Meet The Clinical Team
Dr. David Brown
Dr. Triplett
Dr. Tommy Gage
Dr. Frank Ford
The New Model
How Did We Do It?
Dr. Terry Rees
Dr. Marco Cueva
Dr. Tom F. Cockerell, Jr.
Dr. Gregory J. Phillips
On the Horizon
David L. Brown, D.D.S.
Dr. David Brown earned a degree in biology from Trinity University in San Antonio. He continued his education at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, earning his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Since 1980, Dr. Brown has operated a suburban general dentistry practice in Bedford, Texas between Fort Worth and Dallas. He completed a preceptorship in Dental Implantology at the University of Texas Dental School at San Antonio in 1998.
Dr. Brown brings a career of private-practice clinical experience. As a member of the Clinical Team, his perspective as a doctor in the field has informed the work of the Clinical Team. His knowledge of what the clinician needs has particularly influenced the shape and substance of the Dental Symphony Library. He is also instrumental in the design of the Dental Symphony Hard Tissue and Periodontal Tissue charting mechanisms.
Dr. Brown is a member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, Fort Worth District Dental Society, and the Seattle Study Club.
He also serves as National Market Director for Dental Symphony.
R. Gil Triplett, D.D.S., PH.D.
Dr. Gil Triplett received his D.D.S from Loyola University and his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University. He completed his Oral Surgery training at the Boston Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He served in Korea and on the USS Essex and USS America during a distinguished Navy career in surgery and research. Dr. Triplett is currently the Regents Professor and Chairman, Director of Hospital Affairs, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology at the Texas A& M University System Health Science Center – Baylor College of Dentistry. Prior to this he was Professor and Director of Graduate Education, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (Dental and Medical School) at the University of Texas Health Science at San Antonio, Texas.
Dr. Triplett serves on the Clinical Team bringing his broad experience in academia, administration and clinical practice to the table. His research and teaching duties give him a wealth of insight and real world experience in participating with the team in the creation of focused information for practicing dentists. He has been actively involved in the creation of the Dental Symphony automation approach to patient assessment and evaluation and documents provided for dentists as they evaluate their patient’s medical presentations. He has also helped design the Clinical System for post operative monitoring of dental implants.
Dr. Triplett’s research focus and scholarly activity includes Bone Growth Factor, Dental Implants and Maxillofacial Reconstruction Procedures. He frequently gives lectures throughout the world on current topics in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Dr. Triplett has published numerous articles and served as Journal Editor and Review for numerous professional journals such as Journal of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Quintessence International. Dr. Triplett is author or co- author on numerous refereed articles, abstracts, and book chapters in addition to co-editing a book.
Dr. Triplett is a member of many scholar societies including the American Academy of Osseointegration, OKU, Fellow, American College of Dentists, American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons and the American Dental Association. He was named a Regents Professor for a career of exemplary professional contributions to Baylor College of Dentistry
Tommy Gage, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Dr. Tommy Gage earned his pharmacy degree from The University of Texas at Austin, his D.D.S. from Baylor College of Dentistry, and his Ph.D. from Baylor University. He also holds certificates in Classical Physiology and Neurophysiology, and completed a sabbatical in Oral Medicine at Baylor College of Dentistry and the School of Dentistry, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is a Professor Emeritus at the Texas A & M University System Health Science Center and is currently an adjunct Professor at Baylor. Dr. Gage also practiced general dentistry privately and in the United States Army Reserve.
Dr. Gage has wide experience both in private practice and teaching, with emphases in clinical dentistry and pharmacology. He is the principal author of pharmacology information in Dental Symphony, and has guided the Clinical Team in the development of dentist-specific drug information needed at the point of care.
Dr. Gage is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists and International College of Dentists.He has contributed chapters to many professional books and is the co-author of Mosby's Dental Drug Reference, now in its eight edition. He serves on the editing board of a number of professional journals.
Frank Ford, D.D.S.
Dr. Frank Ford graduated The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, Texas. He completed a Medical Anesthesiology Residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 1983 and has practiced both hospital and private-office anesthesia since. Prior to his anesthesia training Dr. Ford engaged in general dentistry for nine years.
