Back in Birmingham

April 27, 2015

I was back in Birmingham last weekend as an Examiner for the Central Regional Testing Agency at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Dentistry.  The dental school at UAB is noted for the research by Dr. Jack Lemons that determined the best biocompatible materials for dental implants.  Anyone who has had an implant with a crown placed in the last three decades has benefited from Dr. Lemons’ research.

One of the benefits of being an examiner is getting to interact with other clinicians from different states around the nation.  Pictured with me in front of the UAB School of dentistry are Dr. John Doering on the left and Dr. Conrad Journee in the middle.  Dr. Doering was on the faculty at the University of Iowa after being in private practice.  Dr. Journee worked in public health before entering private practice in Missouri.

Before calibration on Friday, I got to have lunch with Dr. Jerald Clanton at The Fish Market.  Dr. Clanton is one of the best teachers I ever had in my career, and definitely the most knowledgeable in anesthesia.  After his Oral Surgery training, he graduated from medical school and became an anesthesiologist.  He taught anesthesia to medical students, anesthesia residents, CRNA’s, dental students, and dental residents.  Thanks to him I got to experience doing ventilations and intubations in the operating rooms at the VA, Eye Foundation, and UAB Hospital.  I never broke any teeth doing an intubation, but Dr. Clanton let me know I would be the one to fix them if I did!