Graduating from ASDA to ADA

Dental programs reach high ADA membership sign-ups

Dental students have a lot of decisions to make upon graduating from dental school. Where will I practice? Will I move on to a specialty? How will I pay down this debt I incurred? 

Another decision they’ll have to make is whether to continue being an ADA member. More than eight out of 10 students are ADA members through the American Student Dental Association. Dental school graduates can become ADA members for $0 national dues for 18 months after graduation. And postodoctoral students can be members for $0 national dues for the duration of their programs. But they need to actively apply. 

For a handful of dental schools, this was a no brainer, with 100% of the 2024 graduating class signing up to be ADA members. Many others hit 95% enrollment during the National Signing Day season, which ran from Jan. 1-May 31 and supports graduating dental students in converting from dental student membership to ADA dentist membership. 

ADA News spoke with some of these schools about their 2024 signing day results, what it’s like partnering with their state dental societies and the advantages of organized dentistry.

For East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, 2024 marked the seventh consecutive year of 100% ADA membership signups. This remarkable turnout was a product of working hand in hand — from the dean’s office down to the faculty — with the North Carolina Dental Society and other organized dentistry organizations, said Paul Lindauer, D.D.S., assistant dean of academic success and ADA faculty ambassador.  

Leadership and staff from the state dental society visit ECU classrooms during the first week of the school year to familiarize students with organized dentistry early on. After the first week, there are touchpoints throughout the first year, and in the second year, representatives from various dental organizations are invited to attend the school’s “white coat ceremony,” for second year students. In the final two years students have many opportunities to learn about and actively participate in organized dentistry, including the option to attend an annual North Carolina Dental Society session in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with ECU sponsoring their trip. 

“The students are actively engaged in all aspects from day one. ECU dental students have a voting member in the [North Carolina Dental Society] House of Delegates and Board of Trustees. They’re not strangers to the profession,” Dr. Lindauer said. “North Carolina Dental Society, the state board and the dental school are actively engaged, and they all are reinforcing one another. It’s like a triangle, which is a very stable architectural principle.”

Gregory Chadwick, D.D.S., dean of the dental program, said by the time National Signing Day rolls around, it’s “nothing new” to ECU students. Applying for ADA membership is the next logical step, as all ECU students are ASDA members throughout school and thus thoroughly acquainted with the idea of organized dentistry. ADA membership offers many perks, he noted, but perhaps one of the biggest rewards is the professional relationships it fosters.

“Yes, they have their degree, they’re going to go into a practice situation, but I think the signing day and the opportunity to get involved with organized dentistry is another entry point into the profession. In other words, graduation is the patient care piece. The North Carolina Dental Society is the colleagues in their profession that they’re going to be with, hopefully, for the rest of their lives.”

Howard University College of Dentistry reached 100% ADA membership signups this year. The university is one of the oldest dental schools in the country and ranks among the highest producers of the nation’s Black professionals in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, engineering, nursing, architecture, religion, law, music, social work and education. The signup results can be partly attributed to Howard’s close partnership with the D.C. Dental Society and active student advisors, said Andrea Jackson, D.D.S., dean of the dental school. She also said that prior to National Signing Day there was a great deal of promotion discussing the benefits of organized dentistry and lifelong learning.

Every dental class, each of which includes approximately 75 students, learns what ADA membership provides, such as helping members stay aware of industry updates in licensure, continuing education, insurance and more. Dr. Jackson said the 100% turnout will help the future dentists create a community of other likeminded individuals. 

“We like to make sure that all of our students are participating in things that will benefit them eventually as they grow into the profession and they graduate. Having them all participate just makes [National Signing Day] more cohesive and [makes] sure that everyone gets the information. Sometimes it’s difficult to pass that on, and when you only get partial participation you’re not sure that everyone is taking advantage of the benefits they have with the organization and as a student. And we don’t like to leave anyone behind, so we try to prevent that from happening,” Dr. Jackson said. 

One hundred percent of Louisiana State University School of Dentistry’s 2024 dental class, or all 75 students, signed up for ADA membership on National Signing Day. According to Janet Southerland, D.D.S., vice chancellor for academic affairs at LSU, this is due, in part, to the student affairs office, student government representatives and LSU’s “close, collaborative” relationships with state organizations like the Louisiana Dental Association and the New Orleans Dental Association. She said the latter organizations contribute to student awareness about organized dentistry and have sponsored many programs for LSU students, thus leading to a sense of closeness and community.

