There are a variety of professional groups that your dentist can be a part of. There is the ADA American Dental Association, the American Dental Institute, or the American Dental Society. All are reputable, all have much to offer their members. The big question, is why are there dentists out there who are not involved?
Technology and techniques of the dental care field are constantly growing and being improved upon. And as such, American dental schools are constantly updating their curricula to impart these newest developments. Therefore, if your dentist is not a part of something like the American Dental Institute, how is she learning these new, better practices? Being a dentist requires regular education so that those new procedures are properly learned, and can be implemented in practice. A dentist who does not strive to continue their education, and does not make the effort to learn the newest methods, does not care enough about their profession and patients.
If a dentist really wanted to be the best dentist available, then she would make it a goal to get the newest certification as soon as it is available. This effort proves a dedication to her patients and profession that cannot be expressed in any other way. By investing the funds and time to learn the newest practices, she is telling her patients that the latest in dental technique and technology is of the utmost importance. Because if the process can make things quicker, less painful, cheaper, or easier in any way, it benefits both the dentist and patient. A dentist learning the newest information promotes a symbiotic relationship between dentist and patient.
