Dental group drills in Bradenton for president

BRADENTON — Kim Bland, program director of the Dental Assisting Technology and Management Program at the Manatee Technical Institute, has been elected president of the American Dental Assistants Association.

Bland, according to a release, is the first person in the 90-year history of the association to have been elected to a second term as president. A 1983 graduate of MTI's dental assisting program, Bland worked in general dentistry and orthodontics for more than 13 years before she returned to MTI as an instructor and program director. Her first ADAA president term was in 2007-08, the release states. Bland will serve this term until November 2015.

Recent MTI graduate Robin Chacon-Primous was named student trustee of the national organization, the release adds. Bland and Chacon-Primous were installed into their roles Oct. 11 at the American Dental Association/American Dental Assistants Association annual meeting in San Antonio.

The Manatee Technical Institute is a postsecondary career and technical education center under the Manatee County School District. It offers 48 career prep programs. The ADAA is a lobbying and professional organization for dental assistants.