Dear Readers:

On behalf of the publishers and staff of Inside Dentistry, I’d like to thank the many people who contributed to the successful launch of our premier issue. Our success now, and always, will be the result of a collaborative and creative process.

Editorial Board: To all members, I extend my sincere appreciation for your hard work and dedication. Without your in-depth, comprehensive analysis of our content, its practicality and relevancy could not otherwise be assured.

Authors: Your contributions are invaluable. Please accept my sincere gratitude for selecting Inside Dentistry as your venue of choice for disseminating your thoughts and ideas.

Advertisers: We greatly appreciate your support and trust in our collective abilities to deliver a clearly differentiated information source and advertising medium. We look forward to helping you keep our readers highly informed of their product and service options.

Readers: Thank you for your keen interest and insights. Based on your encouragement and suggestions thus far, we continue to pursue nothing less than editorial excellence. We look to maintain the utmost integrity by conscientiously reviewing each and every manuscript. Additionally, we diligently require all authors to complete and sign a disclosure form detailing any financial or proprietary relationship they may have with any manufacturer mentioned in their manuscripts. This requirement helps us maintain the highest standards of objectivity and relevance.

December Feature Story: This month, we raise the question about how much we—as a profession— actually know about the link between oral disease and systemic health. As we’ll learn from our cover feature story, the knowledge base in this area has greatly expanded, particularly within the past 10 years. By examining the “bigger picture” implications, readers will find that Inside Dentistry has uncovered potentially exciting new opportunities for dentistry in terms of affecting a patient’s overall health and well-being. It’s a timely and practical topic, and I hope you find this issue informative and engaging.

The Devastation of Katrina: Nothing could be timelier at this time of year than raising an awareness of what our friends and colleagues at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry (LSUSD) are currently undertaking. Like so many others affected by the destruction and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, LSUSD is now faced with not only rebuilding its permanent infrastructure in New Orleans, but finding ways to sustain itself temporarily until then. For the Inside story, please read our new section, “Dentistry At Large”. During this season of giving, if you can lend your support in any way, please do so by contacting LSUSD at (225) 763-2842.

As we approach 2006, we look forward to your continued feedback, suggestions, and recommendations for how we can best make Inside Dentist ry responsive to your needs, interests, and concerns. Beginning with the January/February issue, we will publish “Letters to the Editor,” and I encourage you to send them. Please send your thoughts, opinions, and reactions to our content and our editorial coverage to [email protected].

And, to be sure that you continue to receive your subscription to Inside Dentistry, please log on to www.insidedentistry.net. There, you’ll be able to access the Free Subscription sign-up page and ensure that you won’t miss any of the compelling and practical features, along with the clinical presentations, that we promise to deliver each month.

With sincere thanks and best wishes for 2006,

Gerard Kugel, DMD, MS, PhD
[email protected]