJ, Richburg C, et al. JAMA Surg. 2025 Mar;160(3):304-11. Access the abstract on PubMed®.