ADHA Announces Recipient of 2010 Johnson & Johnson/ADHA Award for Excellence

CHICAGO, July 1—The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) has named Bonnie G. Branson, RDH, PhD, of Higginsville, Mo., as the recipient of the Johnson & Johnson/ADHA Award for Excellence. She was honored during the J&J Award of Excellence and President’s Luncheon at ADHA’s 87th Annual Session in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 27.

Branson is associate professor in the Division of Dental Hygiene at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry. She first received her associate degree in dental hygiene in 1974 from Midlands Technical College in South Carolina. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in general studies from the University of South Carolina, she went on to receive her Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She has been a member of ADHA for 34 years and is currently president-elect of Missouri Dental Hygienists’ Association.

With this award, ADHA and Johnson & Johnson recognize individual dental hygienists who have made “outstanding accomplishments that have a significant impact on the practice and future of the dental hygiene profession.” The recipients have at least 10 years of membership in ADHA and its constituents, demonstrate an active involvement in the association and were nominated by a colleague for their outstanding accomplishments.

ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of more than 150,000 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 www.adha.org.

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