American Academy of Gold Foil Operators
annual meeting
by Clyde Roggenkamp

Top photo: Dr. Lloyd Baum lectures during the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators, using fluorescent chalk and a light. Bottom photo: A class V gold filling by Dr. Bruce Walter.

Professors Lloyd Baum, Clyde Roggenkamp, and Bruce Walter participated in the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators 50th annual meeting at Halifax, Nova Scotia, October 9 to 12. Clinical portions were conducted in Dalhousie University dental clinic and lectures were held at Casino Nova Scotia hotel.

Dr. Lloyd Baum presented helpful pointers on the use of EZ Gold, a pure powdered gold wrapped in gold foil used to make restorations at room temperature under direct instrument condensation pressure. He also played a videotape showing a streamlined method he recently developed for manufacturing EZ Gold pellets commercially.

Dr. Bruce Walter demonstrated an exemplary class V direct gold foil restoration on a premolar. Dr. Clyde Roggenkamp photographed all stages of gold foil and cast gold procedures accomplished by 19 clinical operators during the two clinical mornings. These 120 close-up slides formed the basis of an hour’s critique summary at the end of the program.

Other lecture topics included, “Different Ways to Restore Cuspids in Gold,” “The Manufacturing and Care of Carbon Cutting Instruments,” “The Use of Carbon Cutting Instruments in Refining Cavity Preparations,” “Incorporating Gold into an Esthetic Oriented Practice,” “Polishing Gold from a Metallurgical Standpoint,” “The Art of Polishing Gold,” “Rationale for Cusp Coverage in Cracked and Non-Cracked Teeth,” and “Incorporating Gold into a General Practice.”

The Academy of Gold Foil Operators has expanded its scope to include cast gold inlays, onlays, and veneer castings. Nineteen clinical patients were generously supplied by Dr. Daniel Mackintosh, a local Halifax AAGFO member, from his private practice. A total of approximately 55 persons from the United States, Canada, and Germany, attended, including clinical operators, lecturers, and their spouses.