2017 is a new beginning and I am really looking forward to events that are to come. I am excited about so many things that we will experience in the coming year. We will inaugurate a new president with a change in philosophies of administration, which I hope will be to the best interest of the country. I am so glad that I live in a free society where we each have the right to our personal belief systems, I have proudly served in the military to help protect those freedoms which we all enjoy.
The month of January will be an active month for me as I begin to lay out plans for one of my residents at the VA hospital to begin her Master’s research here in my office. This will be another study which will join the previous two studies done by Dr. Pettit regarding the Hyoid bone. I have written in previous newsletters regarding our work with the Hyoid bone and I would be more than willing to discuss the results of those studies with you! Dr. Pettit and I will also be publishing several articles this year regarding that research. We will keep you posted in the coming months as to where you might be able to locate those articles.
As I indicated in the December newsletter, my work schedule for 2017 will continue to be three days a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I plan to work at least one Friday a month when I come in to participate in our monthly staff meeting in the morning and leading my Facial Pain Clinic at the VA in the afternoon. Many of you have expressed concerns that I will be retiring and leaving the practice. I want to reassure you that this is not the case. I will be continuing my work here at MedCenter TMJ indefinitely. I do hope that at some point in time I will be able to trim my work schedule back to just two days a week. This will enable me to have a little more freedom for travel. Linda and I have not taken a two week vacation in over 25 years. I’m hopeful that in 2017, I will have the opportunity to do the traveling that we have been putting off for many years. We enjoy traveling and there are several sites on our “bucket list” that we would like to visit.
In February, I will host the annual meeting of the American Equilibration Society (AES) in Chicago. This year, I am Program Chairman for this international meeting. There are over 22 countries represented at the AES meeting. I have been a member of this esteemed group since 1981 and it is a meeting that I enjoy attending and have had the privilege to make presentations in the past. I will teach an all-day head and neck dissection course on February 21st along with three of my very close friends, Dr. Henry Gremillion, Dr. Terry Tanaka, and Dr. Pettit.
We have many wonderful events which we will be writing about in the coming newsletters. I would invite you to go online at www.MedCenterTMJ.com to read our future monthly newsletters in case you are not in the office to pick one up personally. This is a way in which I have been communicating with my patients for over 20 years. It is fun to write the newsletter as it gives me the opportunity to tell you more of what is going on with the practice than I would have time at your appointment. I thank you for choosing Dr. Pettit and me to provide care for your TMD and facial pain. We consider it an honor that
you have chosen us. Along with my wonderful staff, our goal is to make your experience with us one that is pleasant, enjoyable, and effective. You are our greatest asset and we will
continue to work hard to of earn your trust.
Sincerely,
Ronald C. Auvenshine, DDS, PhD
Diplomate, American Board of Orofacial Pain