"Thanks for Being an ADA Delegate" Campaign - #ThanksHOD - Now Underway

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of the extra time and commitment that is involved in serving as a member of the American Dental Association's House of Delegates (HOD), TEAM 1500 has launched the #ThanksHOD – "Thanks for Being an ADA Delegate" campaign.

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The #ThanksHOD campaign coincides with the 2015 ADA Annual Convention now underway in Washington D.C.

TEAM 1500 is encouraging all ADA members, as well as dental patients, to use the Twitter tag #ThanksHOD to post a message of appreciation to ADA delegates for the important role they play.

"Members of the House of Delegates are trustees of the dental profession and guardians of the nation's oral health," explains Dean Rotbart, TEAM 1500 director. "The guidelines that they establish help determine how dentistry is practiced in the United States."

At this year's ADA Annual Convention, members of the ADA House of Delegates will be asked to vote on Resolution 77, a proposal to amend the ADA's current guidelines governing the use of oral sedation. 

TEAM 1500, a coalition representing thousands of dentists and dental patients, strongly opposes ADA Resolution 77.  If approved, TEAM 1500 says ADA Resolution 77 will increase the cost of basic dental services significantly, creating a disproportionate burden on poor and minority dental patients.

Earlier this week noted dental pain and pain control expert Dr. Raymond Dionne used scientific and clinical evidence to expose the fallacy that ADA Resolution 77 would increase dental patient safety.

Speaking to a large audience that included voting members of the ADA's HOD, Dr. Dionne – who has published more than 100 scientific manuscripts related to his work on pain and pain control – described the core argument in support of ADA Resolution 77 as scientifically unsound.

In fact, Dr. Dionne joined with other noted scientists and health care professionals in expressing the concern that ADA Resolution 77 – if adopted – will actually harm public health and safety.

A free replay of the briefing is available at: http://tinyurl.com/team1500listen-03.

While members of the ADA HOD are elected by fellow ADA members, TEAM 1500 is honoring ADA HOD members with the #ThanksHOD campaign because ADA delegates ultimately serve the public at large and hence must set aside any self-interest to serve the well-being of all dental patients.

An Economic Impact Study released by TEAM 1500 in late October (See: http://tinyurl.com/team1500EIS), known as T1EIS, estimates that as many as 50,000 patients – the majority of them from lower-income and minority communities – will stop getting routine dental treatments within the first two years following the adoption of ADA Resolution 77. Higher dental fees and longer wait times to see a qualified dentist will drive patients away en masse, T1EIS found. Within five years, an estimated 250,000 fearful and anxious patients who currently see a dentist on a regular basis will stop going.

During his national teleconference, Dr. Dionne expressed his concern that ADA Resolution 77, if passed, would be "deleterious to public health" because it makes access to dental care more difficult.

Media contact:

Dean Rotbart

303-800-6081

SOURCE TEAM 1500