The month of April ended with a major blow to the Houston area. On April 18th, Houston was inundated by a storm that dumped between 16 and 20 inches of rain on the city within a 24-hour period. It left several people dead and many stranded. There were over 1,700 rescues by the first responders in the Houston metropolitan area. There were thousands of people who were left without homes or with severe damage to their homes. I have lived in Houston for almost 40 years and have seen many storms hit this city. This was a devastating event and one which will go down in the history books. However, Houstonians are resilient people. We are strong and resistant, and I have absolute confidence that Houston will come back even better than before. I clearly remember that, as I crossed Bray’s Bayou on my way to the office on the morning of the 18th, I have never seen so much water in the bayou before. From the top of the bridge, it is at least 40 feet to the everyday level of the water. However, on April 18, the water level was seriously approaching the street level. I’m thankful that there were not more deaths across the Houston area. Again, it showed good leadership by our city officials.
The month of May will be a recovery month for me and Dr. Pettit. January through April were extremely busy months for the two of us. The weekend of April 15 and 16th, Dr. Pettit and I attended the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. I taught an all-day preconference course with Dr. Pettit’s help on April 14th. I was very pleased with the outcome of that course as we continue to make an impact on the field of orofacial pain. There were also three physicians who spoke on migraine headaches on Friday, April 15th. Dr. Pettit and I learned some new information which we are both in the process of researching, so that we can bring the best form of headache and pain management to you, our patients.
I am currently working on a chapter for a textbook which I agreed to write for my friend and colleague, Dr. Henry Gremillion, Dean of LSU School of Dentistry. The chapter will cover a subject with which I am very familiar, as it was the topic of my PhD dissertation research. As many of you know, my PhD was in Human Anatomy, but my dissertation research was in the field of neuroembryology or the development of the brain and nervous system. I consider myself to be a neuroembryologist and that will be the subject of this chapter for the textbook. I am hopeful that it will be ready for print sometime in 2017. When that date is finalized, I will make the announcement in our newsletter
At the end of the month, my wife and I will join Dr. Romero and his wife for a trip to Indianapolis to attend the Indy 500. We have been looking forward to this trip for over nine months. This is the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 and I know that it will be a wonderful event. I attended my first Indy 500 in 2013. I invited my son, Chris, to go with me and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Linda and I have not had a vacation all year, and we are looking forward to our Memorial Day break to enjoy a historic event. The Indy 500 is very exciting and is the most well-attended sporting event in the world, drawing over 350,000 fans each year. They’re expecting even more this year due to the fact that it is the 100th year celebration.
Dr. Pettit and I continue to search and research the field of Orofacial Pain and TMD. It is our goal and purpose to bring you the most up-to-date care available anywhere in the United States. We have already acquired more continuing education hours this year than the State of Texas requires in three years and we will continue to seek out courses, listen to speakers and developed lectures so that our techniques and our care will be exemplary within the field of dentistry. You are our greatest asset and we will continue to work diligently to earn your trust and loyalty.
Sincerely,
Ronald C. Auvenshine, DDS, PhD
Diplomate, American Board of Orofacial Pain