The American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) will maintain its status with the largest national dental hygiene meeting with more than 1,700 dental hygienists, and more than 2,000 total participants set to attend the Center for Lifelong Learning at the 88th Annual Session (CLL/AS). The meeting takes place June 15-21, at the Nashville Convention Center and Renaissance Marriott Hotel.

News Highlights

Meeting Format

Now in the fourth year of the combined meeting format for the Center for Lifelong Learning and Annual Session, CLL at the 88th Annual Session features a variety of continuing education career tracks on the front end and the ADHA business meetings on the back end.

Center for Lifelong Learning

Between Thursday, June 16 - Saturday, June 18 ADHA will host the CLL portion of the meeting which includes 32 cutting-edge continuing education courses with nationally known speakers as well as an exhibition with more than 100 companies displaying the latest products and information in the oral healthcare industry.

A brand new feature, unique to CLL will be ADHA/Henry Schein Dream Center. The Dream Center is the first-ever interactive, hands-on operatory experience on the exhibit floor. The Dream Center will feature a full operatory with five different product stations for attendees to visit and explore the latest in dental hygiene technology. The product stations and sponsors are as follows:

- Salivary Diagnostics-OralDNA Labs
- Loupes & Infection Control-Orascoptic and Kerr Total Care
- Ultrasonics-DENTSPLY Professional
- Spectra, Caries Detection Aide-Air Techniques
- Lasers-Ivoclar Vivadent

A center station will provide the full operatory experience provided by DentalEZ Group. Each station will include a five-minute educational interaction with a representative from the sponsoring company in which participants will receive a one-on-one hands-on experience.

88th Annual Session

Following CLL will be the 88th Annual Session, June 19-21. The meeting will focus on the business-related activities of the association. Forums and workshops have been streamlined to be topic driven and create a more collaborative discussion environment. As part of the 88th Annual Session, The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) will host an Open Hearing on Saturday, June 18 from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. The purpose of this Open Hearing is to provide individuals, institutions and organizations that will be affected by the document an opportunity to comment on proposed revisions to the Accreditation Standards for Dental Hygiene Education Programs.

Community Service Day

Kicking off the Center for Lifelong Learning at the 88th Annual Session, ADHA-in collaboration with The Wrigley Foundation-will be sponsoring a community service day. Partnering with Remington College Dental Hygiene clinic, on Wednesday, June 15th, dental hygienist volunteers will host school-age children between the ages of four four and 18 from local Nashville area summer camps and day care institutions. Attendees will receive dental hygiene education as well as create a take home safety kit that will include their height and weight, tooth imprints, and a photo for their parents to keep on file.

Dental decay (cavities) is the most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting 50 percent of children by middle childhood and nearly 70 percent by late adolescence. Fortunately most oral diseases can be prevented. Education is one of the most effective tools in the fight against dental decay. It is important to teach children early on good oral health care techniques and the importance of good habits.

Association Update

On Tuesday, June 21, ADHA will offer for the first time a three-part workshop focusing on the what ADHA is doing to move the profession forward and a preview of an exciting new program that will be debuting this year. This will be an interactive workshop with time for questions and answers throughout the three different parts. The workshop parts are as follows:

Part I: The Kellogg Foundation Five State Dental Therapist Initiative and What it Means to Your Profession

This portion will provide information to attendees about the history, purpose, and planned efforts related to the Kellogg Foundation's national dental therapist initiative. The panel will provide participants the ability to learn more about the Kellogg initiative and how it impacts dental hygiene education, practice, and state-level advocacy.

Part II: Executive Committee/Staff Panel at Annual Session

The Executive Committee/Staff Panel portion of the workshop will use the President's and Executive Director's Annual Reports as background, to provide an update to provide an update on how ADHA's strategic plan fits into the changing professional landscape and ask questions of the staff and leadership.

Part III: Special Announcement from 2011-12 President Pam Quinones

Incoming ADHA President Pam Quinones, RDH, BS, will provide an overview of an exciting new program developed and presented through corporate support that is designed to address the broad based need for leadership development and how these leadership skills can help to navigate the new landscape of dental hygiene career opportunities. This new program is called: ADHA Professional Leadership Workshop. Better Together.

Source:
American Dental Hygienists' Association