American Dental Education Association (ADEA)

Founded in 1923 as the American Association of Dental Schools, American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is a non-profit association representing academic dentistry

Dentistry

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

 based in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 It is known as the Voice of Dental Education.

In 2006, ADEA instituted Open Membership, which has increased the number of ADEA member institutions and engaged their faculty, staff, students, residents, and fellows in the Association’s work and goals, which center around preparing academic dental institutions, their current and future leaders, and the individuals they serve for a substantially different future world.

ADEA institutional members are allied, predoctoral, and postdoctoral dental education programs in the United States and Canada. ADEA individual members are more than 17,500 students, faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as numerous corporations working in oral health education.

Dental education is a broad and varied field that trains people as general dentists, specialists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dental laboratory technicians. ADEA membership mirrors this diversity, so the Association has nearly 50 sections and special interest groups focusing on topics from endodontics

Endodontics

Endodontics is one of the dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, and deals with the tooth pulp and the tissues surrounding the root of a tooth...

, prosthodontics

Prosthodontics

Prosthodontics, also known as dental prosthetics or prosthetic dentistry, is one of nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons...

, and orthodontics

Orthodontics

Orthodontics, orthodontia, or orthodonture is the first specialty of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusions , which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both...

 to dental school admissions and practice administration.

ADEA also fosters interconnected community experiences that enable members to meet their individual goals while leveraging their collective strength:

• ADEA provides valuable support to entering students through its Division of Education Pathways, which supports three application services: ADEA AADSAS (predoctoral), ADEA PASS (postdoctoral), and ADEA CAAPID (postdoctoral international students).
• ADEA encourages students from diverse backgrounds to learn about careers in dentistry
  Dentistry
  Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
  
   as early as elementary school. Programs such as ExploreHealthCareers.org http://ExploreHealthCareers.org, Moving Forward: Bridging the Gap, the AAMC/ADEA Summer Medical and Dental Education Program http://smdep.org, and the W.K. Kellogg/ADEA Minority Dental Faculty Development Program all assist students from underrepresented minority or low income groups in realizing their career goals.
• For dental educators, ADEA offers ongoing opportunities to advance their skills and knowledge. The ADEA Leadership Institute and the ADEA Allied Dental Faculty Leadership Development Program cultivate leadership skills. Online learning sites, fellowship programs, and numerous meetings (including the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition) offer educational programming and networking for those at all stages of their careers.
• To keep members informed about scholarly research, current issues, and everything in between, ADEA publishes the peer-reviewed [Journal of Dental Education,] http://www.jdentaled.org the Bulletin of Dental Education Online, ADEA Trends in Dental Education, the [ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools,]http://www.adea.org/publications/Pages/OfficialGuide.aspx and much more.

ADEA determines best practices for dental education and encourages change in dental education programs and institutions that will benefit everyone. The ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education has engaged representatives from each U.S. dental school specifically to examine dental school curricula.

Also, through the ADEAGies Foundation, ADEA provides financial support for dental education, research, and leadership.

ADEA's website is http://www.adea.org http://www.adea.org.

As of 2011, Levi Zarbano accepted the position as the ADEA Representative for the Class of 2014 at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. His headstrong attitude and firm values serve to reinforce his ability to contribute to the betterment of dental education.