2018 Interim Board Meeting Recap
The AAE Board of Directors held its Interim Meeting on October 18-19, 2018, in conjunction with the American Dental Association Annual Meeting in Honolulu.
The first day of discussions centered on a progress assessment of the AAE’s strategic plan.
Goal 1: The public will value saving their natural teeth and seek endodontists – the specialists in saving teeth – for their care.
As part of this goal, the AAE has launched a new patient-facing website, enhanced the Find an Endo online search, and collaborated with the ADA on a revised root canal patient education brochure that now includes the dental dam. The AAE has been recognized with several awards for these digital initiatives.
The AAE will launch a patient-facing campaign in January. Patient research to inform creative execution has been conducted, which have informed the strategic direction for the campaign. The campaign will hinge on the concept of expertise being earned through rigor, trusting experts with important choices, and positioning the endodontist as the right expert for the right job.
Goal 2: The dental profession will value endodontists as partners with advanced expertise in providing patient care.
AAE’s activities to support this goal have focused on establishing a single standard for quality endodontic care through the development of white papers on the topics of endodontic competency and treatment standards, as well as a position statement on maxillary sinusitis of endodontic etiology. AAE is focusing on bringing this information to a wider audience of key stakeholders through publications, advertising, and other engagement opportunities.
Future efforts in this area will focus on revising the Case Difficulty Assessment Form in a more dynamic format that would appeal to target audiences including students and general practitioners. The AAE will also be embarking on an effort to identify a core set of outcomes for endodontic research.
The Board discussed the importance of endodontists interacting with external forces that impact the specialty, such as state dental boards, educational institutions and the insurance industry; the AAE plans to develop resources for members to participate in these efforts first hand.
Goal 3: AAE and its members will be recognized as the global leaders in advocating the value and quality of endodontics
The AAE’s recent survey of international members has paved the way for a development plan which will enhance the organization’s reach to endodontists worldwide. Activities such as increasing AAE presence at International meetings, creating networking opportunities for international members during the Annual meeting; and offering group subscriptions to the JOE to international organizations are among the opportunities that will be considered as part of this plan. In addition to international outreach, the AAE continues to focus on strengthening domestic membership as well and an initiative is underway to re-engage endodontists whose membership has lapsed.
The Board reviewed the results of the June 30, 2018, audit. The AAE’s independent auditor reported that the AAE received a clean audit with no deficiencies identified, indicating that the AAE’s financial reports are in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
In addition to its business meeting, the AAE Board of Directors took advantage of networking opportunities. The AAE hosted its annual cocktail reception, aimed at networking with key members of the dental community, including representatives of the ADA, dental specialties and state delegations.
The AAE’s annual luncheon for AAE members serving in the ADA House of Delegates provided an opportunity for Delegates and AAE Board members to discuss issues of interest to the specialty that would be brought to the House for consideration. This year’s meeting was chaired by Dr. Mark B. Desrosiers of Glastonbury, Conn. The Board was pleased to also host ADA candidates for office, including AAE member Dr. Chad P. Gehani, who was elected as ADA president-elect by the ADA House of Delegates. In addition, attendees were given an update on legal issues in dentistry by ADA General Counsel Craig Busey. Topics reviewed included specialty advertising regulations of state dental boards, do-it-yourself dentistry, and actions by dental suppliers.
Discussion on House resolutions centered on policy language changes related to last year’s transfer of responsibility in recognition of dental specialties to the new National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards. In addition, the group discussed a proposal relating to a dental benefit in Medicare, which received extensive commentary on both sides. The ADA will be appointing an ad hoc committee to identify an implementation plan and timeline to address elder care including Medicare.