TDA news
Texas Dental Association:
Why New Dentists Join
by Dr. William H. Gerlach
Texas Dental Association Board of Directors, Northeast Division Vice President
Transformational changes due to the internet have altered every
aspect of life. This includes organizations and associations – the
need to ‘join’ has changed as we are able to communicate far more
effectively with our friends, peers and colleagues. Given such,
what compels our new dentists to join the ADA Tripartite? That
underlying question is at the heart of membership, so we asked a
series of questions from two young colleagues, Dr. Allison Fowler
and Dr. Elise Pruett. You may find their answers interesting.
Q: When you think of ADA benefits, what is the first thing that
comes to mind?
Dr. Pruett: It gives us a go-to source for a unified stance on different topics. For example, if I have a patient asking about fluoride, I can educate them with information backed up by
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science. Essentially, the evidenced based dentistry gives us all
a solid foundation which is not regionally specific.
Dr. Fowler: For a solo practitioner in his or her office, the ADA
gives you information and ideas when a patient has a question.
The publications allow those thoughts to be easily shared with all
of us. This includes changes in the laws, rules and regulations.
Q: Other than advancing patient care, what are other advantages
of joining the ADA Tripartite?
Dr. Fowler: I am a member of organized dentistry because we
are on this earth to develop meaningful interactions with people. Only dentists can relate to the same challenges and the
same successes as you. You can run into a buddy and say, “Oh
my gosh, this happened to me last week.” It keeps dentistry
from being a lonely and isolating place.