A new commission that will oversee decisions about recognition of dental specialties and their certifying boards met for the first time May 9-10 at the American Dental Association headquarters in Chicago.
Among the meeting participants was Dr. Andrew J. Kwasny of Erie, Pennsylvania, who was appointed by the AAO as its representative on the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards. The ADA announced that the commission includes nine general dentists, appointed by the ADA Board of Trustees, and one specialist from each of the nine recognized specialties, with a public/consumer member still to be appointed. The commission’s initial meeting included establishment of rules, policies, operating procedures and organizational structure.
View the ADA Announcement
Dr. Kwasny became the ADA Third District trustee in 2013 and served a four-year term on the ADA Board. He had been a delegate to the ADA House since 2003 and was a member of the ADA Council on Government Affairs. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Dental Association. Dr. Kwasny completed his dental education and orthodontic residency at the University of Pittsburgh, where he also earned an advanced degree in microbiology.
AAO Leaders Helped Spur ADA Policy on the New Commission
During the 2017 ADA Annual Session last fall, AAO Board members advocated for the resolution that changed the ADA by-laws to allow the creation of the new commission. Dr. Brent Larson, now AAO president, served on an ADA task force that developed the resolution calling for establishment of the commission.
Dr. Larson and Dr. Christopher A. Roberts, now AAO secretary-treasurer, said at the time that the commission would shift responsibility for specialty and certifying board recognition from the state dental boards to the ADA, which would be the preference of most state boards.
Read More about the AAO’s Role in Advocating for the Commission
