Chicago – In a move that stunned many in the dental world, the American Dental Association’s House of Delegates enacted amendments to the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct that acknowledge dental specialties recognized in a practitioner’s jurisdiction even if not formally recognized by the ADA.
According to the rationale distributed by the ADA Council of Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs, “The professional landscape concerning the recognition of specialties has undergone dramatic change. Over the past several years, compelled by court decisions, states have begun to recognize specialties beyond the nine dental specialties recognized by the ADA.”
Frank Recker, DDS, JD, attorney for the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, agreed, noting “The American Academy of Implant Dentistry has been successful in pursuing the rights of dentists to advertise their credentials earned from bona fide organizations in specialties not recognized by the ADA. I believe that AAID’s recent victory in the state of Texas, in which a Federal District Court ruled that the state’s regulation that deferred only to the ADA specialties as unconstitutional, was a significant reason for the change voted on by the ADA House of Delegates.”
The amendment to Section 5.H. of the Code would permit educationally qualified dentists practicing in areas of dentistry recognized as specialties in their jurisdictions but not by the ADA to announce as specialists.
“Patients will now have information that helps them make better and more informed choices for their oral health care,” said Dr. Richard Mercurio, President of the AAID. The ADA Council agreed in their report, “The amendments proposed by the Council will support the primary goal of dentists…benefitting the patient.”
Established in 1951, the AAID is the only dental implant organization that offers credentials recognized by state and federal courts as being bona fide. Its membership, which exceeds 5,500, includes general dentists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and prosthodontists from across the United States and in more than 60 other countries.
For more information about the AAID and its credentialed members, please visit www.aaid.com or call the AAID at 312-335-1550.
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