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Houston Dental Society
Honors Dental Branch Faculty, Staff
Catherine Flaitz, D.D.S., interim dean of The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, and John Valenza, D.D.S., the school’s associate dean for patient care, have been honored with the President’s Award from the Greater Houston Dental Society.
“The President’s Award recognizes people who have exemplified excellence through their unselfish commitment to organized dentistry,” said Mark C. Frnka, D.D.S., president of the Greater Houston Dental Society. “These two individuals each spent countless hours, in addition to their ‘day jobs,’ to ensure the success of Centennial Smiles.”
The April 3 event provided free dental care to several hundred needy Houstonians at the Dental Branch. Called Centennial Smiles in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Greater Houston Dental Society, the event was a joint project of the society and the Dental Branch.
“For 100 years, the Greater Houston Dental Society has remained committed to providing quality health care for the people of Houston,” Frnka said. “I am so proud of the overwhelming response we received from the members of the Houston dental community, who are willing to donate their time and talents.
“I also want to single out John Coy (director of UT Dental Branch facilities improvement), who literally worked 10-15 hours a day before and after the event with a huge smile and a giving heart,” Frnka said. “I will always remember his contributions.”
Working with community partners such as the San Jose Dental Clinic, the Good Neighbor Clinic and Casa Juan Diego, UT Dental Branch faculty and students and volunteer dentists and dental hygienists from the community spent the day performing tooth extractions for adults and applying sealants to children’s teeth.
Our treatment focus was twofold – to relieve pain and infection in healthy adults and to prevent dental disease in children,” Flaitz said.
The UT Dental Branch, which will celebrate its centennial in 2005, hopes to make the free clinic day an annual event.
An estimated 250,000 Houston-area residents have limited access to dental care.
— By Shannon Rasp, Public Affairs