Dentists who have had a dental plan payment check lost in the mail could consider a way to receive safe and secure payment through electronic funds transfer payments.

The ADA National Fluoridation Advisory Committee is inviting dentists and others who promote the adoption and continuation of adding an optimal amount of fluoride to water to celebrate this year.

Dentists leaped up to No. 2 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the 100 Best Jobs, the magazine revealed on its website Jan. 7.

As the American College of Dentists celebrates its 100th anniversary, its leaders are ready to continue their mission of advancing excellence, ethics, professionalism and leadership in dentistry.

Dr. Theressa Eliscar-Hewett began volunteering at the Nassau County Give Kids A Smile event in Long Island, New York, as a high school student. More than 10 years later, she continues to volunteer, only now as a dentist.

The ADA Publishing unveiled in December new webpages for four award-winning and well-respected publications — ADA News, The Journal of the American Dental Association, Dental Practice Success and the New Dentist News, giving the journal and magazines a greater presence online.

Dr. Loree Bolin’s humanitarian work has drawn accolades from the dental community in her home state of Washington, and now Dr. Bolin is being recognized nationally by being named the recipient of the ADA’s 2020 Humanitarian Award, bestowed by the ADA Board of Trustees.

Those interested in developing dental standards that ensure product safety and efficacy and offer useful information on new and emerging technologies can attend upcoming meetings of the American Dental Association's standards committees.

The U.S.-based International Medical Relief is sponsoring outreach trips to Puerto Rico in response to the earthquakes that have devastated the region.

The Center for Research & Education in Technology is encouraging dental schools to find out how to participate in its program and learn about the benefits to the school and its students.

The American Dental Association Standards Committee on Dental Products has approved the document for circulation and comment.

The ADA will present a free webinar Feb. 6 on dental sealants, especially designed to help dental providers in communities that do not yet have sealant programs in place.

Average educational indebtedness of graduating students from U.S. dental schools has increased an average of 3.5% annually between 2000 and 2018 after adjusting for inflation.

Texas A&M College of Dentistry announced Jan. 17 it opened it’s a new 160,000-square-foot, nine-story clinic, which enables the dental school to increase underserved patients’ access to care.

From courses on burnout, vaping and more to golf and a low-country boil, the Alliance of the American Dental Association's upcoming Conference 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina, will offer a variety of educational and entertainment opportunities.

As the world gets ready for the Special Olympics Sweden Invitational Games in February, one of the ADA’s member dentists will be watching as the Special Smiles program he founded will be used to screen and attend to the dental needs of the competing athletes.

The Central Arizona Dental Society hosted a Mission of Mercy event Dec. 13-14 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, providing treatment to 1,785 patients totaling just over $2 million in free dental service.

The Association’s Washington office covered a wide range of advocacy issues in 2019 — from vaping to student loan reform to making sure dentistry was exempt from the U.S. Mexico-Tourism Act.

ADA News welcomes digital submissions from GKAS program participants.

Greater compliance with dietary guidelines may reduce the chance of untreated caries in adults, according to a study published in the February issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.

In an effort to advance the Association’s diversity and inclusion efforts, the ADA House of Delegates voted at its meeting in September to rescind the policy titled “The Dentist’s Prayer,” used by some state and local dental societies during their meetings, and amend its policy on recognition of religious diversity.

“Our nation’s veterans deserve the best.” Those were the words of ADA President Chad P. Gehani following his Jan. 7 visit to the Orlando VA Healthcare System’s dental clinic.

This year’s Institute for Teaching Learning program is scheduled for Aug. 23-26 in Atlanta. Now in its 14th year, with over 700 alumni, the program combines presentations, discussions, small group activities and peer-to-peer learnings to give participants new teaching skills. The onsite program is followed by a six-month distance learning experience that include online activities and interactive webinars.

Service With A Smile was among 10 programs from nine universities to receive funding this year through the ADA Foundation’s E. “Bud” Tarrson Dental School Student Community Leadership Awards.

