The ADPD's Mission

Dentistry for people with special needs is a personally rewarding experience that tests the creativity and resourcefulness of the clinician. Membership in the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities (ADPD) provides technical and moral support for clinicians and facilitates networking among caring, involved peers.

  1. The Annual National Conference on Special Care Issues in Dentistry provides a forum for friendships, as well as for the exchange of ideas. It also helps to assure members that they are practicing within the accepted standards of care for dental patients with special needs.
  2. The ADPD is a group of involved professionals. If a member has a difficult case or needs advice on any topic related to dental care for patients with disabilities, he or she can call a toll-free number and an experienced colleague will provide a personal consultation. This is a unique service of the ADPD and alone is worth the price of membership.
  3. The ADPD advocates on behalf of both patients with special needs and clinicians who serve them. Advocacy issues include access to care, adequate predoctoral education, and fair and reasonable compensation for services. In this regard, ADPD benefits from being a component group of Special Care Dentistry alomg with the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry and the American Association of Hospital dentists. Joint advocacy allows a more forceful voice when intervening on behalf of the special needs of these three component groups of Special are Dentistry.
  4. The Special Care in Dentistry journal is published six times a year and is the only journal dedicated to the special concerns of dentistry for people with special needs. It is available as a member benefit.
  5. The ADPD newsletter, Interface, provides timely information on current and future events within the field and the organization.
  6. Membership in the ADPD also entitles you to membership in the International Association of Dentistry for the Handicapped, which sponsors a biennial congress for the exchange of information among clinicians around the world.

Know an outstanding student working with people with disabilities?  Apply for an ADPD student award today!