ACD: THE YEAR IN REVIEW Where we are & where we are Going

Nanette Elster, JD, MPH, FACD Communications Director, American College of Dentists and Editor, eJACD Associate Professor, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

The closing of one year and the beginning of the next is an ideal time to not only reflect on the past but to make plans for the future. The challenge, however, can often be in how to merge reflection and planning in the present. In this issue of the eJACD, we strive to do just that. We will offer a review of the many accomplishments of the organization and our Fellows, we will provide a glimpse of what lies ahead and we will celebrate where ACD and its members are right now.

“That Which Is”

This issue includes an update of where the College is now in terms of membership, publications, social media postings, ongoing projects, and number of new Fellows inducted. This is offered as a snapshot of the present: who ACD is, what the organization is doing, and where the organization has a presence. To augment this picture, a list of new Fellows along with where they are located is provided as well as brief biographical sketches of the current regents and officers of the College and a list of 2022 awardees. Also, included among what is happening presently in dentistry (and how it impacts the future), is an empirical study by Dr. Donald Chi, et al. entitled “Dentists’ perceptions of how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect future fluoride hesitancy behaviors.” Completing this picture of the current profile of ACD is the speech of the President-Elect (Robert Lamb).

“That Which Was”

Dr. Lamb, in addition to describing the current landscape of ACD, discusses the importance of reflection and appreciation of the past that is needed to propel progress. To further illustrate the value in reflecting on history to understand where we are and where we are going, this issue includes a reprint of a prescient piece from 1984 by Arthur A. Dugoni, “Our Future is Fantastic.” While there is some irony in posting an historical piece about the future, especially one written in 1984, it does reinforce how important and intertwined the past is to the present and the future. Dr. Dugoni concludes: “Dentistry’s future is brighter than ever, and in another 40 years we will look back and reflect that the decades of the 1980’s and 1990’s were unsurpassed in the development of the dental profess[ion].” Now, almost 40 years from publication of Dr. Dugoni’s article, the time has come once again to look at the bright future that is ahead.

“That Which Will Be”

To round out this issue and to animate the words of William Wordsworth, members of ACD were asked their predictions for the future. Board members, section leaders and Fellows were asked: “What do you see on the horizon for the ACD and the profession?” Their responses help to predict the future of the profession and identify some of the ethical challenges that may be on the horizon. In addition to the prognostications of the Fellowship, this issue also includes Dr. Lawrence Garetto’s Convocation Address, “Colleagues, Calling & Care,” delivered to the 252 Fellows who were inducted in 2022 and their friends, sponsors and family members. His call to action for incoming Fellows is to acknowledge and uphold the ideals of the profession as established over a century ago while recognizing their own potential to maintain (if not elevate) the esteem of the profession. Finally, the issue ends with a Call for Submissions to a future issue of the eJACD which is tackling what was once a futuristic technology: Artificial or Augmented Intelligence.

In this second century of ACD, the College and its Fellows will continue to honor and reflect on the past, celebrate the present and strive to maintain and elevate the profession in the future. All this is done in an effort to uphold the mission of the College: “to advance excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership in dentistry.”

The College By The Numbers

28,031 acd.org number of users

19,998 dentalethics.org number of users

40,512

Successfully completed on dentalethics.org

MEMBERCLICKS

ACD’s membership database, directory, and communication tool.

5 Fellows

1 Affiliate Member

Identified as “Super Users,” with time spent in the Members section rivaling that of the Staff.

1149 Fellowship Profiles with No email Address

Down from 1300 in 2021, and nearly 3,000 at the beginning of 2021.

SOCIAL MEDIA

1707 Facebook Subscribers

Up from 1200 in 2021.

900 Instagram Followers

More than double the number from January 2021.

438 YouTube Subscribers

Up from 200 in 2021.

36,160

Video Views

Up from 21,000 views in 2021. The ethics dilemma video, Patient in Pain is the most-watched presentation with 7,304 views.

100 LinkedIn Followers

At the end of 2022, the ACD gained control of its LinkedIn account and plans to post content regularly in 2023.

252 New Fellows Inducted in 2022. 51 Average age of the Fellows inducted in 2022. The youngest class of new Fellows in at least a decade. The average age of new Fellows in 2021 was 52.

30 Fellows Awarded the Lifetime Achievement Medal in 2022. Celebrating their 50th year of Fellowship. Almost double the number awarded in 2021 (16).

1081 Fellows in Regency 6

Making it the largest Regency. Regency 6 consists of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

3,222 Active Fellows