38th Annual James P. Hollers Memorial Lecture

In December, the School of Dentistry hosted the 38th annual James P. Hollers Memorial Lecture. This program honors James P. Hollers, a dentist and longtime San Antonio civic leader who chaired the San Antonio Medical Foundation for 20 years. He was the driving force in not only establishing the School of Dentistry but the foundation of the UT Health San Antonio. His determination and leadership provided guidance necessary for the state legislature to allocate funds to establish the institution. Each year the school commemorates this accomplishment by hosting an all-day lecture by a current dental influencer. This year’s distinguished speaker was Christian Coachman, DDS, of Madrid, Spain. Dr. Coachman is a 6th generation dentist who has done extensive work in the area of facial esthetics and restorative dentistry. He is the founder of Digital Smile Design (DSD), a worldwide platform that includes training, education, dental laboratories, and collaboration in restorative dentistry and dental rehabilitation. Dr. Coachman presented a message of embracing the technology that is emerging and how providers can develop a workflow to best benefit patients. Through the use of new technology, dental providers cannot only better care for their patients but better communicate the restorative plan they hope to achieve. This systematic approach allows for shared expectations between the patient and dental team, and provides better predictability in case outcomes. The audience included 3rd and 4th year dental students as well as dental faculty and numerous dental professionals from around the state. More than 400 participants attended the annual event. “Dr. Coachman encouraged us to pursue facially and airway-driven dentistry,” said Nancy Mo, DDS, MPH, second-year Advanced General Dentistry resident. “He challenged us to explore how digital systems can help our treatment plan. With many of us on the brink of our careers, the lecture was very timely and inspired us to set our professional goals.” Senior dental student, Liliana Mora, felt the teachings from the annual lecture were applicable for immediate use with her patients. “The Hollers Lecture was a great opportunity for third and fourth-year dental students to get an inside look at what continuing education looks like post-graduation,” she said. “Dr. Coachman provided a great presentation and insight on SmileDesign as well as taught the dental students and dentists in attendance pearls that we can apply now with existing patients. As a dental student I feel that the Annual Hollers is an opportunity to further educate the dental students on topics that are pertinent not only now, but in the near future as practicing dentists as well,” she added. Last year’s lecture was held virtually via Zoom. Since the year 2020 was the School of Dentistry’s 50th Anniversary, the event featured three alumni speakers, David M. Bonner, DDS, MBA, MAGD, Class of 1980, Cara B. Gonzales, DDS, PhD, Class of 2003, and Jonathon S. Jundt, DDS, MD, Class of 2009. Dr. Bonner and Dr. Gonzales were in attendance this year and were presented with plaques of appreciation for their 2020 presentations.