Dr. Ford has managed thousands of dental and medical anesthesia cases. He brings expertise in patient assessment and management to the Clinical Team. Because of his experience in working with hundreds of different dentists (specialists and generalists), he brings a unique perspective to the work of the Clinical Team as they create information of particular interest to dentists in the real-life clinical setting.
Dr. Ford is a Diplomate of the American Dental Board of Anesthesiology and a Fellow of the AmericanDental Society of Anesthesiology. He is a member of the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists,American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, International Anesthesia research Society, the Texas Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists, The American Dental Association and the Texas Dental Association.
Dr. Ford also serves as a missionary dentistry in Africa and South America.
Terry Rees, D.D.S., M.S.D.
Dr. Terry Rees received his D.D.S. from the University of Tennessee, College of Dentistry, and his M.S.D. in Periodontics from Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas. He formerly chaired the Baylor Department of Periodontics and presently serves as Professor, Department of Periodontics and Director of the Stomotology Center at Baylor.
Dr. Rees brings a wealth of experience and research knowledge to the Clinical Team. Because of his leadership in training dentists Dr. Rees hones in on specific questions facing dentists whether a matter of routine care or advanced special issues encountered in a teaching Stomatology clinic. Dr. Rees guided the development of the powerful Dental Symphony Periodontal Charting System, particularly in ensuring a consistent case format suitable for patient understanding, for consultations and for communication with referring doctors. The format is consistent with that previously required by the American Board of Periodontology.
Dr. Rees is is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and the American Board of Oral Medicine, a Fellow in the American and International Colleges of Dentists, and a member of numerous professional organizations. He is Past-Chairman of the American Board of Periodontology. He has presented lectures and seminars in the United States and abroad and is author or co-author of more than 125 professional papers, text chapters and monographs.
Marco Cueva, D.D.S., M.S.
Dr. Marco Cueva received his D.D.S from Federal University of Parana Curitiba, PR - Brazil. He earned a certificate in periodontics at Camilo Castelo Branco University in Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil before completing a periodontics certificate at University of California Los Angeles, California. He completed an additional periodontics residency at Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas. Dr. Cueva maintains a private practice in Allen, Texas and teaches in the graduate periodontics clinic at Baylor. He has also had other teaching appointments in Brazil. Dr. Cueva has been published widely in professional periodontology journals and has given presentations throughout North and South America.
On the Clinical Team, Dr. Cueva bridges private periodontal practice and academic dentistry. His professional and academic experience on two continents provides a very broad practical perspective to guide Dental Symphony in developing useful information for the dentist at the point of care. He was particularly instrumental in establishing early the practical focus of Dental Symphony. Dr. Cueva has also worked with the creation of Dental Symphony's uniquely powerful periodontal charting system
Dr. Cueva is a member of a number of professional organizations including the Associacao Brasileira de Odontologia, Academy of Osseointegration and the International and American Association for Dental Research. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology.
Tom F. Cockerell, Jr. M.Ed., D.D.S.,
Dr. Tom F. Cockerell, Jr. is a 1979 graduate of the Dental School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He also earned his M.Ed. degree at Texas Christian University. Since 1980 Dr. Cockerell has conducted a practice in Fort Worth, Texas with a particular focus on patients with special needs.
Dr. Cockerell is the primary designer of Dental Symphony. His experience dealing with the medically-compromised and -challenging patient led to his conception and development of Dental Symphony. He also assembled and convened the Clinical Team and serves as its moderator. Dr. Cockerell is the Chief Executive Officer of Dental Symphony.
Dr. Cockerell is a member of the American Dental Association, the Texas Dental Association and the Fort Worth District Dental Society. He is also a member of the Seattle Study Club.
Gregory J. Phillips, M.D.
Dr. Gregory Phillips is a 1974 graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas. He completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the Saint. Louis University Medical School in 1977 and a Fellowship in Clinical Nutrition at the University of California at Davis in 1979.
Dr. Phillips brings years of Internal Medicine experience to the work of the Clinical Team. In addition to his active private practice Dr. Phillips provides frequent medical consultation to dentists and ophthalmologists. He understands firsthand the collegial interaction between dentists and physicians in providing care for patients. He is the author of the Physician Insights in Dental Symphony.
Dr. Phillips serves as Chief, Division of Internal Medicine at Harris Methodist Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas, and as an Attending Physician, Medical Plaza Center, Fort Worth, Texas. He also provides through his office an externship for students from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. Other professional interests of his include the American Heart Association (National Board of Directors, Southwest Regional Vice President 1994-1995).
Your Clinical Team – Experienced practitioners of dentistry and medicine backing you up at the point of care, representing the following disciplines:
- Periodontics
- Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
- General Practice
- Pharmacology
- Anesthesiology
- Internal Medicine
For Dental Symphony, the Clinical Team has developed a specific knowledge base that offers you what you need to know, precautions you should take, and advice on how to avoid and manage problems during patient care.
How does Dental Symphony do it? By recognizing your patient's profile from the information you (or your staff) input. Focused medical and drug information is automatically added to your patient's record, for instant access and reference.
Your Clinical Team created the materials for Dental Symphony by always asking, "What is important for the dentist to know at the point of care?"
And your Clinical Team continues working for you. . . adding new information. . . updating existing information. . . keeping you current.
By fidelity to the goal of improving the quality of dentistry for practitioners and patients
Dental Symphony is not a re-hashed old program. Not a dressed-up practice management system with flashier charting.
So what is it really?
Dental Symphony is like nothing you’ve ever seen.
Setting aside our experience with other dental software, we asked ourselves,
If we could create an application to do what we as dentists really want software to do clinically, what would it look like?
In one sense Dental Symphony has been twenty years in the making. Conceptually, it’s been three years in design. As a specific application, it required eighteen months for a talented software team working every day in constant dialogue with our design team.
Dental Symphony is the product of integrating concept thinking, program design, and software design. It required more than twenty-five people. Not modifying something already existing. But building something completely new from the foundation. Taking advantage of exciting technology opportunities that, frankly, were just coming online when we started.
Your Clinical Team is more than a nice-sounding title. Your Clinical Team started work together from the beginning united in the desire and guided by the intention of creating clinical dental services that would improve the quality of dentistry for practitioners and patients. That remains their desire and intention still.
A new model? Indeed.
A model that understands a software application as dynamic and flexible. The science behind dentistry changes rapidly. An application should be able to change and improve quickly and easily in response to both medical and technological advances, so that it always remains current, topical, relevant.
The Dental Symphony design and presentation reflects its unique commitment to a clinically-linear model. A new model reflective of your analytical approach to care and treatment.
The Clinical Team as a new model? Indeed.
Your Clinical Team has completed its first phase of work:
- Creating the Dental Symphony Libraries, both Disease Groupings and Drugs, and
- Overseeing the design and functionality of SpeedCharting, both Teeth and Hard Tissue versions
- Conceiving and designing the Clinical Systems
The second phase has begun and includes:
- Adding to the Libraries
- Ensuring the currency of information in the Libraries
- Creating new Clinical Systems
- Gatekeeping the links to third-party articles and references
- Overseeing all of the clinical elements of the application
- Imagining and creating new clinical services
Your Clinical Team continues working for you now, working for you in the future. That’s the new model, too.
An ongoing commitment to excellence
Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher, said that though the waters are constantly changing, the river remains the same.
And though Dental Symphony remains the same in one sense, its features and clinical services will evolve, deepen, expand.
Thanks to the Internet-based application model, iterative changes drive the understanding of services such as Dental Symphony. You will be able to watch Dental Symphony grow, improve, expand. Some of the changes will be suggested by subscribers. Others will be wrought by the Clinical Team as they embark upon the second phase of their work: adding to what they have already created.
Still other changes are already on the design team’s drawing board, services that will expand the utility and usefulness of Dental Symphony for dental practice in the not-so-distant future.
Current services provided by Dental Symphony will be reviewed, refined, and expanded. As the science of dentistry progresses, Dental Symphony will mirror that progress.
The common thread that binds the fabric of Dental Symphony is our commitment to make it something usable, useful, trustworthy, and undergirded by sound clinical methodology and evidence-based studies.
We want to help make dentistry more enjoyable for you and provide you the best tools in clinical care for your patients.