ATTENDING THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION’S LOBBY DAY IN WASHINGTON D.C.

My name is Kendall Block and I am a second-year dental student at the University of Utah. I serve as the President of the American Student Dental Association’s chapter at Utah. Over March 4th-7th I had the privilege of attending the American Dental Association’s Lobby Day in Washington D.C.

Over 700 students and dentists across the nation attended this event. Together we dug into the legislation we wanted to get passed on behalf of our profession and patients. The acts we lobbied for this year were the Dental and Optometric Act, the Residency Education Deferred Interest Act, and the Medicaid Dental Care Access Act. Working together with students and dentists from Utah, we presented our cases to each House Rrepresentative and Senator of Utah.

I was originally interested in attending this event because I love the passion and thought that goes into passing a bill into legislation. Part of the reason why I became interested in dentistry was because I loved knowing that I have the ability to not only help my local patients but to help all patients on a national level through advocacy.

It was thrilling getting to be on the Hill and to be listened to by the people who make our nation’s decisions. Getting to attend this event made me realize that we are a part of something much bigger than our own individual practices. I am elated to be part of organized dentistry and determined to spread that joy with my colleagues.

One of my favorite quotes I have found was on the American Dental Association website. It goes “Lawmakers are going to make decisions that affect your patients and your practice. It’s a certainty. And you have a choice: you can sit on the sidelines or you can help shape the outcome”. No one understands oral health better than dentists. It is extremely important for us to work together in order to protect our profession and patients.

Kendall Block U of U Dental Student

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