ADA and ADEA Launch Groundbreaking Education Project

ADA and ADEA Launch Groundbreaking Education Project
Dental Students, Faculty Gain Live Remote Access to ADA Annual Session Courses

CHICAGO –The American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) announce the launch of a groundbreaking educational opportunity in which dental students and faculty can gain remote access to select live-patient continuing education courses held at the 2009, 2010 and 2011 ADA Annual Sessions.

Developed jointly by the ADA and ADEA and sponsored by Henry Schein Dental, this new initiative will offer North American pre-doctoral and post-doctoral dental students and faculty password-protected access to six, live-patient courses each year in the ADA’s industry exclusive Education in the Round (EIR) learning format. The interactive format will give students the ability to submit real-time questions to the presenters, beginning at this year’s Annual Session in Hawaii.

These demonstrations of state-of-the-art clinical procedures will be available online at no cost, either live during the ADA Annual Session or from an archive through Nov. 3, 2009, with up to 5,000 attendees being able to log-in at any one time.

“The ADA is excited to work with ADEA on this unique, state-of-the-art opportunity,” said Dr. Kathleen O’Loughlin, D.M.D., M.P.H., executive director of the American Dental Association. “This collaboration enables dental students—our future ADA members—to participate in high-quality education on relevant topics and clinical procedures that may not be easily available due to geographical or financial barriers. Effective collaborations such as this leverage our individual Association strengths to create greater value for our current and future members.”

Said ADEA executive director Richard W. Valachovic, D.M.D., M.P.H., “The ADA’s Education in the Round program provides an innovative live learning opportunity many ADEA members would otherwise miss. We are excited to offer this unique educational experience for the first time.”

“Providing stimulating educational events for members is a value of our Association, and sharing this cutting-edge technology advances the entire dental community,” said ADEA President Ronald J. Hunt, D.D.S. “This is another example of ways in which ADEA and the ADA can enhance opportunities for our two communities to work together,”

Education in the Round Offers Unique, Live-Patient Education

Now in its third year at the ADA Annual Session, the live-patient Education in the Round learning format offers meeting attendees the opportunity to experience live-patient procedures in a fully functional dental operatory; an interactive format between attendees and speakers; and live, high-definition video images of the doctor’s work. In 2007 and 2008, the ADA offered 20 Education in the Round courses during which more than 2,750 dentists had the opportunity to explore topics including root coverage grafting; occlusal equilibration; esthetic crown lengthening, endodontic treatment; periodontal surgery; single tooth implants; and esthetic restorations. In post-course evaluations, attendees of these courses rated the EIR learning environment and effectiveness of teaching methods higher than the average for standard lectures.

“The Council on ADA Sessions is always looking for ways to expand our outreach to the future of our profession—current dental students,” said Steve Carstensen, D.D.S., 2009 Program Chair. “We know that the nature of being a student often doesn’t allow for travel to the Annual Session. The live Web feed allows a student to not only watch the procedure, but to get involved by asking the presenters questions in real time. We are excited to provide them with this Annual Session exclusive experience, another example of 150 years of continuous improvement of our meeting.”

An Education in the Round course begins with a 20-30 minute presentation by the lecturer that reviews the procedure, including a summary of the patient’s history. The procedure is then performed and images are displayed on large flat-screen monitors via inter-oral and hand-held cameras.

ADEA is encouraging dental schools to make the live feed available in lecture halls for students to watch the courses, have group discussions and submit real-time questions from their school. In consideration of the time difference between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, students in the Midwest and on the East Coast can log on in the early evening and participate remotely. For more dental school information, visit www.adea.org.

The live courses offered in the Education in the Round learning format are ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (CERP)-approved opportunities for dental professionals. The live Web feed does not qualify for educational credit for dental students.