Over the past year I have had the privilege of serving as ASDA president for my dental school chapter. Through this experience one of the things that has become painfully apparent to me is a lack of understanding of what organized dentistry is, its history, and why it’s so important for dentists young and old to get involved. The American Dental Association was founded in 1859 and today serves as the nation’s largest dental association with more than 159,000 members nationwide. The American Student Dental Association was founded in 1970 and today represents the voice of 90% of all dental students in the country. Although I am partial to the ADA and the ASDA there are many other special interest dental groups and student dental groups to give voice to specific concerns. With these organizations and the umbrella organization of the ADA and ASDA we can present with a unified voice.

Organized dentistry is a platform that allows dentists and dental student to come together as a collective and give voice to our opinions to help shape the future of dentistry. Dentistry is such a distinct profession and only dentists or dental students can truly appreciate the challenges of practicing dentistry and it is our duty to the profession to voice our opinions to ensure a bright future for dentistry. Today the profession of dentistry is changing rapidly with the reform in student licensure, use of midlevel providers, introduction of corporate dentistry, and so many other changes. It is our job as dental students and dentists to join our local association and voice our opinion on these issues to make sure the future of this profession is protected.  Writing from a student’s perspective, one of the more recent issues that have really gained traction with both the ADA and ASDA is the concept of student debt. According to the American Dental Education Association the national average dental student debt is approximately $247,227 with many students reaching almost double that amount.  So why is it so important to get involved? With so much student debt many students are turning to different models of practice in order to pay of their student debts. The increasing amount of student debt is directly affecting how new dentists practice dentistry and where they practice dentistry. This high debt is preventing young dentist from pursuing careers in rural areas or public health due to financial reasons.

So what is the ADA and ASDA doing about it? Currently ASDA and the ADA have been working diligently together to combine the voice of dental students and dentists alike to express the need to drive down the costs of dental schools and provider alternative payment methods for graduating dentists. The ADA has recently introduced the DRB student loan refinancing option, allowing students to refinance their debt with Darien Rowayton Bank at interest rates starting at 1.88% APR variable or 3.25% APR fixed. Although this option isn’t the solution to all our student debt issues it is a step in the right direction.

The above mentioned is just one example of how organized dentistry is working to improve the lives of dental students, dentists and the practice of dentistry. However, these efforts are all in vain if we as a collective do not become educated in the issues and become engaged in organized dentistry. A more educated and engaged group of dentists and dental students allows for a stronger voice in the ADA and ASDA, allowing our profession to have a stronger voice as a whole.