President’s Message

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Man Plans, and God Laughs.

Despite our most careful planning, sometimes life and Mother Nature can be highly unpredictable. If you’re living in Texas in February, you know how true that statement is. The TDA’s plan for the February leadership conference was to bring leaders from component societies across the state to Austin for fellowship, to provide updates on TDA’s advocacy efforts, council activities, membership trends and initiatives, and to hear from components how TDA can better meet their needs. Since our conference didn’t happen as planned here is a report on some of those topics that impact your profession and your Association.

TDA’s Council members work diligently each year to accomplish goals outlined in TDA’s strategic plan. The Council on Membership, New Dentists and Students is hosting their second “Diversity in Dentistry” Town Hall Webinar on March 10, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. Look for information on all social media platforms and in an upcoming email. TDA Presidentelect, Dr Duc “Duke” Ho will be the facilitator for the event. The Council held its first Local Leaders Forum on March 2, providing component leaders the opportunity to collaborate on issues impacting membership statewide.

CLRA met on January 28, 2022 and discussed numerous topics including the primary election held on March 1, 2022 and its potential impact on the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate, the TDA’s legislative agenda for the 88th session which begins in January, 2023, dental insurance legislation addressing network leasing, retroactive denials, and disallowables, and Medicaid dental reimbursement rate increases. The TDA and CLRA are also currently working closely with the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners on rules associated with teledentistry legislation that TDA helped pass through the legislature last session. The DENPAC Board recently approved a slate of campaign contributions which were given to candidates before the March 1st Primary Election. Many of those contributions were hand delivered by “key contact dentists.” Key contacts are TDA member dentists who are committed to the advancement of TDA issues and who serve as liaisons to one or more elected state officials. If you have personal or political ties to an elected official, or are interested in developing connections, and would like to serve as a key contact dentist, please email Staci Rives at srives@ tda.org.

TDA’s Council on Professions and Trends is tasked with monitoring economic issues affecting dentistry, emerging trends, and practice innovations. CPT recently examined insurance-related pain points affecting Texas dentists and recommended CLRA look at addressing disallowables legislatively. CPT is also in the process of updating The Navigator, TDA’s in-depth practice resource guidebook.

The Council on Public Health and Access to Care recently submitted recommendations to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) Rider 26 Workgroup on Medicaid diagnostic dental services. The workgroup, authorized by HHSC Budget Rider 26 during the 87th Regular Legislative Session, is completing a comprehensive review of all dental codes in the Medicaid dental program and making recommendations to HHSC about Medicaid dental codes at higher risk of fraud, waste, and abuse along with proposals to ameliorate that risk.

The Council on Dental Licensing, Standards and Education is working on reports to the Texas Dental Association’s leadership about licensure and clinical considerations when using Botox and dermalfillers in dentistry. Additionally, the council continues work on teledentistry and 60 Texas Dental Journal | Vol 139 | No. 2changes to the Texas State Board

TDA President Debrah J. Worsham, DDS

of Dental Examiners’ regulation governing the minimum standard of dental care in Texas.

The Council on Governance meets on March 11-12, 2022 to discuss and make any governance-related recommendations to the Board at its last meeting prior to the 2022 TDA House of Delegates. Such recommendations may include Board and Council proposed changes to TDA Bylaws and other governing documents and manuals of the Association.

TDA ended 2021 at over 8,800 members, but with only 46.7% market share. That number is up slightly from 2020 which was a year of loss for most all professional membership associations. It’s up to us to create opportunities for growth, especially among our new dentist members. Remember what it was like when you first started practice? You needed a mentor, you needed someone to share an experience with, and you needed a smile from a friendly face when you walked into a local meeting.

My continual message has been to reach out to colleagues and invite them to a meeting, and I encourage each of you to accept this challenge. New dentists need mentors and dialogue with peers Everyone needs relationships with those experiencing similar life events and practice issues. Make an effort to connect with those dentists around you, make yourself available as a resource for those needing assistance, and make an impact by being a positive influence along the way!