GREETINGS FROM OUR PRESIDENT

GREETINGS TO ALL

Whether you are a member of the Academy of R. V. Tucker Study Clubs, a
non-member dentist, or an interested patient, I welcome you to our website and encourage you to explore all it has to offer.
Members of the Academy are familiar with our organization and the purpose of this website, but for those of you viewing for the first time allow me to introduce you to the Academy of Richard V. Tucker Study Clubs.

Our organization is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in clinical dentistry. What is unique about our structure is that it is an affiliation of accredited study clubs – each study club made up of a group of dedicated dentists – that meet on a regular basis to treat patients and perfect their clinical skills in an educational environment under the guidance of a mentor. Our main focus is the use of gold as a restorative material, either as a cast gold restoration or direct gold foil. Gold is time-tested as a superior material for restoring teeth. It is very long-lasting, extremely bio-compatible, conserves natural tooth structure, and can be aesthetically pleasing when handled with skill. Elsewhere in this website, one can read more about the advantages of gold as a restorative material (see: The Academy – Advantages of Using Gold; Articles – Retrospective Study). It is a demanding material to work with and by pursuing excellence in its use one furthers their abilities in all aspects of clinical dentistry – the prime beneficiaries being our patients.
Membership is open to any dentist but because our organization is predicated on clinical participation through study club activity a dentist must be a participating member in an accredited study club in order to become a member in the Academy.
The first study clubs in our organization were started in 1976. A loose affiliation existed between the few early clubs, initially gathering for the first annual meeting in 1986, and the Academy was formally founded in 1990. In the early years, participation in study club was a way to expand on what was learned in dental school about the use of gold as a restorative material. However, in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, other synthetic materials were being extensively developed and aggressively promoted, and teaching the techniques using gold as a restorative material increasingly fell out of favour in dental schools. For a time, study club participation was the only means available for learning these methods. Owing to the merits of gold, the demand to learn the techniques to facilitate its use steadily increased and Academy member study clubs grew from two in 1976 to approximately 55 today. These clubs are based primarily in the United States and Canada but also are active in Italy, Germany and Peru.
This website is an information centre for our members. For all others it is not only an information centre but your conduit to a philosophical branch of dentistry that we, as members, are proud and passionate about – the pursuit of excellence in clinical dentistry with the goal of enhanced patient care and professional fulfillment.
I truly hope you find your time here to be worthwhile and thank you for taking an interest.

To Our Members

I am truly honoured to become the 19th President of the Academy of R. V. Tucker Study Clubs. Through luck, circumstance and a bit of persistence I became a member of one of the Vancouver clubs in 1984 and I have seen many changes over the years. It is with great enthusiasm that I assume the position from Past-President, Dr. Margaret Webb. I have had the pleasure of working with Marg the past few years and look forward to maintaining the momentum that she and her predecessors have established in growing the Academy to accommodate the ever-increasing interest in learning Dr. Tucker’s techniques through study club participation.
In November, the Phoenix study club hosted the annual meeting for the second time in its history and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all who were fortunate enough to attend. For the first time, our annual meeting blended with the annual meeting of the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators. On behalf of the entire Executive of our Academy I want to thank the Phoenix group for stepping forward and accepting the challenge of organizing this combined event and congratulate them on a job well done.
The year ahead holds challenges for us all, whether personally, professionally or collectively. Fortunately, each challenge also offers at least one opportunity. Our collective challenge is to continue to pursue progression in our level of patient care; but this presents the opportunity to introduce other dentists to the rewards we have reaped through our participation in study club. Take the opportunity to encourage colleagues, who might be interested, to expand their scope of practice into conservative cast gold restorative dentistry.
For a more in-depth commentary on what the year ahead has to offer us, I invite you all to read my message in the first issue of the 2009 Lineangle and would welcome any comments or feedback you have to offer, both now, and throughout the year.

In closing, I have two invitations for you all. Firstly, I invite you to attend the “Friends of Dr. Tucker” dinner in Chicago in February. It will once again be held at the University Club of Chicago on Friday, February 27, 2009. Contact Ann Pellegrini at Jensen Industries for further details (1-800-243-2000 Ext 2305).
Secondly, for much later in the year, I would like you to mark September 23 – 27, 2009, on your calendars. This is the date for the annual Academy meeting and it is with great pleasure I invite you to my home town, Vancouver, Canada, for this unique occasion. It will be a celebration of Dr. Tucker’s 33 years of mentorship to members of our Academy and the third time our club has hosted this special event. We feel we have planned a meeting that will be exceptional and worthy of your support. If you have never been to an Academy meeting this will be an excellent opportunity to experience your first one. I look forward to seeing you all
in September.
I wish you all health and happiness in 2009 and may all your impressions turn out the first time.

Warmest regards,

Randy Allan