The American Student Dental Association is a national student-run organization that protects and advances the rights, interests

and welfare of
dental students. It introduces students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education,
representation and advocacy.

District

Articul or

The

Bringing District 8 together since 2013

NLC to Annual Session:

This year is flying by.

Vol. 7: Winter 14-15

It is hard to believe that we are already less than a

month from THE BEST WEEK EVER! It seems like NLC
just happened
Halloween weekend brought hundreds of dental
students to Chicago, Illinois for ASDAs 3rd Annual
National Leadership Conference. We all enjoyed a long
weekend of informative breakout sessions, inspiring speakers, and, as always, a healthy

Summis:

dose of ASDA fever. As a group, District 8 enjoyed caucusing with District 9 and taking part in our 2nd Annual
Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. Unfortunately, an Ocho did not win this year. We also had a great evening
sponsored by Heartland Dental with awesome appetizers and drinks.
I always feel like everyone really ramps up their ASDA engagement after NLC. I cant wait to see all of
District 8 back together again at Annual Session and to see what we have accomplished as a group in the past
year. If you didnt already know, District 8 has a candidate in the very competitive battle for Speaker of the
House (read all about her on the next page!) As always, we are sure to take home
some bacon from the Gold Crown Awards. I am also confident that we will- again-
be the most fun District Caucus. See you in Boston! Christine Lucachick, MN 16

Q & A with Jane Yang, District

8s Speaker of the House
Candidate
D8: What is your main motivation for running for S peaker of
the House? I've greatly enjoyed everything I've done within
MN ASDA as well as everything I've learned from National
ASDA, and I'd really like to take my involvement within the
organization to another level. I think it's great that a student
group such as ours has a strong national presence and power
behind the wheels, but we wouldn't be as strong as we are today if it
weren't for our members and everyone that participates within ASDA. One of the
key roles of speaker is to influence and guide other members to become more involved. The role of
speaker should be to demonstrate to others that a well run and well planned meeting can accomplish great strides
within an organization of our size, and it is by having well organized discussions that we can then focus our strengths for
the coming year to accomplish the g oals and task that were set out.

D8: I know the Speaker of the H ouse candidates don't have platforms, but if you did, what would be on it? What
issues do you think are most in need of urgent action? If I were able to have a platform, the number one issue on it
would be the elimination of patient based exams. I think this is the most important topic that needs to be addressed by
dental schools, students and professional organizations across the nation. It is a gross ethical violation to the continuity
of care for patients. As dental students and future practitioners, we are taught in school on the importance of
prevention but the usage of live patients in board exams has contradicted this methodology of teaching and is in no
way beneficial to the patient. As health professionals, our goal should be in the best interest of patients, not testing
methodologies.

D8: If elected Speaker, how would you balance your local ASDA obligations, school, and personal life? If elected
Speaker next year I will have to balance my local ASDA obligations as President as well as the national role of Speaker.
I'd like to think of myself as a very organized person, I constantly check and maintain my personal calendar with
reminders of everything that is due, exams, class schedule, tests, events, and other requirements. I try to stay as up to
date on school as I can so that I can my free time to devote to other tasks, like ASDA. I have also begun my outline for
the transition towards being President for MN ASDA next year. In addition, I also see a lot of potential, talent and
willingness in our MN ASDA members, and I believer our ASDA chapter is only as strong as the committee that help
guide our events for the years. So as I transition into the new role, I do want to work closely with our committee
members and making sure that everyone is clear and understands the overarching goals for the year. Finally, in terms of
my personal life, I think it is utmost important to have a life outside of dental school and taking those well deserved
breaks when needed. Personally, I think the most important aspects of one's personal life should be to have friends,
family and significant others that accept and understand the obligations that
are required and being able to work together to balance things out.


D8: If you had a patronus, what animal would it be? Ideally I would
choose a panda, but something a little more aggressive would be
betterso a black and white polar bear. Haha.
D8: If you couldn't be a dentist, what would you do for a career? If I
wasn't going to be a dentist, I think I would have loved to work for a
consulting group.
D8: If you had to describe your life using only the title of one song,
what song would that be? Janie's got a gun (Haha, JK!) I would choose
Flicker by Porter Robinson.
D8: What is your favorite dental procedure so far? Amalgam build-
ups...they are definitely challenging to do (at least so far in pre-clinic)
but very rewarding if it goes right.