“They have a great influence on our faculty and students,” she said. “Those relationships are probably really the impetus for us achieving that 100%.”

She said some of the greatest benefits of organized dentistry are the dental advocacy component, both statewide and nationally, and support for students — whether through fundraising, scholarships, professorships and more. 

“[This turnout shows] the commitment to lifelong learning and to being a part of organized dentistry — the importance of it. [Organized dentistry is] serving as a model and role model for our students as they learn and transition from student to dental professional and colleague,” Dr. Southerland said.

Over the past few years, New York University College of Dentistry increased its ADA membership signups from approximately 20% to 95%. According to Vera Tang, D.D.S., M.S., clinical professor, vice chair and predoctoral program director in the Department of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry and ADA faculty ambassador, it was a multifactorial effort that led to almost all 400 dental students applying for ADA membership. 

Dr. Tang, who was instrumental in this turnout, said she starts promoting ADA membership signups well before National Signing Day. She works with NYU Student Affairs to advertise the event and announces it in her own classes. She also deploys a secret weapon: brownies. 

“The funny thing is, the brownies bring them in. And because they’re prepackaged, I’m able to store them in my little mini fridge. If they miss Signing Day, they trickle in sometime before graduation to ‘pick up the brownies’ and the chairside instructor manual, along with all the other benefits to signing up too,” Dr. Tang said. 

Dr. Tang has been involved in organized dentistry since she was a student at NYU College of Dentistry. She said she learned early on the importance of organized dentistry to students’ and dentists’ lives and continues to be active as NYU’s American Student Dental Association faculty advisor. One of the goals, Dr. Tang said, is to stay visible by working with ASDA students on events and advocacy efforts. For instance, about 20 students attended the 2024 ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. 

“Getting the fourth-year class to sign up nearly at 95% speaks volumes about how students want to become part of the ADA, and they see the value; not the value of the brownie but the value of organized dentistry,” Dr. Tang said. 

The Harvard School of Dental Medicine achieved 100% ADA membership signup after ADA faculty ambassador and faculty member Maritza Morell, D.M.D., discovered earlier this year that the conversion rates from student memberships to ADA memberships was lacking. Dr. Morell found this particularly odd because many of them were part of ASDA, so she talked with Sapna Nath, D.M.D., class of 2024 president, about why there was such a low conversion rate. 

“I think it was a little bit of a disconnect. A lot of them thought that it was an automatic conversion. We started saying, ‘No, no, it’s not an automatic conversion. You still have to apply,” Dr. Morell said.

From there, Harvard partnered with the Massachusetts Dental Society to hold events for the approximately 40 dental students about the benefits of signing up for ADA membership. One of the best parts of organized dentistry is the mentorship and networking opportunities it offers, Dr. Morell said. She also highlighted the importance of the ADA’s political action and lobbying for the dental community. 

“I’m so excited. I feel a bit of pressure to make sure the next year’s class does the same, but it’s just rewarding,” Dr. Morell said of the 100% turnout. “I hope [the students] actually do see the benefit in the first or second year at least and continue to be paying members. I think they will.”

Now in its 51st year, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine achieved 100% ADA membership signups for the 2024 National Signing Day. Dean Patrick Lloyd, D.D.S., M.S., attributes this turnout to partnering with the New York State Dental Association in an effort to advocate for legislative initiatives, hold events like Give Kids A Smile and develop plans to support workforce shortage areas. 

“We do these three things very publicly, which to me, exposes students during their training as to the benefits of that partnership for the public and for the profession. So, they leave here having four years of witnessing this firsthand, either on our campus, in our school, within our county, within our state or our capitol,” Dr. Lloyd said. 

Dr. Lloyd also noted that the majority of his faculty belong to the ADA and a significant number of his ADA-member faculty serve in leadership roles, which he said provides a great example to students. He added that the latest graduating dental class, 43 students, seems to understand the value of participating in and supporting organized dentistry for their career. 

“I often say that being a professional means belonging to the parent organization of the profession,” Dr. Lloyd said. “We’ve reached that ambition of getting them to see that part of being a [dentist] is belonging to the professional organization that represents that profession. I feel like we’ve reached our goal. And we all feel very proud about that.”