Topics at a glance: Give Kids a Smile Day: Free dental care draws hundreds … Taking work home? Do it safely with Ironkey flash drive … Community calendar includes GPR employee’s hurricane experience …Carus, Willis Scholarships presented … Association to honor Dr. Johnson … Miles for Mina: TAWD sponsors walk in memory of dental student …Win a Houston Rockets-autographed basketball!

Give Kids a Smile!

Day of free dental care draws hundreds to UTDB

A teenage patient gets a filling by UTDB Clinical Assistant Professor Akbar Ebrahimian, D.D.S., with encouragement from volunteer Sarfraz Verjee, D.D.S., and dental assistant Marcos Aguilos of the Greater Houston Dental Society. Photo by Rhonda Moran.

Nearly 200 children and mothers got free dental care at the UT Dental Branch Feb. 14 in connection with Give Kids a Smile Day, an annual event co-sponsored by UTDB, the Greater Houston Dental Society and the Greater Houston Dental Alliance. It was a day of excitement for many, as clowns, cartoons and even the tooth fairy made an appearance to help entertain the children as they waited to be seen. Volunteers wore specially designed red T-shirts for easy identification. At the end of the appointments, each child received a Valentine goodie bag filled with supplies to keep their smiles healthy. Give Kids a Smile Day is held each February in observance of National Children's Dental Health Month. Funding for this event was provided, in part, by a generous gift from the Susman Family Foundation.
FULL STORY

Taking work home? Do it safely with Ironkey flash drive

Kerry Mckay of Desktop Services with Ironkey flash drive. Photo by Rhonda Moran.

Dental Branch personnel have been among the first to receive “Ironkey” flash drives in connection with the UT Health Science Center’s effort to keep sensitive information secure. Files stored on the Ironkey are protected with military-grade encryption and can be wiped clean remotely. The devices are tamper-resistant, waterproof and can handle temperatures from minus 40 F to 185 F. They’re tough enough to carry on a key chain and can even go through a washing machine cycle. They don’t require special software or drivers, but users do need to follow on-screen steps for ejecting (i.e. “locking”) the keys when removing them from a computer. Report lost or stolen Ironkeys to the Helpdesk. David Taylor, Ed.D., director of Educational and Technology Services at the Dental Branch, said an Ironkey is “a wonderful outright gift” that solves some serious security problems. “We’ve all heard of lost laptops or flash drives that had sensitive information,” he said. “With the Ironkey, you don’t have to worry about losing data.” For more information about the Ironkey, visit the Ironkey Web site.

Community calendar includes GPR employee’s hurricane experience

Norma Morales, a certified dental assistant at the UT Dental Branch’s General Practice Residency clinic, has a Hurricane Ike story that made headlines in her neighborhood newspaper, the South Belt Ellington Leader and is now highlighted on a 2009 community calendar. When she went into labor during the height of the storm on Sept. 13, 2008, her family called 911. “They initially said they couldn’t get anyone over there,” she recalls. But the Southeast Volunteer Fire Department overheard the call and offered to try, and Morales ended up giving birth to a baby boy in the ambulance on the way to St. Joseph’s Hospital. But the oddities don’t end there. Someone shot at the ambulance as it traveled on IH-45. FULL STORY.

At left: Dental Assistant Norma Morales, who works in the General Practice Residency Clinic, holds the 2009 community calendar that includes the firefighters who delivered her baby during Hurricane Ike. Photo by Rhonda Moran.

Carus, Willis Scholarships presented Fourth-year dental students Katy Poramapornpilas (left) and Jennifer Kong are pictured with Dean Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S. at a scholarship presentation ceremony. Poramapornpilas received the $500 Carus Dental Scholarship, which is awarded for teamwork, clinical experience, leadership and professional ethics. Kong received the $500 T. Bradford Willis Scholarship in Pediatric Dentistry. It is given to the student who has shown the most proficiency in third-year pediatric dentistry. Photo by Brian Schnupp.

Houston Wellness Association to honor Dr. Johnson

The Houston Wellness Association will honor former UT Dental Branch Dean Ronald Johnson, D.D.S., now chief academic diversity officer for The UT Health Science Center at Houston, and five other health and wellness leaders in the association’s 2009 Salute to Black History scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 at The Power Center. The other honorees include Judith B. Craven, M.D.; Glover O. Johnson, M.D.; Lovell A. Jones, Ph.D.; and University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center Administrator Lois J. Moore, M.Ed. For registration information, visit www.HoustonWellness.org.

Miles for Mina: TAWD sponsors walk in memory of dental student

The Texas Association of Women Dentists will sponsor a walk, “Miles for Mina” beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 to raise funds for an endowment in memory of Mina Rosenthal-Eames, a UT dental student who died in 2007 at the hands of her estranged husband. The endowment was established in Mina's name to provide dental treatment for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The walk will begin at the UT Recreation Center, 7779 Knight Road. For information about donations, registration fees or to sign up, contact Amber.C.Garcia@uth.tmc.edu.

Win a Houston Rockets-autographed basketball!

The University Classified Staff Council is raising money for scholarships by selling tickets for a drawing. The prize is a basketball autographed by the Houston Rockets. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5, and the drawing will be on March 11. For tickets, contact UCSC Representative Trish McFarland, Ext. 4105 in Room 4.109B. The ball is number 31 of 213 autographed for the 2002-03 season.