Q & A with Dr. James Zenk,

ADA District 10 Trustee
D8: What has been your favorite part of being an ADA Trustee?
Being surrounded by dentists that love their profession, are
very dedicated and successful, and want to see dentistry continue to
be the best profession in the world. Everyone is upbeat, like minded
and positive in their lives and careers and up to date in their practices. I
am very fortunate to be assigned to an international delegation
representing the ADA at the FDI - an international dental organization
that promotes world wide oral health. I have been able to meet and
work with dentists throughout the world in developing oral health
programs for developing and under-developed countries. I have
enjoyed visiting t he 5 states in our d istrict and supporting their state
and local societies - the Power of 3 (national, state and local) all
working together to help all of our members succeed. I love working
with the next generation of dentists- through ASDA and the New
Dentists Committee, tackling the tough problems with education,
licensure, student debt, job opportunities, etc. I am a people person- I
love dentistry and love talking to people. This job has given me more
ability to hear and act on their concerns and issues.

D8: Sounds great! On the other hand, what have been some challenges?
It is a challenge to devote the time needed for the reading and proper preparation required for all of the meetings while
still working in my dental practice full time. It is also hard to turn negatives into positives- convincing non-members of the value of
belonging to their professional organization. Logistically, I live 3 hours from the airport on a 2-lane highway- I have to miss a lot of
time away from my office to just travel to the airport.

D8: You are certainly a busy guy. What do you like to do in your free time?
I am a grandpa of 7 grandkids- love spending time with t hem. I love the outdoors - fishing, hunting, skiing, walking, etc.
Im also a huge sports fan- love following the Gophers and all of the MN professional teams.

D8: Many dental students are hesitant to take on
leadership roles in organized dentistry do to the large time
commitment. What advice do you have to such students?
Do what you can - set priorities- family, work,
church, etc. There will always b e something you can do when
the time is right. Volunteer for small jobs that have a definite
time line- volunteerism forces you to organize your time.
Don't get over committed right away or you could burn out.

D8: What would you have done if you hadnt become a
dentist?
I would have been an optometrist if I had not gotten
into dental school I always knew I wanted to be a part of
healthcare.

D8: What is the number 1 thing you wish you would have
known as a new dentist?
I wish I would have had more business experience as
a young practitioner. I had to learn the hard way and make
mistakes. I really looked forward to C E meetings where I could get advice and sharing of ideas with friends in similar situations.

D8: What do you think is the biggest change facing dentistry today and what can w e as dental students do to prepare for it?
I think the biggest change has been the growth of large group corporate d ental practices. They are attractive to new grads
with large debt. However, I still believe that most graduating dentists still want their own offices where they can run their own
business and be more successful.

D8: Final thoughts?
You have chosen the best profession in the world. J

Gingersnap Mocha Cookies Adapted from a recipe by Dr. Mercedes Porter

Dr. Mercedes Porter is a practicing dentist
and pre-clinical instructor at the University
of Minnesota School of Dentistry. She is also
an exceptional baker and has been featured
on the Today Show, Kare 11 News, and was
selected this holiday season to work with
Caribou Coffee on the following recipe. Be
sure to check out her baking blog, Satisfy
My Sweet Tooth !
Ingredients
For the cookies
cup (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
cup packed brown sugar
cup molasses
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
tsp. ground cloves
tsp. ground nutmeg
tsp. salt
cup granulated sugar, for rolling the
cookies into
For the filling
3 Tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. milk chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room
temperature
cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. hot brewed coffee

Instructions
For the cookies
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves,
nutmeg and salt, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the
butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Add molasses and mix to combine.
3. Add hot water and baking soda and mix.
4. Add flour mixture and mix until well blended and no streaks
of flour remain.
5. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and form
the dough into a ball at the bottom of the bowl.
6. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with
parchment paper.
8. Place the granulated sugar into a shallow bowl.
9. Use a small cookie scoop (or spoon) to scoop tablespoon-
sized balls of dough. Roll balls of dough in your hands and drop
the balls into the sugar rolling the ball around in the sugar to
coat evenly. Place sugared dough balls onto the prepared
baking sheets leaving 2 inches in between cookies. The dough
is easiest to work with when it is chilled, so if necessary, in
between baking the sheets of dough, return the dough to the
refrigerator to keep dough chilled.
10. Bake 10-11 minutes or until tops of the cookies are cracked
and edges feel set.
11. Cool cookies completely.
For the filling
1. Place both types of chocolate chips into a small, microwave-
safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate in 1-minute increments
until the chips are melted and smooth. Stir and then set aside
to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the melted chocolate into a
clean medium bowl. Add butter and use an electric mixer to
beat the butter and chocolate together until smooth.
3. Add the p owdered sugar and mix well.
4. Add the hot coffee and mix until well blended, smooth and
creamy.
5. (Note: If the filling is too runny, add more p owdered sugar 1
Tbsp. at a time; if too stiff, add 1 tsp of coffee at a time until
desired consistency is reached.)
6. Lay out half of the cookies upside down on a clean counter
or baking sheet. I like to scoop my filling into a small ziptop
bag, cut one of the corners of the bag off and use it as a piping
bag to pipe about 1 Tbsp. of filling onto the cookies. You could
also simply use a spoon to spread the filling onto the cookies.
7. Top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches and enjoy.