2010 News Archive

Anchorage, Alaska—Seven more Dental Health Aide Therapists have graduated from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s training program, bringing the total number of DHATs practicing in rural Alaska to 24.

Norwich, Conn.—In 1982, Dr. Jeremiah Lowney, a successful 45-year-old orthodontist and community leader, was enjoying his family, his connections and the fruits of his labors, when a life-threatening illness and a life-changing mission trip pointed him in a new direction—Haiti.

Washington—Medicare officials Dec. 16 announced a delay in PECOS enforcement to at least July 5, 2011, “to give CMS more flexibility to determine the appropriate date for nonpayment of claims that fail the ordering/referring provider edits.”

The ADA Professional Product Review is collaborating with three dental schools—Virginia Commonwealth University, University of the Pacific and University of Iowa—and the Togus VA Medical Center in Maine on a new study that evaluates shade-matching instruments.

Gaithersburg, Md.—The Association commended an advisory panel’s call for continued research while offering support for the Food and Drug Administration’s current amalgam regulation. The panel found that FDA acted appropriately in ruling last year that dental amalgam is a safe and effective treatment option for the general population. 

Gaithersburg, Md.—The ADA testified Tuesday before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Panel tasked with assessing whether amalgam regulations issued in 2009 accurately represented the strengths and weaknesses of available data.

Las Vegas—“What happens in Vegas will change dentistry forever,” said Dr. Kevin M. Laing, general chair of the Council on ADA Sessions. “So it’s time to mark your calendars and plan an incentive program to bring your team to the ADA’s 152nd annual session.”

Twenty years, eight editions, 189 additional pages.

The Current Dental Terminology manual has changed quite a bit since the first edition was published in 1990. Evolutionary changes have made it a valuable and necessary reference for dentists to have at their fingertips.

Orlando, Fla.—The 2010 ADA House of Delegates underscored its commitment to developing a national clinical licensure examination that evaluates candidates in accordance with Association policies on live patients.

Dental professionals who want exposure to the latest in continuing education, trends, equipment and supplies that can help them better serve patients with special needs should plan to attend the 23rd annual meeting on Special Care Dentistry, with the theme “Total Patient Care,” April 1-3, 2011, at the Swissôtel Chicago.

For more than three years, the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics has worked to establish a national forensics data standard.

Orlando, Fla.—“Your Find-a-Dentist profile on ADA.org is only as good as you make it.”

Washington—Congress passed and the president Dec. 13 signed into law ADA-backed child nutrition legislation.

The ADA Division of Global Affairs is accepting nominations for the 2011 Certificate for International Volunteer Service. Dental society officers and dental school deans must submit nomination materials by April 1, 2011.

Washington—It is time to move from conventional electronic health records “to a more medically useful and secure system in which individual bits of health care data are tagged with privacy and security specifications,” says a White House panel of scientists.

Beginning in January 2011, ADA members can enjoy new car rental deals with Alamo, Enterprise and National Car Rental. For great cars and low rates, go to www.ada.org/carrental or call 1-866-960-5880.

The ADA Health Policy Resources Center has released the 2010 ADA Dental Workforce Model: 2008-2030.

The Dental Quality Alliance is in the process of forming an advisory committee on Research and Development of Performance Measures, which will begin its work after the first of the year.

Portland, Ore—The smiles are back at the renovated and reorganized Creston Children’s Dental Clinic, a Portland safety net for nearly 50 years that reopened Sept. 13 with the help of volunteer dentists and donors.

The ADA is celebrating National Children’s Dental Health Month in February by offering special patient education materials to help get in touch with kids and pre-teens.