TEAM 1500 Issues Alert to Those Attending ASDA National Leadership Conference for Dental Students

TEAM 1500 Issues Alert to Those Attending ASDA National Leadership Conference for Dental Students

DENVER, Oct. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — TEAM 1500, a public-interest coalition of more than 1,500 healthcare providers and others concerned with patient rights, has issued an alert to dental school students planning to attend the ASDA’s National Leadership Conference, to be held October 30 – November 1 in Chicago.

While the American Dental Association pays lip service to student dentists and helping them cope with the enormous debt resulting from dental school, TEAM 1500 warns that the ADA is poised to approve new guidelines that will add another $35,000 to $50,000 to the debt load of many recent dental school graduates.

Moreover, the ADA proposal, known as Resolution 77, specifically discriminates against recent dental school graduates, who under terms of the proposal, will face costly new training and education requirements that won’t apply to dentists who already offer oral sedation treatments to their patients.

Hundreds of dental school students, many of whom are members of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), participated in a live teleconference on October 19th, featuring a panel of experts discussing Resolution 77 and why it’s unreasonable and unfair to current dental school students. The panel included Dr. Raymond Dionne of East Carolina University and Dr. PJ Joyal of Midwestern University.

The audio of the free teleconference, titled “The Future of Sedation Dentistry: A Teleconference for Dental Students,” is available from www.TEAM1500.org.

While many dental school students, faculty, and ASDA chapter members are aware of ADA Resolution 77 and the “second-class” stature that it would confer on new dental school graduates, most ASDA members – including those attending the National Leadership Conference – remain uninformed.

“The ASDA National Leadership Conference is a wonderful opportunity for dental school students to learn how to apply their medical training in the real world,” says Dean Rotbart, TEAM 1500 director. “In the real world, not everyone who says they are your ally turns out to be a supporter – and the ADA is, unfortunately, a perfect example of this lesson.”

Rotbart likens ADA Resolution 77 to permitting one group of professionals to place a tax on others, without being subject to paying that tax themselves.

“Those pushing ADA Resolution 77 know it will be enormously discriminatory against recent dental school graduates,” Rotbart says. “But they also know that the majority of dental school students won’t realize what hit them until several years after Resolution 77 goes into effect.”

TEAM 1500 is advising ASDA members and those attending the National Leadership Conference to speak up, ask questions, and demand accountability.

“You’ve worked so hard and are too dedicated to patient care to let a tiny group of deceitful ADA leaders foist Resolution 77 on you,” Rotbart says.

ASDA states on its website that it “considers the growing student debt crisis a top priority.” Figures published by the American Dental Education Association note that the average debt per graduating senior is already $247,227.

ADA Resolution 77 would increase that to roughly $300,000 for many recent graduates, TEAM 1500 estimates.

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