A Poplar Bluff, Mo., dentist recently learned he passed the necessary requirements to be awarded a fellowship through the World Clinical Laser Institute.
"In March of this year, I took the boards for a fellowship degree in the World Clinical Laser Institute, WCLI," said Dr. John Blaich of the Dental Arts Group, located on Kanell Boulevard. "I passed the examination, and I was awarded the certificate" in June.
The fellowship certification, according to WCLI's website, is the second level of certification from the group. Candidates who successfully meet all the requirements will have demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge of lasers and their applications in dentistry, as well as a commitment to the advancement of laser dentistry.
Blaich said a fellowship, means "you have to qualify with 50 hours of clinical classroom work, you have to present two cases for review to a board and you have to take oral and written exams over two days."
Although Blaich was required to complete 50 hours of clinical classroom work, he said, he completed 100 hours, having taken classes in St. Louis, Mo., Springfield, Mo., and California.
"Not many put themselves through it ... it was" a lot of work, said Blaich, who knows of only a "handful in Missouri" with the distinction.
Blaich said he decided to pursue the certification "just for the hell of it. I don't make anything for it. ... There is no financial gain to it."
According to Blaich, it will be "nice I can present my cases to other dentists. I will be able to do some lecturing and teaching now."
Sometimes, Blaich said, a dentist will put himself or herself through the fellowship because "you think you know something, but you want to prove to yourself you know it. (The fellowship) tells other people, yes, he knows what he's talking about."
At the same time Blaich was working on his fellowship, he was contacted by "Inside Dentistry" about doing an article for what he described as a trade magazine.
Blaich's article, "Small-Town Dentist Sees Big Benefits from Lasers," was featured in the publication's June edition under its "What I use" section.
"They just honored me for the work I've done," said Blaich, who focused on his use of an all-tissue laser from BIOLASE.
The laser, Blaich explained, allows him to do operative dental procedures with little to no anesthetics or bleeding.
"It's used for periodontal disease; I treat gum disease with it and treat cavities with it," said Blaich, who has been using the laser since January 2016.
Being featured in a publication, which reaches about 140,000 dentists, is kind of cool, said Blaich, who indicated it is "not often someone from Poplar Bluff gets (featured) in a publication like that."