Changes In ADA and Possible Reduction Of Dental Education Quality in the US

This month, the American Dental Association reported that its Executive Director – Raymond Cohlmia – has resigned from the position, and Dr. Elizabeth Shapiro has become the organization's interim director. It's still unclear whether a new candidate will force significant organizational policy changes – for now, we can see only a few standard official quotes from Dr. Shapiro. Additionally, the new director will soon start his duty – Dr. Richard Rosato, an experienced oral surgeon from Concord.

He will receive his post in difficult times for ADA, and he clearly understands this, according to his statement in a Valley News article: "I think that is something that happened a long time ago … dentistry was carved out of overall health. But we need to drive it towards being part of overall health care."

While we wait for any information regarding how Dr. Rosato will change the industry's condition, changes have already started to happen. Thus, in some states, such as Florida, local officials are trying to provide new initiatives to ease the dentist shortage in the region. In this state, for instance, in February, lawmakers introduced a new bill that states that dental therapists can receive a certification after a three-year course, in contrast to a standard eight-year course for dentists.

This initiative receives support and opposition from state officials and dental professionals, but what's much more critical in this situation is a social attitude toward the problem. Thus, the American Association of Dental Boards recently published survey results revealing that society strongly agrees with maintaining the current level of dental specialists' examination and does not support any relief in hand skills tests. Thus, according to its results:

82% of Americans oppose removing a hand skill examination;
69% of citizens think that current licensing standards should not be reduced;
65% are against the dentists who were licensed in states with weaker licensing standards

These statistics allow us to assume that local states' initiatives regarding the changes in dental education quality may face significant criticism from local communities and affect the specialist's future career.

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