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‘…the challenge with ADA Cares, a public awareness campaign on dental-office safetygeared to eliminate barriers to care. In 1994, a second poll indicated that consumerconfidence was up, with 61 percent of respondents believing that the dental office wassafe. Last year, the Public Relations Society of America recognized the effectiveness Of ADA Cares with the Silver Anvil Award-one of the most prestigious awards in publicrelations.- The ADA also promoted National Children's Dental Health Month in conjunction withthe 50th anniversary of water fluoridation in February. Nearly 4,000 planning kits and400,000 posters were sent to dental societies throughout the country to help members getkids fired up about dental care. Seven hundred television stations nationwide alsoreceived a video news release on NCDHM.- In 1995, the ADA prepared oral health sections that appeared in Good Housekeepingand Time magazines, reaching a potential audience of more than 13 million people. Since1990, the ADA Council on ADA Sessions and International Programs has encourageddentists and dental staffers to share their expertise with their counterparts inunderdeveloped countries through the Dentistry Overseas Division of Health VolunteersOverseas. The Council produces a publication called International Dental VolunteerOrganizations: AGuide to Service and a Directory of Programs, with up-to-date information onvolunteering and a list of organizations needing volunteers.- In 1995, seven program sites received 37 dental volunteers.- Volunteers completed an oral health survey in Guyana and provided local participantswith what they need to conduct their own surveys in the future.- Ten people participated in the dental section of the annual HVO orientation workshop,which prepared them for future service with Dentistry Overseas.GUARDIAN OF THEPROFESSION AND PUBLICThe Association also engages in a wide range of activities aimed at maintainingdentistry's statusas a respected health profession dedicated to the well-being of its patients. Scientists fromthe ADADivision of Science, including the Paffenbarger Research Center, presented 20 papers atthe American Association for Dental Research meeting, heldin San Antonio last March. Studies included topics such as mechanical properties of mercury- free restorative materials, shear bond strength of dentin and size distribution of particles in dental wastewater.- The Association's House of Delegates approved a dozen new parameters of dentalpractice in October 1995, adding to the 12 adopted in 1994. These parameters dealt with
 
conditions such as dental abrasion, traumatic displacement of teeth and soft tissue lesionsand are being distributed to members as a supplement to this issue of JADA.- Last year, an expert panel was assembled -including representatives from governmentagencies, private practice dentistry and the research and industrialcommunities-to examine ways to improve the water quality in dental unit waterlines.- Since 1930, the ADA has maintained its Seal of Acceptance program as a benefit to theprofession and public. Before a product can bear the seal, manufacturers must submit anapplication and the product must pass safety and efficacy evaluations. Last year the ADAgranted seals to more than 49 new products, bringing the total of consumer andprofessional products bearing the seal to approximately 1,300.- The Communications division helped coordinate Association-wide promotion of theADA Seal. Launched at an annual session press conference in Las Vegas,the campaign includes media kits, a satellite media tour, a video news release, a newbrochure on the seal and a special reproducible insert in the Oct. 23, 1995, issue of ADANews.- In 1995, the ADA's Health Foundation approved three New Dental Scientist Awardsfrom a field of six recent fellows of NIDR's Dentist Scientist Program. Each dentistreceived a grant of $5,000 to pursue dental research projects.- A new award, The Frederick S. McKay Award for Excellence in Preventive Dentistry,was established with support from Accutron. The first award was presented to Dr. LarryCoffee of the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped. Dr. Coffee wasrecognized for his role in developing access programs for the disabled.- The Commission on Relief Fund Activities, in tandem with the state society relief funds, provides financial assistance to dentists who are no longer able to be self-supporting because of accidental injury, advanced age or physically debilitating illnesses.Dentists need not be ADA members to apply for assistance.34 JADA, Vol. 127, January 1996As of July 1, 1995, 94 dentists had received grants totaling $653,775.- The ADA oversees several charitable programs through the ADA Endowment andAssistance Fund, Inc. Programs provided through the Endowment Fund include loans tocover treatment expenses associated with chemical dependency, loans to facilitateretraining of dentists who have become disabled, a disaster-assistance loan program andvarious scholarship programs that award grants to dental, minority dental and allieddental health students. Since the inception of the scholarship programs four years ago, theEndowment Fund has awarded 360 scholarships totaling $559,000.COMNMITTED TO THEFUTURE
 
 Beyond dealing with issues facing dentistry today, the Association also keeps an eye onwhere dentistry is headed in the future. This requires maintaining close connections withdental students and new dentists.- Last year, the ADA Division of Membership Services, through its office on studentaffairs, kicked off a plan to establish a permanent link between dental students andorganized dentistry. The plan involves joint membership activities with the AmericanStudent Dental Association, as well as gathering information on dental student needs andconcerns through surveys, the first of which was mailed to more than 6,000 students andwas completed in June. The ADA, along with state and local dental societyrepresentatives, made presentations to 2,100 senior dental students at 29 dental schoolsacross the country in 1995.- Through the ADA's Committee on the New Dentist, theDivision of Membership and Dental Society Services expanded the new dentistcommittee network from 80 to 115 committees nationwide-and in August hosted theNinth National Conference on the Young Dentist.- The 1995 ADA House of Delegates voted at annual session to boost studentrepresentation to from one delegate up to five.- The Paffenbarger Research Center received a gift of $30,000 from the Great-West Lifeand Annuity Insurance Co. to fund a Research Training Fellowship.MEMBER BENEFITSBeing an ADA member also has direct benefits-including discounts on hotel rooms, low-cost insurance and the ADA 1 PLAN, one of the most comprehensive financial servicesprograms in the country.- In 1995, ADAFINCO, a for-profit subsidiary of the ADA, teamed up with Mellon Bank Corp. of Pittsburgh to establish the ADA 1 PLAN. Some of the services under the planinclude:* A Gold Mastercard that features no annual fee and a low six-month introductory annualpercentage rate;* Loan programs that include student loans, federal HEAL consolidation loans, homemortgage loans and home equity lines of credit;* Investment opportunities like certificates of deposit and money market accounts as wellas investment consulting.- In 1995, the Division of Conference and Meeting Services booked more than 12,000nights at discounted rates for ADA members visiting Chicago for meetings, personalbusiness or vacation.
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