Harris New Chair of the Alpha Omega London Chapter

Alpha Omega – so much more than meets the eye

Alpha Omega is the worldwide dental organisation that promotes professional excellence through family, fraternal and Judaic values. With Chapters located across the globe, Alpha Omega represents many thousands of dentists and dental students, and welcomes new members of all ages and backgrounds.

As one of the longest servicing members of the Alpha Omega London Chapter, Harris Sidelsky has been attending regular meetings for over 30 years. In September 2013, Harris will succeed Linda Greenwall as chairman of the London Chapter. Looking to the year ahead, Harris hopes to build on the excellent work done by his predecessor, and increase still further the number of activities and events Alpha Omega members can look forward to in the year to come.

“To follow Linda Greenwall is a challenge,” admits Harris. “She has built a tremendous legacy, and has been a superb chairperson. Over the last year the London Chapter has grown in its activities, its membership and its educational programmes. What we’ve managed to achieve in this past year really has been superb. The challenge then for me, and the other committee members, is to continue to build on our successes and do even more than what we’ve done in this last year.”

Providing high quality postgraduate education has always been one of the main focuses for Alpha Omega, and the programme for 2013-14 is no exception. “We have the complete lecture line-up planned already,” continues Harris. “Everything we have planned will be practically focussed and oriented, and the aim is that whatever we present, practitioners will be able to use it the very next day.

“The first lecture we have planned will be on the morality of porcelain veneers, and the marketing of cosmetic dentistry. Mervyn Druian will present on the pros and cons of porcelain veneers and Akiva Tatz will then speak what he considers to be the ethical position. Our second lecture will feature Avijit Banerjee, Professor of Cariology and Operative Dentistry. He will be discussing minimally invasive dentistry and pitfalls when making a diagnosis – when to drill, and when not to drill. It should prove fascinating. Other lectures in the series include a session on dental lasers with Elay Maden, as well as a presentation from Crispian Scully CBE on oral medicine and the issues that confront us. Our fifth lecture in the series will examine digital dentistry with Daniel Edelhoff, while our final lecture will be with Jonathan Lack, speaking on grafts in periodontics.”

As well as a highly anticipated series of evening lectures – all of which are free to Alpha Omega members – there will also be the annual Annenberg lecture day in June 2014. This year’s lecture will feature Jack Griffin. Jack is known currently as one of the most knowledgeable and entertaining speakers on the American circuit, and as Harris is keen to point out, that’s not all:

“As well as our packed lecture programme I’m really excited to announce the launch of our brand-new study clubs,” continues Harris. “For me this really embodies the whole mentoring side to our organisation. To start with, we have lined up four dentists to do practical demonstrations in their offices. Mervyn Druian will run a session on marketing and patient communication, Linda Greenwall on bleaching, Malcolm Schaller on implants and Michael Sultan on molar root canal therapy. These sessions should be really interesting and will give our younger or less experienced members the opportunity to learn from experts in their field.”

As part of its family-centred ethos, Alpha Omega holds numerous social events throughout the year. These are a great opportunity to network with colleagues, make new friends, and generally have a good time! This year in particular Harris is keen to include even more social events than in previous years and has already arranged a number of exciting events in line with Jewish festivals Hanukkah, Sukkot and Purim.

“It really is an exciting programme that we’ve got lined up for the coming year, and we’re still adding more to it now,” continues Harris. “One of my main ambitions as chairman is to drive up membership and increase the amount of participation in our lecture events. I hope that by putting together a really strong and diverse programme I can re-enthuse people about Alpha Omega and the basic principles that we represent.

To me, Alpha Omega is so much more than ‘just another dental society’ – it’s not just a place you go for lectures! For me, Alpha Omega is all about family; it’s about sharing in friendship and always being ready and able to provide help and support. If I can re-enthuse members about these key principles in my time as chairman, then to me, that will be a job well done.”

For more information on the Alpha Omega London Chapter, visit www.alphaomegauk.co.uk