The AAO Board of Trustees met August 19-20 in St. Louis and took action on numerous items including an initiative to bring cutting edge research, practice management and potential speakers from outside the dental profession to the Annual Session Doctors Program. Enhancements to the Annual Session program will be made via:

  • Development of guidelines on Annual Session planning committee make-up to help facilitate diversification of program content, a goal included in recommendations from a committee that investigated approaches to enhancing the program;
  • Formation of an advisory committee to the Annual Session Planning Committee, with the advisory committee to include younger clinicians, younger educators and consultants.

Following are additional highlights from the recent Board of Trustees meeting:

State-by-State List of Medically Necessary Orthodontic Care Qualifying Criteria to be Requested

The National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) will be asked to provide a state-by-state listing of qualifying criteria needed to establish medically necessary care for orthodontics (MNOC), as used by their member insurance payers. The AAO is working with third party payers to streamline qualification and administration of medically necessary orthodontic cases. Insurance payers have been receptive to AAO- proposed auto-qualifiers and a retrospective study to establish efficacy and effectiveness of the qualifiers is underway, but the study will not be completed until late this year. In the meantime, AAO members still face uncertainty in how to submit cases for acceptance.

Endorsed Insurance Program Changes Approved

  • The life insurance amount available for members will be increased up to $3 million, with up to $1.5 million available for members’ spouses.
  • The disability insurance program will change from a unisex rate basis to a gender rate basis as proposed by the carrier, New York Life Insurance (effective April 1, 2017).
  • New programs proposed by New York Life Insurance were approved for addition to the endorsed program options:
    – A critical illness plan;
    – A chronic care rider.

Learn More about AAO Endorsed Insurance

2017 Annual Session Registration Fees Set

Actively practicing US members will pay $370 to register for the 2017 Annual Session, with an additional $150 due if registering after the Early Registration deadline (March 17). The meeting will be April 21-25 in San Diego. Registration will open October 3 at aaoinfo.org.
View Annual Session Registration Fees in All Categories

Component Support and Leadership Development Program Approved

A leadership program for AAO components (state/provincial organizations) will be developed by a planning committee made up of component leaders and past and present constituent (regional organization) executive directors.

Public Service Announcement to Address Dangers of Acidic Beverages to Teeth

The AAO will develop a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for TV and radio that will address the dangers of acidic beverages to teeth including those in orthodontic treatment.

Annual Employment Data to be Collected via Resident Tracking Study

The AAO will conduct a resident tracking study to collect employment data on an annual basis to better understand the job market for residents. Also, the AAO will publish a paper that includes the  findings in an effort to better educate all members on practice locations, employment data and practice opportunities.

2017 CDT Codes to Include Fixed Appliance Removal Code

The Board approved “Removal of Fixed Orthodontic Appliances” for addition to the 2017 CDT code set by the American Dental Association Code Maintenance Committee (CMC). The AAO Council on Orthodontic Health Care endorsed the addition because it addresses the lack of an existing code for removal of orthodontic appliances without the expectation of retention.

Communications Software Will Help Deliver Relevant Content to Members

A new software program will be used by AAO staff to consolidate emails, app push notifications, text messages and app and website content under one system. The program organizes content according to tags or categories in an effort to deliver information of greatest interest to varying membership segments.

Board Seeks to Expand Relationships with Dental Service Organizations

Seeking to ensure continued relevance to AAO members working in non-traditional practice modalities, the AAO created a task force that has begun engaging with dental service organizations (DSOs). The Board will now explore the possibility of reciprocal membership between the AAO and the Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO).