TOSC Presidential Letter
"Partners for Our Patients"
It is with great honor and privilege that I announce and invite you to the 79th annual meeting of the Texas Orthodontic Study Club, to be held January 29-31, 2026, at the Marriott Plaza San Antonio Hotel and Spa. Many thanks are due to our Past President, Tim Brunson, and our Executive Secretary, Debbie Jones, for a wonderful meeting of informative speakers, encouraging fellowship, and enlightening shared cases earlier this year in Austin. The board will continue our tradition of excellence through encouragement and example in San Antonio next January, and cordially invite you to attend.
Upon graduation from my residency at LSU, I worked in a few practices while my wife was still in school. Although I provided a good service to my patients, I wanted to give them better service in my own practice. When I found a new home and purchased a practice in Texas, I had the potential for this, but not the practical knowledge. Fortunately, I was introduced by Dr. Clark Colville to the Texas Orthodontic Study Club. I was inspired, and intimidated, by the caliber of the clinicians and their work that was evident, but I was also welcomed into a network of new friends who truly cared to help me learn, grow, and share.
We have chosen the meeting theme of “Partners for Our Patients” to emphasize the most important beneficiaries of our common pursuit of excellence in orthodontics. Our historic club has evolved since its founding in 1946 to remain a standard-bearer in our great profession, but has always taken pride in helping its members to become better clinicians, learning from so many accomplished members, and sharing ideas that push us through personal and professional barriers, ultimately to offer our best to our patients.
Our Friday speaker will be Dr. Marta Baird of Pleasanton, California, who will update us on the latest and most effective clear aligner techniques. She excels at applying principles of thoughtful mechanics to this now ubiquitous modality. During my time at LSU, I was fortunate to study under and do research with Dr. Jack Sheridan, inventor of the Essix retainer and promoter of interproximal stripping. Aligner treatment has progressed far from our early days of “divots and windows” to move teeth, to the point where technical excellence is achievable, and Dr. Baird can help us bring this to our patients.
On Saturday, we will hear from Dr. Hitesh Kapadia. Dr. Kapadia is a graduate of the U.T. Health Science Center at Houston, and is the Craniofacial Orthodontist on faculty at Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin. He will inform us on current treatments of patients with cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial issues.
In our profession, when continuing education often feels more like a paid promotion, and can be done more easily from home than traveling, I encourage you to join us in San Antonio next January for a unique and edifying experience. The camaraderie and insights you will gain from bringing and seeing “plaster (or resin!) on the table” is something special to our club, and well worth the effort. If bringing a case seems intimidating, then first, contact us to be personally connected to one of our many mentoring members to guide you, and second, know that cases do not need a near perfect ABO score to be helpful to yourself and others. Many of the best cases brought are “problem cases,” where shared knowledge can still give patients wonderful outcomes, which is what we are all about. I hope to see you in San Antonio!