Looking to the Future… and the Future Looks Great!

The Academy of RV Tucker Study Clubs has recently become part of the Operative Dentistry journal family. We elected to make Operative Dentistry our journal and joined with the Academy of Operative Dentistry and the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators as sponsors. We are honored to be part of this group, because all three academies promote excellence in clinical dentistry. I, like many others, am a proud member of all three academies. They are all distinct but have a common bond in the promotion of excellence through clinically-based continuing education.

In keeping with the idea of encouraging excellence through education, the Tucker Institute decided to try something bold and energetic. This year, the Tucker Institute is offering the week-long clinical course at the University of Washington at no expense to dental educators from across the United States and Canada. The Institute has a full class of 50 educators registered. The course is supported by the local study clubs, which provides mentorship and patients and is underwritten by the University of Washington and the Institute. This is a big task that is being undertaken. If my local response is an indicator, much enthusiasm is being generated at the dental school level. The two clinical instructors that the University of British Columbia chose to attend met with me over lunch to discuss the upcoming course. The University of British Columbia is covering their travel and accommodation expenses. The clinical instructors are excited to attend and feel very fortunate to be chosen. They are fully prepared to return home and share their knowledge with other clinical instructors and discuss future possibilities with me in that regard. If this is the kind of branching out effect that will be generated by this year's Institute Course, it will be extremely successful indeed for the technique and dentistry in general.

Another new concept being tried out this year is the upcoming combined Annual Meeting with the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators in Phoenix, Arizona, from November 12–16, 2008. The fabulous Kierland Resort and Spa is the host hotel, and the new Scottsdale Center for Dentistry is the incredible facility where the lectures and clinical session will be held. The meeting organizers have incorporated the most important aspects of each academy's annual meeting formats and blended them to make a great joint meeting that will be rich in information and value. From the Mexican buffet opening reception to a Western bar-beque and hoedown and the gala evening with Native American hoop dancers, attendees will experience the varied richness of the Southwest. Members of both academies are encouraged to bring guests. This meeting is going to be an enjoyable, memorable event.

The Tucker Academy continues to add new study clubs, the most recent being #65. This new club is academy-based, with clinical study club involvement. Members are currently in a Tucker Study Club or have been a member in the past. Over the next year, some of our members will be contributing clinical articles and demonstrating some Tucker techniques that readers of Operative Dentistry should find educational and interesting.

Anyone interested in learning more about these techniques can reach the Academy of RV Tucker Study Clubs through its website at http://rvtucker.org. There are educational courses and materials available, including a three-part DVD demonstrating the techniques.