AAO connections
Advisor Guide.
The mission of AAO Connections is to support and facilitate professional relationships between members across the country. Using the network, members have the unique opportunity to connect directly with advisors, learning from their knowledge and experience.

How it Works
- AAO invites members from across the country to join the platform and create profiles as advisors or learners.
- Using the platform, learners schedule sessions with advisors by filtering through the network of advisors based on their knowledge areas of interest (i.e. career and practice transitions, clinical, practice management, etc.) and topics they’d like to discuss about orthodontics (i.e. career exploration, diagnosis and treatment planning, business and strategic planning, etc.).
- Confirmation emails are sent to both the learner and advisor with session date and time, a link to the session, and a connection test to ensure audio/visual is set up properly for the session.
- Sessions are held at the scheduled time on the platform via live video (preferred) or phone chat.
Creating Your Advisor Account
- Create your account by clicking “Sign Up” from https://connections.aaoinfo.org/.
- Complete a brief profile setup. Please complete every step and make sure to upload a picture!
- Set your availability. You can do this manually or connect and sync your online calendar to your profile, carving out what days/times you are available to talk to members.
- You can always make edits to your account by logging in and using the drop down menu under your name located in the upper right corner of the website or edit icons from your profile page.
Coaching Session Best Practices
- Kick off the session with the member. Thank them for scheduling time and their interest in the topic.
- Explain that you are there to help with questions about your career, practice, and profession.
- Listen and give the members the opportunity to ask questions.
- Share your experiences, including mistakes and challenges, as those are often the best moments for learning. Relate to their experiences by sharing yours.
- Ask questions that will probe their knowledge, passions, and interest to help get a sense of their skill set.
- Rate the session from 1 (unprepared) to 5 (outstanding) following your session.