AAO President's Report
Dr. Mel DeSoto
It has been a very busy two months since the Annual Session in San Francisco, California, and my assuming the office of AAO President. The office comes with a high level of responsibility, but with many rewards as well. I am grateful to have had the years of experience on the Board of Trustees as preparation, and I hope to represent the AAO with the high level of professionalism that was the mark of my predecessors from the SWSO.
My Fall report for the last two years has been dominated by the actions taken by the Commission of Dental Accreditation, as it meets on the last Friday in July. At its last meeting, the Commission both approved the accreditation of the new OEC-sponsored program at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and changed the definition of Standard 1.1. The revised standard eliminates any reference to the “professional options of the students/graduates.” It only requires that financial support from entities outside the institution not compromise the teaching, clinical, or research components of the program. The commission did not think that it was an appropriate role for them to be involved with contracts between the students and outside entities. They had interpreted the OEC programs to be in compliance with the standard, even when the professional options provision was in place. This latest action is consistent with the majority opinion of the commission on corporate-sponsored programs, as evidenced by their actions from the first application from Jacksonville, Florida. The complicated interactions between the AAO and the commission cannot be explained simply in a newsletter. Some have criticized the Board of Trustees for doing too little and I understand that perception, because the outcome is not what we had supported. Our position has been, and I hope that it always will be, that academic freedom in each institution is essential for preparing orthodontic residents to deliver the best quality orthodontic care to the public. We have doubts concerning the academic freedom of programs that are taking money in exchange for a definite number of students. I can assure you that the outcome came not for lack of effort on our part, in delivering that simple message. We could not have tried or worked harder. The commission was just as convinced that corporate sponsorship would not compromise the integrity of programs, and the authority to accredit belongs to the commission.
I submitted a resolution to the House of Delegates in San Francisco that would have allocated $2 million of AAO revenues annually to augment faculty salaried at all accredited orthodontic programs in the U.S. and Canada. The House referred the resolution and authorized me to appoint a task force to study the issue and report to the 2006 House of Delegates. Orthodontic education is in an ever-deepening crisis and our previous efforts, although sound, have been unsuccessful. Our present faculty is aging, with many close to retirement and there is no one to replace them. All surveys clearly indicate that the problem is low salaries. Traditional sources of funding are drying up. Many ortho programs have depended upon Graduate Medical Education (GME) funds from the federal government for survival. Congress has voted to end GME funding next year, which will result in even more faculty shortages. The AAOF has had extraordinary success in fundraising, but since it spends only interest and not principle, the amount that it will expend for research and faculty awards this year is only $337,000. We have generous orthodontists who support their school financially, but that is still insufficient to pay competitive faculty salaries. By funding some of the burden through the AAO, all AAO members will contribute to the solution, rather than just a small supply of volunteers. Two million dollars would require $231 per member annually or less than $20 per month. We have had two consecutive years that the AAO has produced $3 million surpluses. We can fund the education effort without the necessity of a full $231 dues increase.
The task force is busy gathering evidence from orthodontic chairs that the money would be effective in strengthening their efforts to retain and recruit faculty. There is not one of us in this specialty that does not owe their education to a previous generation. We should all be contributing and I hope that you will all be supportive of passing this legislation in the next House. I challenge you to ask the chair of the department in which you trained if there is a crisis and if an extra $30-35K annually per department would help stem the tide.
I want to invite all of you to the annual session in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 27– May 2, 2006. We have lectures for staff and Doctors and life- enhancement programs for everybody, including spouses. Scott Hamilton, Dean Jensen, Jerry English, Buzzy Leithead, and Buzz Behrents have put an extravaganza together with more options than ever before and in a city known for food and festivities. You can register beginning October 3rd on the AAO website. I strongly urge you to register early and book your rooms through the AAO. The New Orleans Jazz Fest will be held the same weekend and the city will be packed with music and people. Those that book late risk higher rates for less desirable rooms.
You can reach me at mbdesoto@earthlin.net, by phone at 318-686-6411, and by fax at 318-686-5187 to discuss any issues that interest you. Hope to see all of you in Austin.