ADHA Announces Recipient of 2003 Distinguished Service Award

Chicago-June 30, 2003 - The American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) has named Laura A. Mallery-Sayre, RDH, MSDHEd, of Kailua Kona, Hawaii, as the recipient of the 2003 ADHA Distinguished Service Award.

The award recognizes outstanding achievement and dedication to the profession of dental hygiene.

Mallery-Sayre, an active member of ADHA since 1969, currently works in a general practice that specializes in aesthetic and implant dentistry. She also teaches courses nationally in dental hygiene and dental management for Christene Bernhardt & Associates. In addition, Mallery-Sayre is a research evaluator for Clinical Research Associates, a company that performs independent research studies on dental products currently on the market.

She has served as the president of the Virginia Dental Hygienists' Association twice and the Hawaii Dental Hygienists' Association three times. She has also served as a delegate and a member of numerous committees at the state and national levels. Mallery-Sayre was a commissioner for the Commission for the Assurance of Competency, and is a very active advocate for dental hygiene legislation.

Mallery-Sayre was honored during the opening ceremonies at ADHA's 80th annual session in New York, N.Y., on June 28.

ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 120,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit ADHA at http://www.adha.org.

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