This year the February observance of National Children’s Dental Health Month honors the 75th anniversary of community water fluoridation with its theme, “Fluoride in water prevents cavities! Get it from the tap!”

Nearly 49% of responding dental practices have experienced employee theft, and nearly 46% of those have experienced theft or embezzlement more than once, according to a survey conducted by the ADA Council on Dental Practice.

The Dental Quality Alliance will help dentists learn more about how quality measure domains can be best used to drive quality improvement at the practice level through a free webinar in March.

The international group SNOMED International honored ADA member dentist Dr. Mark Jurkovich with the Award of Excellence for spearheading the important work the ADA has done on SNODENT, the group announced Jan. 16.

It’s a conviction that was published in the November issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association and the basis for the October 2019 forum that Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez fostered, where dentists, physicians, nurses and public health and public policy experts proposed, discussed and recommended solutions for preventing early childhood caries through the lens of social justice, health equity and human rights.

The Duluth Dental Forum in northeastern Minnesota celebrated its 75th anniversary in late 2019, stating that it was the second-oldest study club of its kind in the United States.

A class action lawsuit alleging that a Florida dental practice sent unsolicited text messages in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Jan. 6.

The American Dental Association is asking Congress to pass the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act — legislation that would require all private group and individual health plans to cover medically necessary services that repair or restore congenital anomalies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide interim guidance to clinicians regarding the coronavirus outbreak during a webinar at 2 p.m. EST Jan. 31.

The last decade brought 236,658 attendees to the American Dental Association's annual meeting. The ADA will continue to build on that momentum with the ADA FDC Annual Meeting from Oct. 15-18 in Orlando, Florida.

International dental school graduates in U.S. dental schools

There is an art to conveying just who you are at every stage of your dental practice. One minute you could be a single-dentist practice with a hygienist and a receptionist, and then, the next thing you know, you could have a group practice and maybe even several locations.

The University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry announced Jan. 30 it received a $10 million gift — the largest contribution ever to the dental school — to establish an endowment that would fun efforts to modernize its curriculum and recruit and retain faculty members.

Thanks to the advocacy efforts of the Missouri Dental Association, a managed care organization has agreed to remove an authorization tool it was requiring dentists to use prior to using sedation.

Dental service leaders met with the ADA Council on Government Affairs Jan. 25 in Washington to discuss legislative and regulatory issues.

The Indian Health Service is presenting a four-part series of messages focused on their younger patients’ oral heath in honor of the February observance of National Children’s Dental Health Month.

The ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure launched in December an interactive map in an effort to assist dentists with keeping track of current initial licensure requirements by state.

The American Dental Association, along with 75 organizations, is urging Congress to support legislation to regulate vaping devices and liquids in the same manner the Food and Drug Administration regulates cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Dental spending reached $136 billion in 2018 — 3.7% of all health spending — and what the ADA Health Policy Institute is calling a “historic high” in the new HPI Industry Report released Feb. 4.

The American Dental Association’s Give Kids A Smile program will bring free oral health services to hundreds of thousands of children across the U.S. beginning Feb. 7.

Global Dental Relief, a nonprofit organization that has delivered free dental care to children around the globe since 2001, is seeking clinical volunteers for upcoming humanitarian missions in Nepal and Guatemala.

In light of the “emerging, rapidly evolving” outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding clinicians to use standard precautions consistently and advising they isolate patients who show signs and symptoms of the virus.

Following a ruling in federal court two days prior, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Jan. 25 that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule fee limitations do not apply to requests to transmit copies of records to third-parties.

Indianapolis -- Seven-year-old Jordan Randle made a big promise after visiting Give Kids A Smile for the first time during the national kickoff event Feb. 7 in Indianapolis.

The ADA Council on Dental Practice is encouraging dentists to acknowledge the dedication and contributions of their dental assistants during Dental Assistants Recognition Week.