Every generation of orthodontists inherits a profession that others helped build. The question is what kind of foundation the next generation will inherit from us. 

For residents and new orthodontists, that investment has immediate, practical value: helping manage educational debt, understanding contracts and risk, making career and practice decisions, and building relationships with colleagues and mentors before they have to navigate those challenges alone. 

It matters well beyond the first few years of practice. Today’s residents will become the clinicians, practice leaders, educators, researchers, advocates, and mentors who shape orthodontics next. AAO invests in that transition through financial resources, resident education, career support, professional connections, and programs designed specifically for the move from residency into practice. 

Support Starts During Residency 

AAO brings practical education directly into residency programs through its Orthodontic Residency Program Presentations. Offered at no cost to ADA/CDA-accredited orthodontic programs, presentations include Resident Vitals, Financial Management for Residents, the Resident Legal Course, Risk Management for Residents, and information about AAO-Endorsed Insurance. 

The subjects are deliberately practical. Residents can learn about student debt and financial planning, employment contracts, informed consent, HIPAA, professional liability, patient relationships, and other responsibilities they will encounter as they enter practice. 

Financial support also begins during training. AAO Student Members can enroll in complimentary disability and term life insurance coverage, and student membership includes complimentary Annual Session registration when the early registration deadline is met.  

Helping with the Financial Transition 

Educational debt can influence decisions about employment, practice ownership, and where a new orthodontist chooses to practice. AAO addresses that pressure in several ways, including student debt advocacy and member resources. 

Through AAO Endorsed Products & Services, qualifying members can receive an exclusive rate reduction through SoFi Student Loan Refinancing.  

The Host a New Doctor program takes a different approach. Selected early-career orthodontists carrying substantial student debt can receive financial assistance to attend Annual Session, including registration, hotel accommodations, and travel reimbursement, giving them access to education, technology, mentors, colleagues, and professional connections at a formative point in their careers. 

Connecting Residents to the Specialty 

That sense of professional community can begin before graduation. The Graduate Orthodontic Residents Program (GORP) brings residents together for clinical and scientific education, networking, and connections with peers and specialty leaders. AAO involvement introduces residents to the resources, advocacy, leadership opportunities, and professional community available as they begin their careers.  

As the transition to practice gets closer, the AAO Career Center can help members explore employment opportunities, while Practice Transition Essentials offers guidance for those considering starting or purchasing a practice.  

Each resource addresses a different need, but together they serve a larger purpose: helping new orthodontists enter the profession with more knowledge, stronger connections, and a better foundation for what comes next. 

Investing in Future Educators 

Investing in the next generation also means investing in the people who will teach them. Through the For the Future campaign, AAO and the AAO Foundation are supporting Full-Time Faculty Fellowships designed to help recruit and retain orthodontic educators. Nearly half of faculty members at orthodontic programs are over age 60 and educational debt can make a full-time academic career more difficult for younger orthodontists to pursue. 

The two-year, $30,000 fellowship supplements the salaries of orthodontists committed to full-time academics. The investment has shown lasting reach: 87.5% of fellowship recipients remain in academia, and fellows have gone on to serve as department chairs, program directors, and clinic directors. Supporting an educator can ultimately strengthen the training of many future orthodontists. 

Building What the Next Generation Will Inherit 

Today’s established orthodontists benefited from a specialty strengthened by those who came before them. Residents and new orthodontists are inheriting that infrastructure now. 

Supporting them, and the educators who prepare them, is not simply about providing student benefits. It is an investment in the people who will care for future patients, leadpractices, teach residents, conduct research, advocate for orthodontics, and eventually support the generation that follows them. 

A strong specialty does not ask each generation to begin again. It gives the next one something strong to build on.