NEWSROOM

On August 30, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Dr. Natalia Chalmers, D.D.S., would be its first-ever Chief Dental Officer (CDO) in the Office of the Administrator.

On September 1, a group of 11 allied dental organizations, including AGD, ADA, and AAOMS, sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House and Senate, as well as relevant Congressional Committees, urging them to reconsider legislative proposals that would expand Medicare to include a dental benefit.

AGD’s President, Dr. Bruce Cassis, D.D.S., MAGD, sent a letter to every member of the U.S. House and Senate on September 7, asking them to consider the unforeseen and significant consequences of expanding Medicare to include dental benefits.

It is critical for you to register your opposition NOW with your elected officials. Urge them to consider the unforeseen and significant consequences for patients and providers that enacting an unsound policy to expand Medicare to include dental benefits may yield.

Issue covers topics on human resources quandaries, tactics to increase value of your practice and considering obesity in patients.

The AGD Foundation is excited to announce that applications for its 2022 grant funding cycle are now open. The Foundation’s grant program offers support to AGD constituencies and nonprofit community-based outreach programs in the United States and Canada that provide free oral cancer screenings and education to the public.

This month, AGD Impact examines human resources quandaries in the post-COVID age. Feature stories in this issue cover tactics to increase the value of your practice and ways dentists should consider obesity in patients. The issue contains one Self-Instruction exercise worth 1 CE credit.

This month's podcast features John Molinari, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of Detroit Mercy and an expert on infection control in dentistry. Molinari and AGD Podcast Series host Wes Blakeslee, DMD, FAGD, discuss vaccine properties, required standards for testing and follow-up, COVID-19 vaccinations, booster shots and more.

Are you planning to attend the 2021 Fall Fellowship Review Course at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., Oct. 1–2? With the recently reduced AGD special hotel rate ending this Friday, Sept. 10, this is one of your last chances to take advantage of the discounted pricing.

Check out the latest issue, now available online. Highlights include a review of several formulations of topical anesthetics, an analysis of growth factors and cell differentiation in PRF membranes and an assessment of the diagnostic accuracy of digital periapical radiography, just to name a few.

AGD is working to address the most pressing issues faced by our members as we advocate to government entities for general dentists.

Dentists seeking information about the COVID-19 vaccination status of their patients may be able to access that data through their state’s immunization information systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website offers links to help you access this information.

No matter where you are in your career, you can always benefit from the advice of experts in particular fields. We hope you have financial advisers, and many of you may also have personal advisers. We’re fairly certain, however, that neither of these two types of advisers considers the vantage point of the other. So, when it comes to balancing the relationship between your personal and financial well-being, the responsibility is yours.

The AGD Foundation distributed grants in 2021 to Team Maureen. The organization is responsible for the Oral HPV Prevention Toolkit for Dental Professionals, distributed both electronically and in print. It includes relevant, medically sound cancer prevention information and resources for dental professionals in order to reduce oropharyngeal cancer.

Want to get recognized as a Fellow, Master or LLSR at AGD2022? If so, all requirements must be completed and applications submitted by Dec. 31, 2021. Take courses that can help you reach your goal. Learn how to take the Fellowship Exam. Join a MasterTrack Program to stay motivated.

AGD is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Dr. Thaddeus V. Weclew Award. To nominate a deserving colleague or educator, contact education@agd.org, and request a nomination form. The nomination deadline is Dec. 1, 2021.

AGD submitted official comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on August 20, responding to certain aspects of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for Occupational Exposure to COVID–19.

AGD joined Organized Dentistry Coalition (ODC) members in sending letters to the House and Senate sponsors of S.1178/H.R.1854, the Reserve Employers Comprehensive Relief and Uniform Incentives on Taxes (RECRUIT Act).

On August 11, AGD and the AGD Foundation sent a letter in support of H.R.1550, the Promoting Resources to Expand Vaccination, Education and New Treatments for (PREVENT) HPV Cancers Act of 2021, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives returned to Washington D.C. on August 23 to begin considering the adoption of a budget framework that would set the stage for their $3.5 trillion social spending and tax bill, a multi-year physical infrastructure package, and a voting rights bill.