1. The Power of Organized Dentistry
Dr. Steven Gounardes
ADA Trustee
Second District
Welcome! I’m excited to be here today!

2. We are organized dentistry
I am a dentist
I am a Dad
I am from Brooklyn
I am a member of the ADA
Speaker: Talk a little bit about yourself and who you are. How did you get involved? Why is the ADA important to you?
I am proud of my involvement in organized dentistry. It is a part of my every day life.

3. We are organized dentistry
ADA Vision
To be the recognized leader on oral health.
ADA Mission
The ADA is the professional association of dentists that fosters the success of a diverse membership and advances the oral health of the public.
The ADA is the professional organization for dentists. We strive to be the leading advocate for oral health and to help dentists achieve success.

4. We are organized dentistry
Q: What is organized dentistry?
A: Groups that positively contribute to the profession.
Yes, that’s you!
It is simply all the combined efforts of the groups who positively contribute to the profession. So that means that ASDA, your state dental society, the local dental society, specialty organizations and of course the American Dental Association are part of Organized Dentistry.

5. We are organized dentistry
Members:
- make up the ADA and the tripartite
- elect, nominate other members to leadership
- formulate association policy
Just like ASDA, the ADA is a member-driven organization, meaning that members can—and do—formulate the policies of the Association. Similar to federal government, your leaders voice concerns of their constituents for action in the form of resolutions. Resolutions can be initiated by the ADA Board of Trustees, Delegates to the ADA House of Delegates, Constituent (state) dental societies, Trustee Districts, and other groups, such as specialty organizations, philanthropic groups.

6. We are organized dentistry
Tripartite – the power of three:
ADA
state dental society (constituent)
local dental society (component)
Although independent organizations, we all work together for members.
What is the tripartite system? It is a three-tiered system comprised of the ADA at the national level and the state and local dental societies. With a few exceptions (such as dental students), ADA members hold membership at all three levels. While retaining autonomy, we all work together.

7. ADA Governance and Districts
The ADA districts are slightly different from ASDA’s, but the idea is the same. Members are represented geographically. The ADA is made up of 547 component (local) and 53 constituent (state) dental societies. Those constituent societies are grouped into trustee districts—there are 17 trustee districts in total. The Board of Trustees includes one trustee from each of the 17 districts, along with the ADA president, president-elect, two vice presidents, the-treasurer, and the executive director. The Board of Trustees is the managing body of the ADA.

8. ADA Board of Trustees
And here are your Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is the managing body of the ADA
17 Trustees, one from each district, President and President-Elect, Two Vice Presidents, a Treasurer, And the Executive Director

9. ADA Board of Trustees
We are here to serve you – our members. We work as a team to make decisions that support the strategic plan and are in the best interest of the ADA and the profession.
Speakers: Talk a little bit about what you do, your responsibilities. What does it mean to be an ADA Trustee?

10. The ADA: Advocating for the Profession
We are your voice.  
We are your advocate.
The tripartite and our governance structure allows us to advocate for the profession, both at the grassroots level and through our staff in D.C.
Te ADA continues to lobby for legislation to even the playing field with dental insurers, working to assure your future patients get the full benefit of the their coverage while dealing with common complaints like assignment of benefits and capping fees on non-covered services.
Photo: Washington Leadership Conference.

11. Licensure: Advocating for Change
State legislatures and state boards of dentistry are responsible for licensure standards in the state.
Licensure is regulated by the state, and they are the final authority on who gets a licensure. And since it’s up to the individual state laws, the licensure process varies state by state. You should always contact the state dental board directly for the licensure process in the state where you want to practice.
At the ADA, our legislative and regulatory advocacy spans a broad spectrum of issues from OSHA to smoking. Licensure is a key issue for both the ADA and the American Student Dental Association. Both organizations are committed to working in cooperation with the American Association of Dental Boards and the clinical testing agencies to facilitate improvements in the clinical licensure process.
The ADA updates the publication Understanding Licensure: The Dental Examination Process for the New Graduate every year. This resource and more are also on ADA.org and available to everyone for free.

12. Licensure: Advocating for Change
Clinical Exam Content
Standardization
Remediation
Timely Results
Patients
An agenda for change focuses on key licensure topics. Did you know that the ADA has lobbied for laws specifically for you with regards to your student loans? Most of you have them, right? We fought successfully for your choice to consolidate with any lender and to expand the tax deductibility of student loans.
The ADA also successfully lobbied and continues to lobby for accession bonuses for new military and public health dentists. That means that if you choose to enter a military or public health dentistry role—thanks to our lobbying efforts—you’ll be able to reduce your student loan debt at an accelerated rate during your tenure in those service roles.

13. More ADA Benefits ADA student member benefits: Licensure resources
Loan repayment information
Success programs & more
Learn more at ADA.org/student
ADA Office of Student Affairs
As a student member, you get the same benefits as dentists do – like our publications – plus more, including access to the free life and disability insurance provided from Great West Life. The Office of Student Affairs exists to serve student members and to help you transition to practice after graduation. Some of the resources we have: licensure publication, loan repayment document, student loan contract analysis, Success dental student programs, information to help manage advanced education application process and more.

