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I want to thank the members of the AO for allowing me to be president of this wonderful organization. It is a tremendous honor and I promise to work hard to continue the wonderful tradition of this organization and to try to make it even better. Isn’t it nice to be a member of an organization that continuously provides you with member benefits in a variety of different ways? I think that when this happens with an organization it dramatically increases the value of membership. AO’s primary responsibility is to fulfill its mission: to advance oral health and well-being by disseminating state-of-the-art clinical and scientific knowledge of implant dentistry and tissue engineering. The organization works to complete this mission in a few different ways. We all know that we can count on the AO to provide a cutting-edge scientific meeting each year. The speakers that we present are world renowned. The information that they present is reflective of their broad experiences. This is one of the few organizations that asks presenters to show their best work while also including results from an average day. We even have sessions, such as this year’s Failure Festival, that demonstrate that disaster can happen to anyone and then we have our speakers follow this up by showing ways to recover from such disaster. The “Academy News” provides members an opportunity to keep up with what is happening in the academy. In the Academy News we find profiles of academy members and are able to read about pertinent issues in implant dentistry. When the field of implant dentistry moves very quickly, the News becomes a primary source of timely information. Couple this with our E-News, for breaking information and we have a rapid response approach that allows us ample opportunity to see what is happening right now. You may not know it but the Academy also has an online Dental Implant Forum. This is an interactive site where members can register and then participate in lively discussions of issues of the day. I encourage all members to join the Forum and use it with regularity. This will be a great source of collegial information. A subject that is close to my heart is the official journal of the Academy of Osseointegration. The International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants or JOMI is the largest circulation journal devoted to implant dentistry in the world. It is also the most highly referenced implant journal. I happened to serve the dual role this year as president of the Academy and also as editor of this journal but even when I was not editor I always felt that this represented the best available evidence in the field of implant dentistry. The Journal continues to receive a large number of manuscript submissions which allows it to be quite selective in the publications that it presents. These are just a few of the benefits that members of this Academy receive. My experience is that the best way to enjoy an organization is to actively participate. AO provides us with many opportunities for participation. Whether it is in attendance at the annual session, participation on committees, interactive communication on the dental implant forum, or even e-mail communications among members, there is something for everyone. Please take the opportunity to make the Academy of Osseointegration a part of your daily practice. I promise you that you won’t regret it. Steven E. Eckert, D.D.S., MS
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