Dear Colleagues,
I would like to provide you with an end of the year update on ADA activities.
First of all I would like to thank our representatives at ADA: Howard Kim, Noha Nour, Irene Hilton, Houng Le, Adrian Carrington, Amir Kazim, Bob Hanlon, Judee Tippett-Whyte and Dean Nader Nadershahi for their hard work and dedication.
Many of you know that my passion has always been providing care for veterans and raising awareness about their dental needs. I am proud to share that I worked closely with the ADA Foundation as part of a task group to develop the “Give Veterans A Smile” program, which offers essential care to veterans across the country. The program was launched at SmileCon with many CDA and ADA leaders in attendance.
Another priority of mine has always been supporting students and new dentists. I was honored to serve on the Task Force on Lowering Dental School Tuition, chaired by Dr. Nadershahi. Our work focused on exploring ways to reduce the financial burden of dental education and identifying new student loan repayment strategies.
2024 ADA House of Delegates:
Our Delegates actively participated in discussions at the 2024 ADA House of delegates were instrumental to make essential amendments to some of the resolutions.
Following is a summary:
SFC Report and resolutions 203, 204 and 207:
At the 2022 House of Delegates, the house voted to establish the Strategic Forecasting Committee (SFC). Under Strategic Forecasting the House has been elevated to its highest and best use: setting the mission and what success looks like for the ADA and its members. The House is the Ultimate governing Body for the ADA, defining the why, where and when of the Association’s efforts.
SFC submitted their first report to the house including resolutions on long-range forecast and direction for the future of ADA.
California delegates’ concerns were carefully considered and incorporated into the resolutions, with adjustments to certain terminology that addressed apprehensions about the future direction of the ADA and its relationships with state and component societies. Most importantly California delegation was able to include safeguards to resolutions 203 &204 that would protect the interests of states and components so that ADA shall communicate and collaborate with states and local dental societies before offering a new product or service in that state.
Work Force:
The House also approved that states should be encouraged to adopt policies allowing dentists who have completed a dental education program, outside the United States,
subject to state licensing board requirements, to obtain a license to practice dental hygiene.
And, that the American Dental Association supports expedited United States residency status for foreign-born, United States-trained dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants, who commit to practicing in underserved areas for a period of at least three years.
(The full list of 2024 House of Delegates official actions will be available for review).
I am often asked, What has the ADA done for us lately? I would like to highlight some of the key achievements this year:
· Salesforce-Fonteva Platform Launch In September 2024, the new management system—Salesforce-Fonteva—which the ADA is offering free to states and components was rolled out. This tool will help us better understand member needs and behaviors, allowing us to provide more personalized services, products, and experiences.
· ADA Lobby Day This year, there was record attendance at Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., with 700 students sponsored by ADA and 500 dentists participating. Our delegations met with Senators and House Representatives to discuss critical issues, including student debt, high living costs, and insurance reform.
The Faculty Ambassador Program, which connects the ADA with dental schools was launched in 2024. Their role is to keep students informed about the latest opportunities and help them take full advantage of resources available.
· Dental Insurance Reform: State Public Affairs (SPA) Program
Since 2018, the ADA has made dental insurance reform a top priority, working through the SPA program. The ADA has invested $2.7 million in 2024 to support legislative efforts in various states, resulting in the passage of key laws, such as those on:
· Assignment of Benefits
· Network Leasing
· Non-covered Services
· Dental Loss Ratio (DLR)
· Virtual Credit Card laws
There were also major legislative victories, including stopping the Red Flag Rule, preventing taxes on aesthetic procedures, and preserving the student loan interest deduction. These wins are a testament to the ADA’s ongoing advocacy on behalf of our members.
In addition, This year has been one of implementation, with several new portfolios coming to life:
· International Leadership Portfolio This portfolio focuses on improving global oral health through partnerships with international dental organizations. I recently attended the FDI World Dental Congress, where I saw firsthand how hard ADA leadership is working to build global partnerships and explore opportunities for non-dues revenue. One example is Our ADA seal and the possibility of ADA dental material certification creating ongoing non dues revenue.
· Financial Services Portfolio – ADA Credit Union Task Force exploring the creation of an ADA Credit Union to provide financial services tailored to members’ personal and practice needs.
· Merger with the Forsyth Institute The ADA’s merger with the Forsyth Institute has significantly expanded our research capacity. Our research funding has grown from $2 million to nearly $40 million, and we’ve added more researchers to our team. Most recently we received 6.2 Million to develop next-generation smart materials for dental fillings using physics-based AI. Soon, we’ll move our labs from Chicago and Maryland into a state-of-the-art facility in Boston, consolidating our research efforts into one cutting-edge location.
As your trustee on the ADA Board, my focus has always been to reflect the core values of California in everything we do, ensuring that we are building a brighter future for our profession and creating lasting opportunities for the generations to come.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments,
Karin Irani, DDS, JD