14. Professional Product Review & Evidence Based Dentistry
More ADA Benefits
Professional Product Review
&
Evidence Based Dentistry
I also wanted to mention how important it is to have good data available to you in your practice or as you’re deciding your practice future. The ADA Professional Product Review is a quarterly publications that provides clinical and laboratory testing information about professional dental products. You simply cannot retain everything about dental materials and equipment in your brain – you would melt or explode. Instead, reference the Product Review. Commit to reading about a new product every day or a few pages every week. It’s essential to stay current for your patients and your career—especially as the up and coming dentists in your generation. People will expect you to know the latest and greatest technology and products.
You’re going to hear a lot more about evidence-based dentistry , if you haven’t already. On the EBD web site, the ADA provides systematically assessed evidence as tools and resources to support your clinical decisions. So you can integrate evidence into patient care in a practical way. Find reviews on topics like smoking cessation, recommendations for fluoride use, and a list of resources-- all available online.

15. Stay Informed Know your field Know your leaders ADA and ASDA Resources
I know you have more reading to do than you have hours in the day… but I hope that you find time to look at ADA News and other ADA and ASDA publications. You can use the publications to your benefit. You’ll know your field and the leaders in your field.
[Photo features past ASDA presidents Wayne Stephens and Mike Meru]

16. How will you make a living without your ability to practice dentistry?
ADA and ASDA Resources
Think about it:
How will you make a living without your ability to practice dentistry?
Now, I’d like to move onto another topic that may be less front of mind: life insurance. When you’re young and ambitious, it’s hard to relate to the circumstances that may cause you to need life insurance. Anyone here have a family yet? Those who do my have a different perspective. As an ASDA and ADA student member, you receive $50,000 in life insurance for through Great West at no additional charge. New grads are guaranteed the right to continue that coverage at no cost through December 31, with great rates after that. You must apply before May of your graduation year.
Students also receive free disability insurance. And the “own-occupation” definition of the ADA disability policy really makes sense. This means that if you give up dentistry due to a disability and decide, say to open an Irish Pub or sell Tupperware, the money you make at your new occupation doesn't affect your insurance payment. Other policies consider post-disability career opportunities as a factor in what they'll pay you if you become disabled. Ours does not.
The point is: You want to make sure that you are covered if your ability to practice dentistry is impaired. If you don’t have coverage yet, you should look into it now! Think about it: How will you make a living without your ability to practice dentistry?
Read more about the insurance plans available on ADA.org.

17. Free life and disability insurance for ASDA and ADA student members
ADA and ASDA Resources
Free life and disability insurance
for ASDA and ADA student members
insurance.ada.org
How many of you in this room have taken advantage of the free $50,000 life insurance offer from the ADA? If anyone has not done so, you are still eligible as long as you apply by May 1 of your graduation year. An enrollment form is available on ADA.org. It’s free for ASDA/ADA members. Do it right away… it’s free now and you’ll get great low rates and guaranteed acceptance.
Protect your investment and sign up for the insurance. Your coverage does not automatically start – you must authorize it.

18. Membership After Dental School
How much are dues after graduation?
First year – 0%
Second year – 25%
Third year – 50%
Fourth year – 75%
We know that finances are tight, especially for the first few years after graduation. That’s why the ADA offers the Reduced Dues Program. In your first year out, national dues are zero dollars – you can’t beat zero! In your second year, you pay 25% of full dues. In the third year, it's 50% and fourth year, only 75% of full dues. You don’t pay full ADA dues until your fifth year out! ! Many state and local societies also offer reduced dues. [Speaker: find out ahead of time if the state and local society in the state follows the ADA model.]
And if you’re going into a graduate program, your national dues are just $30/year and the Reduced Dues Program will kick in after you are done. But don’t forget to apply. Y
You may be wondering… “Does ‘tripartite’ mean I need to apply three times and have three different memberships to manage?” You can complete one application and make one dues payment. If you stay in ______ [state name], the _____ State Society will process your membership dues and application for all three organizations.
[speaker: consider personalizing slide to include the link to the state society web page: Apply at smilemichigan.com]
Apply with your state society or at ADA.org/join

19. The New Dentist Committee is here for you.
ADA.org/newdentist
The New Dentist Committee is here for you.
The ADA cares about new dentists. We have a committee looking out for the needs of those who graduates in the last 10 years. If you have questions about the committee, have ideas to share, want to connect to dentists in your area -- feel free to contact your district representative.
Photo: NDC Members at ADA 25th New Dentist Conference in Chicago

20. ASDA and ADA collaboration
Students are members of ASDA and the ADA
5 seats on the ADA House of Delegates
Representation on ADA Councils and Commissions
Funding to state dental societies to support student outreach
Many state and local societies invite and encourage student participation and leadership
Students joins ASDA and the ADA at the same time. $5 of the dues remit to the ADA. Several state societies also offer predoctoral student membership.

21. ASDA and ADA collaboration
ASDA and the ADA work together on issues important to dental students, including:
Licensure
Ethics
Financial planning
We advocate for these issues in Washington.

22. ASDA and ADA collaboration
You are the NOW of dentistry. How can we work together?
We’d love to hear from you. How can we work together even more productively? What can we do to make organized dentistry more valuable for today’s future dentists?

23. Contact us Dr. Gounardes: gounardess@ada.org Office of Student Affairs
ADA.org/student
Thank you for listening. Please reach out to us or the ADA Office of Student Affairs anytime. Speaker: Consider passing out business cards.