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National Dental Student Lobby Day
“What happens when Congress is thinking about banning amalgam, cutting funding for GPR programs or reauthorizing SCHIP? Are dental students prepared to address these issues to ensure an outcome that is best for our profession? On an individual basis, we are not. Most students are unaware of legislative movements entirely. If you are one of the exceptional students who follows the issues, it is still impossible for you to effectively inform 435 congress members and 100 senators of your position on every dental related issue.
So, how do we address dental related issues? Support ADPAC! ADPAC is the American Dental Political Action Committee. It is a component of Government Affairs and it is the second largest healthcare PAC. The Division of Government Affairs has offices in Washington, DC and Chicago. Between these locations, 30 full-time employees work every day to gather support for the dental profession.
However, individual dentists and students are also needed to make dentistry’s voice heard in Washington. When issues of importance to dentistry arise, the grassroots Action Team network is activated. Action Teams are dentists in each congressional district who have developed a close relationship with their member of Congress. Action Teams are the critical link to ensure that Congress acts in a way that is beneficial to dentistry. The teams inform their members of Congress about issues related to dentistry and they garner support for the positions of the ADA. This approach is far more effective than acting alone because of staff, lobbyists, and Action Teams represent the entire membership. With increased membership and support, ADPAC and the grassroots Action Teams can even better advocate the oral health issues and protect our profession from overly intrusive government.
The easiest way to support ADPAC is to organize and/or participate in your local chapter’s ADPAC drive. Regular membership is only $5 for students but it makes a big difference when combined with funds from all of the members. Students interested in becoming active in grassroots activities should visit the ADA’s advocacy website."
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UNLV School of Dental Medicine Vendor Fair
The UNLV ASDA Chapter Bi-Annual Vendor Fair is a great opportunity for students to learn about dental products and companies. This last year we had about 30 vendors to each fair, including: Crest, Hu-Friedy, Kavo, Orascoptic, and many more! Each vendor fair also includes a student raffle with over $2000 worth of gift certificates and dental products. This event is our ASDA Chapter’s largest fund raising activity. The funds that we make at this event are used to provide community service, sponsor school activities, and send students to national meetings.
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Lunch and Learns
“Spending more than $70 to join an organization is a rip off!” That’s what most people say when it comes to joining ASDA. Well, ASDA happens to be pretty sweet and it has some great perks. First of all, as a member of ASDA you get free life insurance. It may not be millions and millions of dollars but something is better than nothing. But let’s be serious, hopefully none of us are going to be faced with the situation where we’ll ever utilize the life insurance, so an immediate benefit is the Lunch and Learns that are put on by ASDA each month. Outside doctors or vendors come in and buy ASDA members lunch just to listen to them talk about their product. ASDA holds two lunch and learns each month and normally half of those lunches are something other than pizza. Some of the popular meals have been brought in from Quizno’s, Honey Baked Ham, Jason’s Deli, Panda Express and Jimmy John’s. Just figuring in one lunch a month from the aforementioned restaurants will pay off your ASDA fees. Then throw in pizza once a month and it’s like you’re actually making money off of ASDA because you’re getting out more than what you put in, and that’s pretty sweet for the common dental student.”
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