AAO Advocacy/AAOPAC FY25 Q2 Updates and Highlights
AAO members across the United States and Canada continue to make a difference for AAO advocacy priorities. This quarter, AAO Advocacy and the AAO Political Action Committee were represented at all fall Constituent meetings with AAO staff in attendance – at the PAC booth, with speaking engagements, Board presentations and more.

AAOPAC continues to secure record-breaking contributions, including another fall season of outstanding support at regional Constituent annual meetings. We would like to express our thanks to the Board of Trustees leadership, the Council on Government Advocacy (COGA), AAOPAC, AAOPAC State Captains, and other National Advocacy Network volunteer leadership for leading the charge and sharing the message of the impact of AAOPAC. 

Our Grassroots advocacy network is bigger and better than ever! The FY25 2nd quarter saw over 1,550 grassroots actions and trainings taken by AAO member advocates on AAO Advocacy policy priorities, including:
● The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act,
● The AAO’s own Bullying Bites campaign,
● The Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act,
● A message of thanks to veteran US Service Members serving in Congress, and
● A valuable petition to the FDA (outlined below)

Members also enjoyed two unique grassroots virtual offerings, a webinar with former U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis that focused on the Employer Student Loan Repayment Program, and a Federal Election Debrief with AAO federal contract lobbyists Alex Campau and Meagan Foster of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies.

AAOPAC continues to fuel our advocacy success not only in Washington, D.C. but also in states throughout the country.

FDA Petition Drive Yields Nearly 1,100 Member Signatures, with More Anticipated
Following a meeting in July in Washington D.C. between AAO members, AAO staff, and key leaders at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AAO members shared clinical stories about risks and harms related to direct-to-consumer (DTC) clear aligners with the FDA team, which included dentists.

The FDA expressed interest in learning more from AAO members about their experiences with patients requiring retreatment from mail-order orthodontic treatment models without an initial in-person examination. To accurately depict how widely the issue impacts orthodontic patients, the AAO introduced a petition for members to sign attesting they have seen patients in need of retreatment.

This petition will be shared as a letter with the FDA in spring of 2025, and to date has garnered nearly 1,100 signatures. If you are interested in joining the petition, please text the word “FDA” to the number 52886 and follow the link.

Ohio AAO members participated in the second annual 2024 AAO state lobby day with the Ohio Association of Orthodontists in Columbus on November 20, organized by AAO Advocacy staff and the Ockerman Consulting team.  Thirteen advocates, including AAOPAC Board member Dr. Phillip Beckwith and several National Advocacy Network leaders, Dr. Dale Anne Featheringham, Dr. Parker Heiner, and Dr. Jonathan Shue, advocated with AAO/OAO members in meetings with state lawmakers and staff. Thank you for making a difference through your advocacy and outreach!

We truly appreciate the power of AAO Grassroots and the passion of our member advocates.  You can learn more about what AAO Advocacy and AAOPAC are doing through the power of grassroots engagement by clicking to see the September-November Q2 Dashboard.

View the FY25 Q2 Dashboard