The sign above was hoisted above a street in downtown Pittsburgh, the host city of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s (ADHA) annual session. “You belong.” Likely, the banners were developed long before the California Dental Hygienists’ Association withdrew from the ADHA last March (the decision was confirmed by voting delegates from the state association in Fresno the week before the ADHA annual session started).
The difference between the ADHA of the mid-1990s (when I first started paying closer attention to the association) and ADHA of 2016 is night and day. The association has made some remarkable strides as an advocate of dental hygiene. A couple of things I remember off the top of my head was a drive to promote diversity within the profession and a consideration of toughening up of educational standards for dental hygienists (which is a tough decision for any professional trade association, telling many members that they need more education). The ADHA has embraced, in head-on fashion, numerous challenging issues, particularly autonomy for the profession. In Pittsburgh, the ADHA announced afterwards an increased emphasis on its division of research.
Yet, a disconnect between the ADHA and thousands of dental hygienists persists. First, we should clarify what the ADHA is. It is a professional trade association with no legal authority to change the laws governing the profession. The association can’t change unfair working conditions for dental hygienists. The association can’t change the scope of practice for dental hygienists. The association is supposed to recommend, recommend, recommend, etc., to lawmakers and regulatory agencies as an advocate for dental hygienists.
The ADHA is your national voice. The association can advocate for better working conditions. The association can advocate for changing the scope of dental hygiene practice. If you feel the ADHA is not your advocate or represents your voice as a dental hygienist, we need to know the reasons why. Please take a moment to answer this short survey. The survey in intended to be completed only by dental hygienists practicing in the United States.
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