Recent Accomplishments

Successfully lobbied to have language inserted into the Children's Dental Health Improvement Act (the Bingaman Bill) calling for appropriations for oral health literacy education in elementary schools.

Continued to develop an oral health literacy curriculum with input from a teacher, curriculum development team, and a senior government scientist. In addition, the AGD Oral Health Literacy Taskforce has developed national oral health literacy standards that it hopes to promote throughout the country. The Taskforce also finalized plans to implement a pre-pilot test of its oral health literacy curriculum in individual schools in Texas, California and Maryland.

Continued to implement our obligations under a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of finding solutions to the lack of access to oral health care, especially in vulnerable populations as identified in the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health.

Lobbied the United States Congress to increase funding under Title VII for general dentist residencies.

Supported the American Dental Association's class action lawsuits against certain insurance companies.

Testified before the United States Congress on the efficacy of dental amalgam.

Encouraged members to carefully read all third party contracts they sign and if necessary, avail themselves of the ADA's contract analysis service.

Continued to support educational efforts of dentists to be educated as first responders in the event of bio-terrorism and other mass casualty situations.

The Academy strives to represent the interests of general dentists and improve the quality of comprehensive dental services, health promotion and wellness. Though the Academy's primary focus is continuing education, we selectively address issues that pertain specifically to general dentists