Resident-led meeting offers patient care philosophies, perspective beyond curriculum

An endodontic residency — like any in the oral health and medical professions — can be all encompassing. Dr. Robert Roda ’93, president of the American Association of Endodontists, refers to it as “living and breathing everything you can get about endodontics.” The only caveat is that this knowledge comes from the perspective of only a few faculty members.

The Quad City Endodontic Resident Meeting — a tradition spanning more than 20 years — offers nearly 40 residents from the endodontic programs at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, Louisiana State University dental school, and the UT dental schools in San Antonio and Houston the chance to learn from one another as well as from faculty members with other programs.

“When I was at TAMBCD, we were taught to seek out alternative viewpoints and broaden our horizons in the process,” says Roda, one of the speakers at the 2015 meeting, which was Feb. 20-21 in Dallas. “My residency was not only about learning endodontics but also about learning how to learn. Critical thinking skills were drilled into us — pardon the pun — so this type of meeting fit exactly into the program’s philosophy.”

Roda’s presentation detailed the growing epidemic of cracked teeth and the challenge this trend poses to endodontists. His topic was one of several given by guest speakers during the meeting, which occurred adjacent to the TAMBCD campus at the Roberts Hospital tower, part of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. Offsite dinners and networking activities were a part of the two-day event, with an addition this year: an endodontic-themed version of Taboo, which presented the opportunity for a little friendly competition among residents.

Brittney Penberthy, a first-year endodontic resident and one of the event coordinators, says the meeting — created by TAMBCD residents in 1992 — offers the chance to gain knowledge in their field without the long-distance travel associated with national annual sessions.

“It’s an adjunct to our curriculum to have well-known speakers with practice management and a less formal way of learning their experiences,” says Penberthy. “The biggest goal is to help us.”