Starting Fresh

With a new year comes the opportunity for change. In that spirit, in this January issue we are unveiling a revamped roster of the Compendium Editorial Advisory Board (p. 6). Back in 1980, Dr. D. Walter Cohen founded and established this esteemed publication on an unwavering commitment to clinical excellence, a commitment that was then carried forward by Dr. Louis F. Rose. Here we are, more than 40 years later, and that commitment remains paramount. Our outgoing Board members all contributed an expertise and love of the profession that have been crucial to Compendium's standing today as a leader in continuing dental education, and we extend our deep gratitude for their services.

Similarly, the 25 new Board members, including several who were added in the fall, are individuals who are global leaders in the profession, passionate for oral healthcare, and excited to see this journal be the best it can be. Our Board members, new and veteran, perform unheralded but vital functions for the journal to maintain the clinical excellence started by Dr. Cohen. We welcome and thank them all.

Sadly, the passage of time can also bring with it much more significant change than the shuffling of advisors. Compendium mourns the recent passing of Drs. James Bahcall, Terry Rees, and Ray Williams. Dr. Rees, former chair of periodontology and director of the Stomatology Center at Baylor, joined the Compendium Board in 1993. He was shortly followed in 1996 by Dr. Williams, the former chair of periodontology and Straumann Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry and dean of Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Williams served in many capacities on the Board, most recently as our International Editor. Dr. Bahcall, a clinical professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago School of Dentistry and former chair of Endodontics at Northwestern University, joined the Board in 2016, helming the Endodontics section since March 2020. All three were gentlemen and scholars, tireless in their commitment to dentistry and dental education and will be sorely missed by all of us here at Compendium and throughout the dental community.

While this issue of Compendium is chock full of top-quality content, I'd like to especially bring your attention to our Oral Health Insights article (p. 52). Authored by a host of long-time, well-accomplished periodontists/academicians, the article significantly outlines clinical decision-making aimed at assisting practitioners when treating periodontitis. These therapeutic decision points are based on the 2018 classification of periodontal diseases.

As we begin 2022, I'd like to thank you, our readers, for your support of Compendium and wish you all a wonderful and healthy New Year!

Sincerely,

Markus B. Blatz, DMD, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
mblatz@aegiscomm.com