NINTH DISTRICT DENTAL SOCIETY
MARCH 2026 MEETING
Date: March 3, 2026
Time: 6:30 P.M. – Social Hour
7:00 P.M. – Dinner
Location: Escalantes – Bay Area
1043 W. Bay Area Blvd.
Webster, Texas 77598
Speaker: Amy Hessel, MD, FACS and Theresa Hofstede, DDS, FACP
Topic: Oral Cancer Prosthetic Rehabilitation
Cost for non-members: $40
Dr. Amy Hessel is a Professor of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Her background includes a Clinical Residency in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, a Clinical Internship in General Surgery and a Clinical Fellowship in Head & Neck Surgical Oncology. Dr. Theresa Hofstede is a Professor in Oral Oncology and Maxillofacial Prosthodontics and works closely with Head & Neck Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Radiation Oncology. Following achieving her DDS, she did a Clinical Residency in General Practice, a Clinical Residency in Prosthodontics, and a Clinical Fellowship in Maxillofacial and Dental Oncology.
This seminar is eligible for 1-hour TSBDE-approved credit. Please bring an associate, friend or staff member to join us. Reservations should be made before March 2, 2026,by contacting Dr. Allison Dill at (713)299-3055 or allison.dillon@gmail.com.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
President – Dr. Gilberto Garcia (409)765-5538/ gilbertogarciadds@gmail.com
President-Elect – Dr. Allison Dillon (713) 299-3055/ allison.dillon@gmail.com
Secretary-Treasurer – Dr. Ann Seelbach – (409)938-1700/ amseelbach@gmail.com
Editor – Dr. Kathy Gibson (713)644-9209/ ktgdds@aol.com
SUMMARY OF JANUARY MEETING:
The regular meeting of the Ninth District Dental Society was called to order on January 6, 2025 by Dr. Dillon. Dr. Garcia and Dr. Zepeda Garcia were at home with their newborn daughter; everyone is happy and healthy. The Society sends best wishes and congratulations!
27 attendees were present including 26 dentists and 1 student guest. 3 speakers were also present.
The slate of officers, delegates and committee members as written in the last newsletter was presented. Dr. Dillon asked for any nominations from the floor and received none. Dr. Courtni Tello and Dr. Mark Martinsen moved the slate which was approved by acclimation.
The Annual Ninth District Dental Society Continuing Education Summer Clinic will be held at South Shore Harbour Resort on June 5, 2026.
The new member spotlight focused on Drs. Logan Bliss and Andrew Augustine. Both are dentists and married. Dr. Meredith Scott brought student guest, Nikki, a predental student at Texas A&M, majoring in biochemistry. New member Dr. Anne Scruggs, oral surgeon, practices with her father, Dr. Charles Scruggs, in Galveston and Texas City.
TDA President Glen Hall offered some background on his path in organized dentistry. He graduated from UTSD-Houston, served in the Air Force and practiced dentistry in Abilene, Texas. He recently retired and sold his practice in August 2025. Dr. Hall spoke on legislative goals under his year of service, such as increased Medicaid funding by changing code usage. The TDA killed a bill designed to change how non-contract providers were paid. DIY orthodontics now requires an examination by a licensed dentist to protect the patients. Pediatric patients needing hospitalization for treatment will now be covered but there is murkiness about the definition of “requiring hospitalization”. There continue to be difficulties for rural areas to able to obtain providers, and the TDA is working on this issue. Insurance downgrading and bundling are also part of the TDA’s focus for the future.
Nominations for Dentist of the Year and New Dentist of the Year are due soon. The NDDS Board is asking the membership to submit nominations for these awards. Gold Medal nominees were announced (Drs. Scott, Scruggs and Dan Gaffney). Rising Star nominees (Drs. Garcia, Dillon and Seelbach) were also announced.
There was a request for NDDS members to volunteer to assist at St. Vincent’s Clinic if possible.
Dr. Mark Chambers from M. D. Anderson Hospital were the speakers for the evening. The presentation focused on changes in treatment modalities for intraoral cancers. While it is known that early detection is best, newer treatment plans also to lessen the systemic tolls of treatment. Using Ipilimumab is known as immune checkpoint therapy. OPL patients receiving intralesional nivolumab (a phase 1 pilot study) to lessen dosage to systemic systems. This has shown good initial results with an overall response of 40.7% and pathological response of 61.5%
Dr. Karen Choi works with M. D. Anderson and practices in this area. She is eager to receive our referrals. She offered her cell phone number 718-257-0970. She discussed sentinel lymph node biopsy to evaluate cancer spread in the head and neck area. This has been shown to be effective for oral cancer. Again, the goal is to lessen stress to the body and reduce the amount of invasive surgery such as head and neck dissection.
Both doctors stressed the desire to restore the “community aspect” of M. D. Anderson.
NDDS NOTES:
Congratulations are in order for Dr. Annie Scruggs and her husband on the birth of their new son. Congratulations as well to Dr. Charles Scruggs for becoming a grandfather!
Reminders to all members to learn about the new HIPAA guidelines and fingerprint requirements.
Due to the restructuring of the budget this year, some items were reduced and others were eliminated entirely. One of the items eliminated was the support for the 6 scholarships given to UTSOD-Houston annually recognizing ethics/leadership and collegiality. In the past, 5 students received $250 each for collegiality and 1 student received $500 for ethics/leadership. After checking with the Board, I wanted to put the question to the membership with no pressure attached.
Would you, as an individual member of the Ninth District, be willing to donate some amount of money to a fund that the Ninth District would then give to the school for the selected students? The number and amount of the scholarship(s) would be determined by the amount collected.
If you are interested and able to donate, please let me know. Checks made out to the Society would probably be the easiest and then the Secretary-Treasurer would dispense the checks.
Thank you for your consideration.
TDA NEWS:
The Texas Dental Association Annual Session will be held in San Antonio from May 7-9, 2026. Early registration is in process now.
