THE VALUE OF THE ADA
Regular readers of the “ODA Today” and this column specifically are well aware of the benefits of belonging to the ODA and your local dental society. What is sometimes overlooked or at least underappreciated are the benefits provided by the American Dental Association. Below is just a brief overview of what the ADA does to benefit you as a member, the dental profession as a whole, and dental patients.
Ethics
The ADA created and maintains the “ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct.” This is the universally accepted dental code of ethics in America. The ADA is the only organization that has the credibility and widespread acceptance to promote a code of ethics for the entire profession. The code often works as a reminder that patients come before commercial and financial interests. The code has served the profession well and is integral to ensuring dentistry remains a profession that is trusted by the public.
CDT
The ADA created and maintains the Code of Dental Procedures and Nomenclature (the CDT Code). The CDT assures consistency in documenting dental treatment and is universally accepted and ensures we are all playing on the same level field when it comes to payment for dental services. Only the ADA has the credibility that ensures these codes are universally accepted by payers, the government and dentists. The ADA also ensures these codes are regularly reviewed and updated – keeping up with changes in technology and dental practice.
Science and Research
The ADA Science and Research Institute is crucial for advancement of dentistry through scientific research and provision of information that is practical, useful and free from outside bias.
Moreover, ADA science can be responsive to dentistry’s needs. For example, several years ago, a local CBS affiliate in Columbus did a sensational news story explaining that their investigative team discovered that there was lead in dental crowns manufactured in Chinese labs. A follow-up report indicated that lead was also detected in domestically produced dental crowns as well. The story gained traction and even ended up on the CBS Evening News nationally resulting in significant and widespread concerns about the safety of dental crowns. The ODA immediately engaged the ADA hoping for assistance in disarming this story.
The ADA’s research arm engaged the Food and Drug Administration and created a research project to test the safety of dental crowns. With the FDA watching, the ADA’s researchers recreated the act of chewing in the lab and determined that no lead leaches out from dental crowns during the act of chewing. This potentially disastrous story regarding lead in dental crowns was put to rest because of the fast and credible action of the ADA’s research arm and its engagement with the FDA. No one else could have responded as quickly and efficiently with impeccable credibility like the ADA did.
ADA Research also ensures that the profession has access to information that is science-based and allows for the development of evidence-based best practices within the dental profession.
Advocacy
The ADA’s federal advocacy has had a significant positive impact on dental care and oral health. The ADA defends the profession, dental patients and oral health before Congress and federal regulatory agencies. No other organization can do that with credibility across the dental profession and with patients and the public, free from conflict or bias. The recent passage of the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act, which limits the antitrust exemption available to health and dental insurance companies under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, and the development of the recent dental licensure compact, which will promote true dental licensure reciprocity and portability, are just the latest examples of how the ADA’s advocacy benefits the dental profession.
ADA Health Policy Institute
The ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI) conducts innovative studies on a wide range of topics on the U.S. dental economy, including access to dental care, the dental workforce, utilization and benefits, dental education, health care outcomes and more. HPI research helps guide policymakers, advocates and other industry stakeholders in making sound decisions related to oral health.
ADA Center for Professional Success
The ADA’s Center for Professional Success provides valuable practice management information to help members succeed, including info related to dental benefits, risk management, regulatory compliance, HIPAA privacy, workforce, human resources, trends in dentistry, etc. ADA members are able to utilize this information in their practices knowing it is based on sound science and evidence, free from conflict of interest or bias.
ADA Support for the Tripartite
The ADA also provides significant support to the state and local dental societies that are working on your behalf. For example, the ADA provides State Public Affairs grants that help state dental associations with their advocacy priorities. The ADA also provides a shared membership management database that enhances our ability to meet and track our members’ specific needs, and the ADA partners with the ODA and local dental societies on public service programs like Give Kids A Smile.
Your membership in organized dentistry means you get the benefit of the tripartite – your local dental society, the ODA and the ADA – all working together to support you as a practicing dentist, while also protecting dentistry as a profession and promoting the oral health of the public.
In other words, the tripartite’s mission is YOU!
