GSDM students on the steps of the State House
On April 15, 2015, dentists and dental students from around New England descended on Beacon Hill for Beacon Hill Day 2015, an annual event where dental professionals come together to learn more about issues of concern to the dental community and to lobby their state legislators to take action on those issues. Several students from Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) took part in the events of the day.
The 110 attendees—90 dentists and 20 dental students, 10 of whom were from GSDM—joined together at the Omni Parker House Hotel for a morning of information sharing and a conversation about issues of concern to dentists and dental students. They learned as much as possible about the issues they would be discussing with the legislators and, after everyone was fully briefed, they walked to the State House for individual meetings with legislators.
“I was surprised at how receptive legislators were to student perspectives,” said Mike Mayr DMD 16.
The main topics of discussion with legislators this year were electronic health records, dental benefit plans, and of particular interest to the dental students, dental licensure.
“I met with State Representative Brad Hill and had the opportunity to share my thoughts on dental licensure and student debt,” Mayr said. “When legislators see students take time out of their busy schedules to advocate for dentistry, I think they realize how important these issues are to us.”
In the afternoon, participants were invited to attend a continuing education course on the topic of pain management by Clinical Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Harvard University School of Dental Medicine Dr. David Keith.
“I am proud of the students who attended Beacon Hill Day,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “It is important that our students are actively engaged in the legislative process. I hope they remain vocal with legislators throughout their dental careers so that oral health remains an important topic to law makers.”
Participants from GSDM were: Ramy Allam AS 16, John Barrett DMD 17, Shawn Jones DMD 18, Anna Komnatnaya DMD 16, Grace Lee DMD 15, Mike Mayr DMD 16, Thomas Mosley DMD 15, Luis Perez DMD 18, Nehar Serry AS 16, and Garrett Wingrove DMD 17.
Photos are available on the Massachusetts Dental Society Flickr page.