AAE Secures Critical Policy Wins at the ADA House of Delegates Meeting
During the ADA House of Delegates Meeting on October 19–22, 2024, AAE leadership, members serving as ADA delegates, and staff represented the specialty at organized dentistry's largest policymaking forum of the year. This event marked months of policy review and preparation to ensure that endodontic priorities were heard within the ADA.
AAE Presence & Influence in the House
While the ADA does not allocate designated seats for specialty societies in the House, the AAE is fortunate to have 25 members serving as delegates and alternate delegates for various ADA state and district chapters. As a smaller dental specialty, the AAE maintains a strong presence in the House of Delegates, with many members actively participating on key committees and councils, some even in leadership roles.
Each year, the AAE Board of Directors supports its members serving as ADA Delegates and Alternate Delegates by reviewing and formulating formal positions on resolutions and reports that significantly impact endodontists. This process spans several months and is led by Najia Usman, DDS, the AAE's designated House of Delegates Liaison Chair. She meticulously tracks and reviews all resolutions and reports with staff before briefing the AAE Board of Directors.
After the AAE Board votes on its positions, an annual luncheon honors all AAE members serving as Delegates and Alternate Delegates. This event recognizes their contributions on behalf of the specialty during the annual policy meeting. It updates them on the AAE's positioning to inform their voting decisions and enhance advocacy with key caucuses and constituency groups in the House of Delegates. The luncheon also serves as a platform for the AAE to share its advocacy priorities and agenda with ADA leadership. This year, then-ADA President Linda Edgar, DDS, and Executive Director Ray Cohlmia, DDS, attended to deliver remarks and engage with AAE President Natasha Flake regarding the AAE's advocacy priorities and organizational strategic goals.
AAE Victories & Advocacy Priorities
The AAE successfully enacted key policy priorities at this year's ADA House of Delegates meeting. One significant victory was adopting an AAE amendment to the ADA's Strategic Forecast, aimed at ensuring robust scope-of-practice protections regarding the use of technology. The original forecast included a misguided goal encouraging "dentists to practice at the top of their license using technologies." In response, AAE Treasurer Brad Gettleman and ADA HOD Liaison Chair Najia Usman testified against this language, advocating for an amendment that would encourage dentists to "practice to the level of their competency, utilizing technology to support their practice." As dental specialists, we recognized this amendment as essential to prevent dentists from being urged to perform complex treatments beyond their traditional scope of practice and training, particularly with technologies like AI. We were pleased to see this amendment adopted without opposition.
Another policy victory was led by AAE members, Drs. Rob Roda and Monique Belin, who opposed a resolution in the ADA House that sought to remove specific references to individual dental specialties recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards (NCRDSCB) due to alleged administrative burden. Dr. Roda offered an amendment that reversed this deletion and strengthened the language by adding the three most recently-recognized dental specialties to the Code. This amendment was significant because it underscored the power of dental specialties in the ADA House and the importance of the ADA's continued recognition of their value within the overall membership.
Finally, the AAE successfully shepherded Resolution 511 to final adoption, reinforcing the ADA's Code of Ethics by clarifying that ADA members cannot share misinformation or false advertising on any channel, including social media. Dental misinformation on social media has posed a significant threat to the specialty of endodontics. Over the past few years, rampant misinformation has endangered AAE members' practices, jeopardized patient safety, and undermined decades of scientific progress made by the dental community. The AAE was fortunate to have member Adrienne Korkosz, DMD, strongly support this resolution, emphasizing its importance to the specialty.
The AAE is grateful to its members who serve as Delegates and Alternate Delegates in the ADA House of Delegates, representing the interests of our specialty. We look forward to continuing to support these leaders and nurture the next generation of advocates in the House. If you want to get involved with your local ADA state chapter and the ADA House of Delegates process, please contact advocacy@aae.org.
AAE members serving in the ADA House of Delegates:
Drs. Alejandro Aguirre, Satish Alapati, Ammon Anderson, Emad Bassali, Monique Belin, Deborah Bishop, Thomas Brown, D Gregory Chadwick, Bethany Douglas, Amro Elkhatieb, Robert Hanlon, Alana Humberson, Adrienne Korkosz, James Lee, Paul Lindauer, Maria Maranga, Afshin Mazdeyasnan, Blake McKinley, Peter Mecham, Angela Noguera, Dustin Reynolds, Robert Roda, Calvin Suffridge, Najia Usman, and Shaun Whitney.