ADA's D'Aiuto Offers Perspective On Lab Summit

More than 50 technicians, dentists, educators, manufacturers and association representatives gathered at the Lab Summit's annual meeting in Chicago in February. Founded in 2005 by Dr. Bill Yancey and Dr. Gordon Christensen, and currently led by Executive Director Dr. Burney Croll, the group meets annually to brainstorm about the challenges faced by our community, including an aging technician population, dwindling technology programs, reduced laboratory coursework in dental schools and increased offshore competition.

Although present since the beginning, the ADA's involvement in the Summit has grown in the past few years, culminating in the ADA's Future of Dental Technology Conference in 2009. Following the conference, the ADA's Council on Dental Practice formed a subcommittee on Dental Laboratory Technology and, last fall, proposed ADA policy that was subsequently passed by the ADA's House of Delegates. Some of the...