Farewell to Dr Vincent Amerena

Sadly, I must report that our esteemed, long standing Infection Control Editor, Dr Vincent Amerena, passed away on May 8. Vin, as we all knew him, was 90.

By the time Vin took up the role of Infection Control Editor of Oral Hygiene, Australasian Dental Practice and eLABORATE magazines in late 2005, he had already had a long and illustrious career both in delivering dental care and in shaping the way dentistry is practised today. Upon graduation in 1951, Vin practised as a general dentist and then later as a specialist periodontist. He went on to become President of the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch, a Principal Consultant to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Registrar of the Dental Board of Victoria. As Registrar of the Dental Board of Victoria, he introduced infection control programs into dental surgeries that set the tone of contemporary practice. He was a member of the Australian Dental Association’s Federal Infection Control committee from its inception and represented the ADA at Standards Australia Infection Control committees for 20 years. He lectured widely on infection control in dentistry and was involved in inspecting dental clinics for infection control compliance for many years. In 2001, Vin was the recipient of the Public Service Medal in the 2001 Queen’s Birthday Honours for outstanding public service to dentistry. He was also the recipient of the Reserve Forces Medal. Over the last 14 years we have worked together, Vin contributed to every edition without waver. His initial articles covered topics related to infection control. Later, at his behest, we also created a second column in both Oral Hygiene and Australasian Dental Practice magazines where Vin contributed Abstracts of all the latest research and developments in clinical dentistry and infection control. In total, we published some 350 articles under the byline Dr Vincent Amerena, which together form a veritable Bible of infection control practice. His last column, Is periodontal disease responsible for Alzheimer’s disease? appears on page 14. Vin is survived by his wife of 64 years, Veronica, two daughters, three sons and 15 grandchildren. Vin will be greatly missed by all who knew him, but never forgotten. May he Rest in Peace.